A Jewel in the Canals – Discovering Roberta Di Camerino in Venice
How I found Roberta di Camerino in a vintage shop in Venice: the velvet, the gondola leather and brass, and the woven leather bag I brought home.
I first came across Roberta di Camerino in Venice. I was staying there in 2021, during the pandemic, I walked into a vintage shop, and there was a woven leather bag from a house I had never heard of. I bought it.
Colour, velvet and the R
Giuliana Camerino started the house in Venice in 1945, after the war. Her bags stood out for their bold colours, their rich fabrics and patterns you could not mistake for anybody else’s. Many carry the “R” logo and velvet trim. They were ahead of their time.
The striped velvet bag above and the navy woven one below are not mine. I saw them in shops.
Gondola leather and brass
I own two Roberta di Camerino bags now, both from the 1950s or 1960s: the woven one from Venice, and one I bought in Lucca. They are made from Venice gondola leather, and the hardware is gondola brass. The leather is rich and supple. The brass has weight. For me, it is like holding a piece of Venice.
The black patent bag below is not mine. I photographed it in Venice.
The Neiman Marcus award
In 1956 Roberta di Camerino was given the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award. The brass hardware on the bags was made by craftsmen in Venice, and the bags were carried by the women everybody was watching. Grace Kelly was one of them.
Woven leather, before Bottega Veneta
To my eye, Roberta di Camerino was weaving leather before the houses that are famous for it now. From what I have read, the woven leather bags date from 1957. Bottega Veneta came to it later. That is my view, and my Venice bag is the reason for it.
I truly believe that the items find me. These two did.
In the last photograph I am in Lucca, with the Roberta di Camerino I bought there.
