The history of Herno, the coat brand that takes its name from the river next to Lake Maggiore – an h was added to make it more international – is well known by fashion lovers. Everyone knows that Giuseppe Marenzi, a former aircraft manufacturer in World War II, set up the business in 1948 thanks to his experience in a workshop waterproofing raincoats with castor oil (it was the fuel for airplanes).
They also know that the person who now directs his legacy, his son Claudio Marenzi, was president of Sistema Moda Italiana (2013-2018), of PITTI Immagine since 2017 and of Confindustria Moda, named Cavaliere del Lavoro in 2016 and two years later received the Leonardo award. to Italian quality.
And they are aware that for a couple of years, Claudio Marenzi and Herno have been unknown. Surprising. The change materialized above all when, as CEO of the family firm Marenzi, he acquired the Montura brand (a world reference for mountaineers for the quality of its technical clothing), unleashing his passion for the outdoors. “Now I’m like a tennis ball – he jokes – all day long from one side to the other trying to fit in my schedule… crazy,” explains this visionary entrepreneur who has shown that the fabric of medium-sized Italian companies can be a global protagonist.
Marenzi, who recognizes that “this panorama not only allows me to enjoy my favorite sports outdoors but at the same time collaboration was almost obligatory,” often says that “the future is already here and demands our full attention.” And he is convinced that the new situation of his companies and his life has been nothing more than an excuse to face that future in his condition of “hyperactive and unable to keep his attention on the same thing.” Now, of course, he is happy because “between Herno, Montura and my other great obsession, art, I have inputs to distribute my attention to what fulfills me.”
The passion for art has also grown, but it also comes from afar. With one of her first salaries she asked a local artist, Nicola Ankof, to paint the door to her bedroom at home. He was only 15 years old and his parents allowed it. And he has taken that door with him on his moves to become one of the essential pieces of the collection.
Because just as this born athlete is a visionary for business, he is also a visionary for art. “I am passionate about buying pieces that fulfill me. What I wouldn’t spend on a yacht I invest in art,” he explains. And this is how in his house and in the factory works by Pae White, Andrea Bowers (Sisters be Sorong), Nicholas Howie (Laser Link), Stefano Peroli (Davvero a casa), Vik Muniz, Ginani Caravaggio (Aspettanto una altra vita) coexist. and Gianfilippo Usellini (Ritratto non finito by G. Marenzi). Or Markus Lüpertz (Prometheus), Luca Andreoni and the omnipresent Massimo Kaufmann
Born in 1962, it remains faithful to the firm’s motto “in the beginning, it was water. The one that makes life flow. The one who creates” which refers to the water of the river, the lake, the rain, the humidity and the muse that inspired the garment with which it all began and continues in Herno, the raincoat. And that’s why he always does what he thinks he should. And it flows. “I never told myself this is my life, this is all I want to do… But then I got carried away by the water of the river.” Thus, he feels more supported than ever by Herno, Montura and the endless collection of art that is, in itself, pure art. Pure flow.
