Certain places and atmospheres can often lead to new inspirations and ideas. Away from everyday hustle and bustle, close to nature and the coast. Inspired by the location and climate of Lake Maggiore and the town of Lesa in the Italian province of Novara, 24-year-old Giuseppe Marenzi came up with an idea 70 years ago. At the time, Marenzi was employed by a company that specialized in raincoats. With his major contribution to the waterproofing of jackets, using castor oil (yes, really), he brought significant growth to the company's production. This left Marenzi wanting more. He decided to take a big step: starting his own company.

Together with his wife Alessandra, he founded the company near the Erno river. Marenzi got a lot of his inspiration from there. He had a clear goal in mind: to provide high-quality, functional jackets that resist the wind - which blows every day from the Alps - without sacrificing quality, elegance and Italian style. And so Herno, with tribute to the river Erno, was born.

Production started with raincoats for men and women. In the 1960s this was extended to cashmere coats, suits and dresses for women. The details and differentiation from other brands gave the courage to take a big step. Herno was one of the first Italian brands to expand into the Japanese market and opened its own boutique in the city of Osaka. Herno had only just seen the light of day and so this was a major achievement. Herno's golden years had arrived and an expansion to the United States was self-evident.

THE BREAKTHROUGH ERA

Back to then

'With philosophy you end up in the clouds. In our company you keep both feet on the ground," said Giuseppe Marenzi. His youngest son, Claudio, went on to study philosophy. Father Giuseppe only agreed if Claudio would work at the company for a while after his studies. To Claudio's surprise, I liked this job. The big change started to happen when Claudio succeeded his father as CEO in 2005.

Due to his craftsmanship and inspiration from the largest fashion brands, a new era began. The demand from other brands to produce for them became more and more common. In the following years, Claudio worked with Berteli (Prada), Tom Ford (then at Gucci) and Marc Jacobs (Louis Vuitton), among others. The success had a downside; the focus shifted from its own brand. Herno saw its turnover fall sharply in almost every active market. Claudio had a great career, but sold less of his own brand. He made a risky decision and decided to stop production for other brands.

Claudio's new strategy marked a return to his father's golden years. His focus was again on raincoats for men and women. The company gained a new dynamic. Young talents were hired and he trained his employees. He took a gamble by putting a new twist on the classic looks of the jackets, but did not lose his quality, taste, expertise and Italian origins in craftsmanship.

The quality of a jacket depends on the choices made in advance. Quality starts with the continuous search for the best, functional raw materials, the innovative design process together with classic manufacturing. The fabrics are produced not only in Italy, but also in Japan. Herno makes its exclusive fabrics there with the latest technologies. A selective choice is made for feathers and down. These types are cleaned and then put into a process in which they are centrifuged, dried and cooled. Each feather is weighed before it goes into the jacket. Only the best, nothing less. Each collection passes quality inspection based on 70 years of experience. Ultimately, after all quality checks, the jackets receive the well-known logo, as a kind of wax seal for confirmation.

Herno goes beyond standards. Freedom is reflected in his designs. Every consumer has a different taste in color, style and shape. With its jackets, Herno responds to the individuality of consumers. They are each unique in style with the best materials and an eye for detail. Excellence is a guiding principle within Herno.

Twice a year, Herno launches new collections for men and women. The spring/summer men's collection is referred to as 'Legend' and the women's collection as 'Iconico'.

Classic models made of nylon Nuage, matte and extremely light, supplemented with the most beautiful goose. Practical as today's modern consumer demands. Characterized by contrasts for the inner part and the label that tells the story of the garment. Unique pieces that go beyond the seasons of the year, legendary raincoats with materials and details for modern habits. Trends fade, but Herno Legend is forever.

Herno Iconica has selected its best ultra-light down jackets in this collection. Exclusive shapes, colors, fits, different sleeve lengths with a specially designed golden logo. Each line is named after the beautiful villas that reflect the character of Lake Maggiore and the headquarters of Herno. It is once again a tribute to its origins.

The autumn/winter collections consist of several lines. For example, the autumn/winter collections of 'Legend' and 'Iconico' have multiple lines. Each line represents not only the model of the jacket, but also the story behind it. At Herno, everything has an underlying idea and that makes it more special. In addition to the main collection, there are several sub-lines within this collection. There are five collections in total, each with a wide range of beautiful pieces.

For Herno, 2018 meant more than a year. It is the year that extra represents the brand's growth. What once started as an idea by Giuseppe Marenzi has developed into one of the best jacket brands worldwide. 70 years of craftsmanship, 70 years of Italian excellence. Especially for this milestone, Herno has decided to tell his story with a birthday collection called 'Herno 70° since 1948'. Four different items, designed for men and women, produced exclusively in Italy.

“What represents Herno for you?”: passion, intuition, family, colorful, innovation, warmth. These are just a few of the 200 words employees wrote about the anniversary collection. Such a simple question, but so many loving, meaningful answers. The terms represent stories, lives and feelings of the employees who have been working at Herno since day one. He has great appreciation for his employees, because without them everything comes to a standstill.

The words of praise from employees are printed on the water-repellent trench coats for this collection. In addition, the trench coats are personalized with '70 Since 1948'.

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