Geelong fashion brand Vale Luca inspires you to explore the world through its collection of wearable basics.
Born from a love of fashion and travel, Vale Luca was founded earlier this year by Geelong born-and-bred hairdresser Erin Lucietto.
Lucietto spent much of her formative years travelling around the world with her husband, experiencing different cultures different cuisines, and quite simply, living their best life in some of the world’s most beautiful destinations.
This inspiration was translated into a line of 100-per cent cotton pieces, printed and embroidered in Australia. With a vintage oversized aesthetic, the first Vale Luca line is full of eye-catching pieces that look uber-stylish while being relaxed and comfortable.
Encompassing her love of travel, Lucietto’s innovative and intricate designs weave in stories from her travels abroad and imaginative escapism, resulting in a poetic and incredibly beautiful collision of imagery and personal experiences.
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For Lucietto, her travels abroad not only inspired her designs, but it was the driving force behind her starting her label, despite having no experience in the fashion or clothing industry.
“My husband and I have spent years travelling around the world, experiencing different cultures different cuisines, and living our best life, that’s all I ever wanted,” Lucietto explains.
“Then last year at the age of 36, my son Valentino Luca was born and I wanted more, I wanted to create a future for him and to become something he would be proud of one day. So, after years of having these ideas in my head, never being brave enough to take a chance, I decided to take a leap and try.
“That’s how Vale Luca was born, out of my love for fashion and travel, my desire to bring to life what I had been dreaming of.”
With travel and a love of fashion serving as the creative inspiration for Vale Luca (named after her beautiful son), Lucietto teamed up with local artist Matt Wilkinson to help bring her vision and her brand to life. Using photos and memories from her travels, prints are hand-drawn and created by Wilkinson, inspired by the beauty and cultures of each of the world’s most beautiful destinations.
“My designs are based on places I’ve travelled to in the world that had an impact on me, combining this love of travel with fashion to create my own label,” she explains.
“Looking back at photos of our travels, I find the ones that speak to me and that I think could be adapted to a really interesting artwork.
“I then send my ideas and photos to Matt and we go back and forth until what I had imagined is created. Matt is amazing at knowing what I’m thinking and always has great ideas to help these ideas evolve, this can take days or weeks depending on the design or just when life with a toddler and other work happens!”
With each design representing a specific moment or destination around the world, Vale Luca’s pieces can stimulate all your senses. Printed by Geelong-based company, Full Moon Screen Printing, the brand currently features two designs to choose from.
The first is an ode to the glamorous visual world of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the form of a street art-inspired woman’s portrait. With the vibrant destination being on most travellers’ bucket lists, the eclectic energy of the design replicates the city’s culture, people and its ability to fill your senses and encase you in its magic – magic that can be found in every corner of the city and every local you meet.
The second design takes a softer approach, inspired by Lucietto’s visit to the spectacularly photogenic Santorini Island. A world-famous holiday experience, the design seemingly replicates the charming village of Oia with cobalt-domed churches and whitewashed houses standing on slopes of the volcanic island’s caldera, which plunge into the mesmerizing deep blue waters of the Aegean Sea. A village famous for its beautiful sunsets, this design is incredibly striking with its dramatic colour contrasts and emotional representation of a sun-drenched European country that local travel bugs could only dream of visiting.
Designed to be inclusive of all gender identities and expressions, Lucietto has paired these inspired designs with a slightly oversized, comfort-first aesthetic that fit a wide variety of bodies. Available in a neutral selection of colours with a couple of bright options, the casual oversized tees and crewneck jumpers marries non-exclusive function with elevated basics that suit all aspects of everyday life.
With a minimal and relaxed attitude to fashion, Lucietto pieces expertly fuse the unique bright designs and stories of global explorations with a distressed-edgy vibe, making Vale Luca great for stocking up on exclusive and sustainable wardrobe staples.
“There will only ever be an extremely limited number of each design as my pet hate is when something becomes popular everyone has the same. I want to keep designing, keep evolving and love what I do.”
Inspired, detail-oriented, and handcrafted, Vale Luca is available for purchase via the website. You can see more from Vale Luca here.
