The power of the Handmade: the luxury revolution begins with the artisans!

When gazing into a shop window, wishing you could clasp that fabulous bag in your hands, or coveting that superb dress that you saw in your favorite magazine, have you ever asked yourself: “How are these fantastic items made? How much work goes into these extraordinary pieces of art?”

Well, to gratify all those positively curious persons, whose interest goes beyond the superficial, and who really appreciate and care about the smallest details that can turn an ordinary object into something great and prestigious, the answer lays in the old-fashioned concept of the handmade, which is so much back in vogue these days!

There was a time, years ago, when our mothers, grandmothers or great-grandmothers used to put every effort into creating everything they could with their own hands, things which they often couldn’t afford to buy: it could be simple household items, or a decoration to make themselves look more sophisticated on Sunday mornings or, more often, new dresses for their children.

This took long, hard work, requiring lots of patience and precision – so as to satisfy even the most skeptical, who preferred buying from a proper shop – but how priceless was the satisfaction when the job was done: both for the maker and the recipient!

Even though handmade items might look quite simple, not perfect and uniform in every point, and not so up to date as the latest pieces shown in shops and magazines, they had an inestimable value because of all the love, passion, generosity and devotion put into their making, by the particular person who made it!

Do you think that, in a society that gets more frantic and fast-paced every day, where everything has to be ready immediately and in great quantities, it is still possible to preserve the tradition of the handmade?

We really do think so, and since we at Gleni constantly deal with this issue and are ardent supporters of this, we try to do our best to spread this concept as much as possible and make it last forever, so that everybody can appreciate the exquisite characteristics and the pleasure of having in our hands something made with passion and total care.

Tired of the throwaway mentality which characterized those years of wealth and economic stability of the last decades of the 20th century and the first years of the new millennium, a new trend is now replacing our previous way of life, starting from the fashion field: the movement towards the “artfully made”. A revisiting of the “hand-crafted” concept, the “artfully made” theory highlights the skills and abilities that survive in the hands of the artisans who create absolute works of art, so chic and refined.

This is why Gleni is always involved in promoting and sustaining those ancient artisanal professions, that are hidden behind all those dresses, shoes, top list accessories and it-bags we often dream about: a vast heritage handed down from generation to generation that we all should know and re-evaluate.

Handmade doesn’t only refer to manual skills and abilities that come back in vogue as a new style in regular cycles, but it refers rather to the making of the most sophisticated and luxury creations, truly arts of refined tradition that – in workshops and ateliers – can give birth to an unbelievable magic.

So, while these artisan professions are under threat in a world that is becoming more and more impatient, hasty and simplified, we should keep in mind that those It handbags or shoes with endless waiting lists so desirable to all the fashion world, can only be made thanks to the existence of these few artisanal professions that still survive.

In the past these artisan professions were not at all appreciated or coveted in comparison with jobs that had more visibility and media impact, but today we are witnessing a new revolution, with people becoming more and more interested in the concept of the “well made” and its prestige.

In this way, it’s not surprising to hear that, for example, Chanel fashion house is aiming to preserve the top French artisans’ know-how with the “Mètiers d’Art” Association, or that Fendi, with her new perspective on turning craftsmanship into an artistic performance, founded the “Fatto a Mano for the future” project: a sensational project created from the dialogue between designers and artisans, and taking place in every store in the world  owned by this fashion house, from New York to Abu Dhabi and London, with the aim of creating spectacular pieces destined to become limited editions.

And what about Prada? This fashion house decided to launch an unusual global artisan project, with the label “Made in ….” to evaluate those specialized districts around the world.

It could also be interesting to watch artisans while they are at work, maybe on one of those top list pieces, or deciding to have a monogram carved in one of them: an attainable whim at Gucci’s artisan corner.

Given this return to certain values from the past that we don’t want to lose, it’s young people in particular who are showing an increasing interest in handmade items, sometimes combining classic shapes and models with extravagant colors and tonalities, often almost fluorescent.

This is a special service that Gleni offers its customers, who can customize and personalize their own items with specific requests, knowing that their purchase will be a unique piece with no other copies anywhere: in this way we are re-proposing that one-of-a-kind philosophy, the limited editions and the handmade element with which we started our business, a world apart from all that the term industrialization means.

For all the lovers of precious things that reflect the total meaning of luxury and refinement…..blessed is the artisanal mastery of the Handmade!!