Sara Salerno
Interview with Sara Salerno: an eclectic and knowledgeable woman capable of recounting the world of fashion in a unique and innovative way…
Who are you and what do you do? Tell us a bit about yourself…
My name is Sara, I have a degree in economics who by pure chance fell in love with the world of apparel.
After more than 20 years as a product manager in some apparel companies and brands, I had decided to quit this world that had given me so much but had completely drained me. I had decided to dedicate myself to e-commerce of antique home decor, another great passion of mine! Then, thanks to old connections, I started working again as a freelance product manager for a consulting firm. Constantly using social media for my e-commerce activity, one day on TikTok, tired of the continuous creators who talked about this world superficially, I made a video commenting on a fashion show from a technical point of view. Two years later, I also became a popularizer for everything related to the apparel supply chain and Made in Italy.
Fashion product developer: what does it mean to you?
It means making things happen: tying the threads and making designers’ imagined creations real; it means knowing every single detail of the garment; knowing the backstage! And the part I love most is precisely the research, solving the puzzle between the imagined and the possible.
How do you think marketing has changed in recent years? Customers are starting to be sensitive to other things…
Marketing hasn’t changed, customers have. Customer awareness, with social media, has evolved a lot. It’s fashion marketing that struggles to truly understand it… partly because large companies are like golden towers where reality only arrives as an echo; partly because those who decide struggle to grasp the epochal change we are experiencing. But as with the French Revolution, change will overwhelm you if you don’t know how to ride it.
You are very technical in your videos and podcasts: have you done other studies besides having a degree in economics?
I have a master’s in fashion marketing, but what I learned technically is thanks to the good old method of asking many questions and listening to the answers. Getting your hands dirty, going to laboratories, to suppliers, standing next to those who truly make things!
You recently came to visit us at the company: what do you like about our reality?
I like that, in my opinion, you are the true creativity of fashion. Being able to combine technical competence with always having to be one step ahead of others is something very difficult. And then I love companies with a history because you can feel it, because they have an extra gear. Thank you!
Taking a cue from your column “how industry insiders dress,” we ask you: what is your favourite fabric and outfit?
Until recently, I would have said jeans and a t-shirt. Now, however, I really love well-beaten cotton shirts, silk, and in winter, wool. I’m very sensitive to the cold!!!
You are very followed on your social channels! Explain the great opportunity that TikTok, for example, can be.
TikTok is the social media of the future, whether you want it or not. It has an incredible entertainment power. I challenge anyone to enter, resist four days, and then not get sucked in. It’s usually said “I’ll open it for 5 minutes” but half-hours pass by. It’s a social media that manages to target users incredibly well, showing you exactly what you want to see. At the same time, it allows creators to get known very quickly because it’s not based on investments or follower numbers. If the content is good, it can go viral even with 0 followers. And there are still so many empty spaces. People want to know, and everyone is on TikTok. You shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking that there are only very young people or a low-culture audience. It’s like Instagram 10 years ago… and it won’t disappear.
What do you think about the turnover of names among the creative directors of big fashion houses?
Companies haven’t really understood the point. The problem is not the creative directors; the problem is not creativity. No creative director can truly impact sales; it’s the brand’s vision that can. It’s the consistency and the path that brand wants to take. Brands are now treated as financial instruments. Revenue must always be positive regardless of how that result was achieved. And most of the time, unfortunately, it’s at the expense of quality. Customers have noticed and no longer trust, not even the big brands. In my opinion, instead of giving millions to new creative directors, who then want to change everything as soon as they arrive, with costs taken from the production costs of the garments, why not go back to making a good product, a true luxury product, with a true luxury service? With sales staff who are truly trained on the product, because ultimately that’s what customers take home and will wear.
CASUAL MOMENT: What did you dream of doing as a child? I know you also love calligraphy…
I’ve had many moments. I started with being a magistrate (it was the time of “Mani Pulite”), then a journalist, then a writer, and in between, many passions including calligraphy!
