ILARIA’S WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOUR

Colour is a language. Anyone interested in photography can tell you that. Switching from black and white to colour is not just a matter of aesthetics, it is a method of communication. Colour is key to expressing yourself, your emotions, your outlook on life. And when the choice of colour becomes a job, life becomes extraordinarily fantastic.

Ilaria's business card states "Head of Colour Design"; and we who know her can confirm that the title is not only correct, but absolutely apt.

Ilaria has a sunny disposition. She's ironic. Her smile is contagious. In short, she is colourful. That's right, this is her dominant characteristic. Entering the room where she works is like stepping into another dimension. Colour. Colour. More colour. Her large central table is overflowing with different styles of glasses. Colour samples are scattered everywhere. Great big books on the latest colour trends stand ready to be flicked through, alongside sketches, colour combinations and product tests.

Identifying the colours for a new style or a new collection is a magical job that, at the same time, requires technical product knowledge and considerable listening skills. Ilaria has to juggle brands’ briefs with designers’ guidelines. Her creativity blends with a full understanding of the materials that can be produced, in an alchemy that Ilaria and her team identify to perfection.

That’s right, her team. Just as colours work together to create the perfect product, Ilaria too does not work alone. She engages in a continuous flow of ideas between herself and the other people who work in this extraordinary office. Accurate choices dictated by the coming together of different skills and professionalisms. A harmonious team, like the multicoloured harmony of a rainbow.

To think that, as a girl, Ilaria wanted to be an interpreter. Instead, she found herself giving meaning, not so much to different languages, but to different colours. Because what she does is all about interpreting. A pair of glasses is chosen for its style, its shape and, of course, its colour. We must give credit to De Rigo, which, with Ilaria’s arrival, was capable of setting up a dedicated office such as this. A space created specifically for what has become the company’s Colour Office. Not that colour design had previously been neglected; the difference consists in the introduction of a veritable work method and the training of professionals that bring a tangible contribution to the realisation of the final product. Ilaria and her team are a concrete example of all this.

There is only one question that Ilaria finds difficult to answer: “What's your favourite colour?”. It’s not that she hasn’t got one. It’s just that, dealing with colours on a daily basis, she is well aware of how many different shades can hide behind a single colour. Perhaps, to find the right answer to this question, you don’t need to ask Ilaria. Just look into her eyes. Observe her smile and why not, admire how she works, and the passion that she puts into everything she does.

This is Ilaria’s world. This is the world of the people who work with her. A place where objects are endowed with colour and where glasses reveal their full personality. Just like emotions.