Giorgia Starace is the founder of 2091, a shop and a limited edition clothing and accessories brand with an eclectic taste like herself. Originally from Rome, she first arrived in Venice at the age of twenty for study purposes, immediately building an indissoluble bond with the aesthetic nature and human dimension of the city. In the following years, the idea of returning never left her. And so, over time, Giorgia managed to build a business model that allowed her to stay and to build with Venice in a personal, intimate way, all for herself. In this interview for Gli Incurabili, Giorgia tells us about the birth of her brand, her concrete nature as a “marketing woman,” her favorite places, and the values and inspirations that guide her choices.
INTERVIEW BY VALERIA NECCHIO
PHOTOS BY GIORGIA STARACE // PORTRAITS BY VALERIA NECCHIO
Listen to Giorgia’s laylist x Gli Incurabili
VN: Let’s start from the beginning. Tell me what brought you to Venice for the first time.
GS: I arrived thirty years ago thanks to a Master’s degree in Marketing and Business Communication. I had a degree in literature, so I didn’t know much about the subject, but I was fascinated by communication, so I applied, and, quite unexpectedly, I got in. And so, I spent a year in Venice, in Fondamenta Briati, from September to March. That was my first Venetian chapter, my first encounter with a place quieter and more humid than where I came from (Rome), but it immediately conquered me. The presence of water, in particular, is something I love: the movement, the light, the sounds. Rome has it too to some extent, but Venice is unique in this. My love for water –– and consequently for Venice –– was a mad one.
VN: What do you remember from those months?
I always say that Venice leaves a mark on you, it digs something inside you. But in the meantime, there were still 20 years in Milan… after the Master’s, an internship brought me to Milan, and there I stayed to work, first in advertising agencies and then in marketing in the luxury sector –– so traditional advertising, events, PR. And then I got pregnant and for the next seven years I dedicated myself to my children. And it was during that time that I realized that the idea and desire to return to Venice remained in me. I often came back, but being a tourist didn’t satisfy me. I wanted to figure out a way to return at least part-time, while keeping the support of Milan for my family. My idea was always that if I managed to return to Venice, I would stay. And it’s a path I’m following on my own.
VN: How did the passion for retail come about?
As soon as my children became independent, I responded to my need to get back to doing things, even though I wasn’t exactly inactive during that time –– I’m someone who keeps busy. So I started with temporary stores, first in Milan and then, in an attempt to find some connection with Venice, I got in touch with a Venetian architect who was doing them in the city with the idea of establishing a Venice-Milan exchange. We collaborated for several years and it was an experience that taught me a lot: the world of temporary stores is one where you work with constantly changing merchandise categories that come and go quickly, so it’s like an accelerated Master’s. If you like it, if you’re interested, you learn, and I learned a lot, but over time I realized that the concept of temporary no longer satisfied me, I wanted something more stable, something that allowed me to be in the city not sporadically but more prolongedly. I really felt the need to spend more than a few days, to enter into symbiosis as I wanted.
VN: And that’s how the 2091 project started.
GS: Yes, after a while I transformed the temporary store into a clothing and accessories store called 2091, named after the civic number of San Polo where we are located. Having a fixed activity somewhat forced me to come to the city at least once every 10 days and stay for a few days. Later, out of a need for differentiation –– because Venice can be very competitive, in the sense that the public, especially in the winter months, is rather limited –– the 2091 brand was also born, a line of clothing created exclusively for my store. And lastly, another small store of accessories and household items started in Rialto, a small workshop, a beautiful and not very lucrative thing but one that brings me a lot of joy. In short, the whole project is now 5 years old and since then my percentages of staying in Venice have increased significantly, and that’s exactly what I wanted. Now I manage to spend 50% of my time here in the winter months, and 90% in the summer months. So the incurable mission is almost complete (laughs, ed.), and I definitely feel part of the residentiality, because I spend enough time here to experience it, but above all I don’t take more than I need to stay, it’s something that feeds itself, without greed. And I think this happens when you feel this pure sentiment towards the city.
“To me, Venice means beauty and freedom. I’ve traveled a lot in my life to recognize feelings and sensations related to a place. And Venice has always been the only place where, as I arrive (on the Liberty Bridge), I just smile. It’s something skin-deep, absolutely instinctive.”
VN: I find it particularly significant that you have maintained this personal, intimate dimension with the city.
GS: Yes, it’s an interesting dimension, different from being with family, with the dynamics and the times dictated by families. It’s me and the city. To me, Venice means beauty and freedom. I’ve traveled a lot in my life to recognise feelings and sensations related to a place. And Venice has always been the only place where, as I arrive (on the Liberty Bridge), I just smile. It’s something skin-deep, absolutely instinctive.
I wanted to find that feeling again. And that’s why I absolutely want to make sure that the Venetian business is maintained, because it’s what allows me to stay in Venice. So I’m clinging on with my nails and teeth and I’m really very protective of what I do. That’s my strongest motivation: I need to stay here. I put all my energy, passion, all my strength into it. That’s why I’m also a bit jealous, as I am when it comes to Venice. I would like it all to be beautiful, but I’m also a marketing woman and I realize that if there were many beautiful shops, it would be an unmanageable market. These are part of the mixed feelings to manage when you choose to stay here.
VN: How does Venice influence your entrepreneurial choices?
GS: The shops are always designed primarily for Venice and Venetians. And fortunately, because it was the Venetian women who helped us survive in the difficult times a few years ago, when there was no one left. And then, having a somewhat international and eclectic taste, we also appeal a lot to those coming from Milan or European cities. However, the clothing store remains a mix of brands, it’s not a single-brand store for 2091 items. I try to cater to all ages, even to 25-year-old girls, and to do this you need affordable prices. So my task is to select items that, always following my taste and the store’s taste, can meet the desire and pleasure of being able to buy something from us. In the end, I’m a marketing woman before being a creative one. Clothing has always had a certain appeal to me, I like it, but I’ve never been particularly attentive to fashion, I’m devoid of such references, other principles guide me. And marketing is very common sense, in the end: you just have to look, understand, listen. And I always try to look at my customers. My brand developed a bit like this, being in the store, talking to many people. Shops are a beautiful place for conversation and knowledge that keep my mind awake and stimulate new ideas and solutions.
VN: How has your taste evolved while being in the city?
GS: My taste, like that of many others, has been a discovery and an evolution. I think I’ve always had a vague idea of what it was, but I discovered and refined it over time. In the end, when you go to choose a fabric or when you decide what model to make with that fabric, something personal always comes into play. I definitely have a somewhat vintage soul, a passion for the 50s, for certain types of silhouettes. Perhaps what influenced me the most in this sense are the old movies I used to watch with my mother. And then, beyond trends, I like items that one picks up and continues to keep and wants to keep using, ones that never get tired of. These are the items I try to select and propose, always with the intention of remaining accessible, precisely.
“Venice needs more life, people living there, because if people live there, the service will come out, it’s a matter of trying to stimulate demand and supply, and doing it intelligently, looking at the numbers, at the rules of the market, at what’s actually missing.”
VN: What do you think Venice is lacking?
GS: By professional deformation, I often find myself doing a business plan for every empty shop window I come across, with the aim of completing the city with what it lacks. When I was in Piscina San Samuele, I noticed it perfectly: basic services were missing. It’s not even a matter of a trinket shop vs. a beautiful shop, because in that corner of the city there are beautiful shops. It’s more a matter of things that are needed vs. things that are not needed –– that don’t serve an essential need, such as buying bread. This side of Venice needs more life, people living there, because if people live there, the service will come out, it’s a matter of trying to stimulate demand and supply, and doing it intelligently, looking at the numbers, at the rules of the market, at what’s actually missing.
VN: Your favorite places in the city?
GS: The walk along the Zattere is one of my favorite places. If I imagine where to stay in the coming years, I would like to stay there. There’s so much water, so much light. And in general, I love Dorsoduro. My first home was behind Campo San Barnaba, and the master’s was in Fondamenta Briati, so it’s the area I know best and am most attached to. With time on my hands, I’ve also managed to indulge in what, for me, is the most beautiful pastime in the universe, namely walking, and therefore exploring, pushing beyond. When I can, I do it at any temperature. The light and the silence, the reflections of the water… it seems like a great banality, but as long as you stop to look at these things, it means you feel amazement, emotion, and as long as I don’t stop doing it, I won’t stop coming back and wanting to stay.