The Cosabella Story

Cosabella founder, Valeria Campello, was recently featured in a magazine story. I found her story an inspiration for women who value family, business and creativity. Valeria moved to the United States with her family for what was supposed to be a brief work assignment for her husband. Living in America with an Italian law degree and small children at home was frustrating. Instead of complaining, she creatively linked her hometown to her new life by creating this famous Italian brand that is a family business in every way. I love visiting the Cosabella booth at lingerie shows. If you have any questions, there is always a family member on hand to give you answers and support the lifestyle choices that gives Cosabella depth and staying power in this industry.

Here is Valeria's story...

The Cosabella Story

Oct 18, 2011 by Jenifer Mangione
“She is a trailblazer, but the most humble—I think—the most humble woman around. There aren’t many others like her. She has made a brand,” explained Guido Campello, Vice President of Sales, Branding & Innovation for Cosabella, a Made In Italy lifestyle apparel brand, about his mother, Valeria Campello, the company’s founder.

Humble is not a word one normally associates with the fashion industry, especially for a brand that has been embraced by celebrities, but Valeria did not plan to create one of the world’s leading lingerie companies. Speaking with her it’s as though she is somewhat surprised by her success.

“I’m not a designer. I’m not particularly fashion-oriented myself. I had to learn it. But I am a creative person—that definitely,” she shared.

What she planned was to have a family and become a corporate lawyer near her native town of Carpi in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy, which now also hosts Cosabella’s global distribution offices. She had graduated from law school and was on her way to achieving that goal when her husband, Ugo, who was working for a glass factory, was given the opportunity to relocate, briefly, to Miami to lead his company’s expansion into that market.

“I graduated got married, had children and when I would’ve started the practice, I never did because I came to America,” she explained.

She and Ugo knew they were taking a risk in leaving their comfortable life in Italy and at that time they already had their three-year old daughter, Silvia, and Campello was pregnant with Guido. But it was a risk they were willing to take—albeit originally with the intention of it being temporary. However, soon after she arrived in Miami, Valeria became restless.

“I was always at home with the children while my husband traveled for work and I began to grow anxious and weary because I’m not one to sit still for long.”

Law school had taught her resourcefulness, and she began to wonder what to do while Ugo worked.

“Law school taught me to find always another answer. You have to find a solution or an answer to work it out,” she explained. “So I thought, ‘OK, I’m in America, what am I going to do?’” she explained.

The answer was Carpi. As it happened, her hometown was known throughout Italy as being a destination for fashion and Campello saw an opportunity to bring Made In Italy products to Miami. Soon, she was importing clothing from “friends and friends-of-friends.”

“My first stock of Made in Italy products included embroidered tops, linen sets and Egyptian cotton t-shirts. The small success of this Italian product showed me that American women take Made In Italy quality seriously,” she explained.

This initial success led to subsequent opportunities, each of which Campello acted upon, and soon her star was on the rise and she was making contacts with buyers and others who would propel her business to the next level. ...more
 
See g boutique's collection of Cosabella here