Ask anyone in fashion and they’ll tell you: if you can thrive in this industry for an entire decade, the odds for longer term success are in your favor. Enter DROMe, an Italian ready-to-wear brand designed by Marianna Rosati, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.
Over the last ten years, DROMe has quietly and steadily built a formidable business, opening its first flagship boutique in Milan and catching the eye of celebrities including Ariana Grande, Cardi B, Priyanka Chopra, and Janelle Monáe. Since DROMe’s official launch in 2008, Rosati has evolved the leather-based line into a full lifestyle brand that includes womenswear, menswear, shoes, and handbags.
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The DROMe aesthetic is elegant and minimalist, with a distinct focus on the treatments used to bring each piece to life. Rosati’s experience with leather runs quite deep — she grew up in her family’s leather mill watching her father, Ferrero Rosati, produce leather for brands like Prada, Gucci, Jil Sander, and Fausto Puglisi.
Refinery29 caught up with Rosati to discuss the brand’s storied past, its 10-year evolution, and her decision to show in Milan over Paris this season.
How does it feel to be celebrating DROMe’s 10th anniversary? What does this milestone mean to you?
It feels great! It has been a wonderful adventure full of excitement, happiness, and remarkable moments. It means so much to me that we reached the 10th year. It signifies that we have created a strong identity based on true values that resonate with our consumers. I will always be grateful to everyone that supported me throughout these years.
For those not familiar with DROMe, how would you describe its aesthetic and brand ethos?
The DROMe aesthetic is minimal and sophisticated, but also eclectic and confident. It’s not too romantic, however it definitely has a lot of sensual femininity at its core. The DROMe woman is confident and a bit unconventional.
Why did you decide to move from showing at Paris Fashion Week to Milan Fashion Week? What’s the significance there?
We have been showing in Paris for a long time because it always felt like our second home. With this year being our 10th anniversary, we wanted to make some adjustments and relocate our show to Italy, our home country. This season was also our very first time being on the official fashion week calendar as part of Milan Fashion Week, and it’s such an honor. Milan is where our flagship store is located, so it just felt right to make the move.
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DROMe began as a leather-based line. How have leather pieces continued to define the brand even as it’s expanded and diversified its offerings?
Leather is the core of DROMe. I always try to reinvent it and evolve its significance by recreating it to feel effortless and diverse. I challenge its boundaries and how leather can be worn and shaped. Items like trench coats, shearling jackets, dresses, and trousers have evolved season after season, helping to create the DROMe aesthetic.
DROMe has become a celebrity favorite over the years — what does it mean to have that kind of support from such popular figures?
I always feel over the moon when I see my creations on a celebrity. It really makes me proud to see that the vibe of DROMe wins the hearts of so many cool and important people — and they wear it so proudly! I’ve always felt that DROMe had a lot of potential among celebrities, and I’m very happy to see that it gets noticed by so many.
How would you describe the latest collection that you showed in Milan?
It is a very chic and sensual collection, the way I intend the DROMe woman to be. It’s quite intriguing, and is inspired by a rare home décor book from the late 1970s. From looking through this book, I imagined a dreamy house in which a woman lives. This woman is an interesting mix between Al Pacino in Scarface and Michelle Pfeiffer passing through the sexy charisma of Bowie in the Berlin years. [There is] the effortlessly cool and sophisticated vibe — the lightness of leather and its way of being transformed into something else once again.
It is a very chic and sensual collection, the way I intend the DROMe woman to be. It’s quite intriguing, and is inspired by a rare home décor book from the late 1970s. From looking through this book, I imagined a dreamy house in which a woman lives. This woman is an interesting mix between Al Pacino in Scarface and Michelle Pfeiffer passing through the sexy charisma of Bowie in the Berlin years. [There is] the effortlessly cool and sophisticated vibe — the lightness of leather and its way of being transformed into something else once again.