Italia Independent: Made in Italy 2.0

Italia Independent - a project entirely conceived by Lapo Elkann - come to life today.

"The independent" refuses to mix with the crowd. He is a free thinking individual who is not afraid of being himself. He is a beauty seeker who chooses "beauty" irrespectively of a brand. Independence is a mindset that transcends age, nationality, culture, religion and sexual orientation.

The first Italia Independent personal belonging is Sever, sunglasses made entirely of carbon fiber. Sever is handmade by skilled expert craftsmen. Carbon fiber requires an elaborate production process: the carbon "skins" are kept in fridges at a temperature of 15 degrees below zero before undergoing a long sophisticated phase of moulding. The sunglasses are then hand-sanded with special paper and painted; this process is repeated at least three times to obtain the finished product.
The design of Sever, characterised by soft yet aggressive shapes, has been conceived by the Italia Independent internal team.

The initials of Italia Independent (I-I) in English sound "eye-eye". The sunglasses have been chosen to be the first personal belonging because they symbolically represent Italia Independent's brand vision.

All Italia Independent products are 100% conceived, developed and produced in Italy. Italianity is one of the brand main values: Made in Italy is reinterpreted from a new angle, far from old stereotypes and with a more global, creative and innovative feel.

Italia Independent's claim is Made in Italy 2.0. Just like the new internet wave 2.0, I-I intends to upgrade the concept of Made in Italy replacing status symbols with "me unique symbols" and adding innovation to tradition.

From mid-February I-I personal belongings will also be sold in twenty-five selected fashion stores (Luisa Via Roma in Florence, Corso Como 10 in Milan, L'Eclaireur in Paris, Verso in Antwerp, Podium in Moscow...). Fashion stores will be partners of Italia Independent and take an active role in the project.