Last month we discovered an interesting story of CEO and co-founder of the Marta Scarampi fashion label who was travelling back from Italy to New York with a prototype silk travel Jumpsuit that looked to deliver safety, comfort and fashion in the middle of a pandemic. Now that Jumpsuit has become a full line offered by the designer, inspired by her initial travel experience. Corporate Traveller works with hundreds of thousands of travellers across the globe, so we wanted to know what the potential was for a new jumpsuit like this to scale up for some of our customers. Here’s what we were able to find out when we reached out directly to co-founder and avid traveller, Lucia Scarampi, for a quick Q&A.
Please tell us a bit about the brand and what you and your sister are passionate about when it comes to fashion.
Marta Scarampi is a made-on-demand luxury womenswear label based out of Torino, Italy and New York City. The brand specializes in timeless wardrobe staples and is best known for their signature capes, blazers and mix and match sets for daily, effortless style. The company was founded by myself and my sister, Marta, who is the designer – we both have backgrounds in fashion and luxury. We wanted to create a travel-friendly wardrobe versatile enough to wear to business meetings, comfortable enough to fly in and elegant enough to wear out to dinner. Each piece in the collection is made to order by hand in Italy, embracing craftsmanship, slow fashion and sustainability at accessible luxury price points.
So how did the idea for this traveller jumpsuit come about? What was the initial moment of inspiration?
The collection, which includes a waterproof silk jumpsuit, matching face masks and a travel bag, was inspired by and designed initially for me by my sister, Marta, in preparation for my trip back from Torino in March. I’d been away for weeks from my husband and I needed to get home, so I carefully prepared for my essential trip wearing the first prototypes of the travel set that Marta made for me. I actually wrote a detailed blog of my first-hand experience of what it is like to travel during a pandemic on the plane if you’d like to read it.
The jumpsuit looks so soft and comfortable, what other options are in the works? Will there be different colours?
Lot of ideas are in the works! We will for sure offer the jumpsuit in blue and black very soon and we will have men’s sizing as well!
When you were travelling back to New York, were there any safety measures that required you to remove the jumpsuit at security? Or were you able to keep it on and just roll down the top half?
Absolutely not, I didn’t need to remove the jumpsuit as it is considered a normal piece of clothing. But yes, I rolled the top section down and kept the pants on. The intent of the piece was to provide a cover-up of one piece that is waterproof, comfortable and elegant to travel in and protective from contact with all surfaces. It has elastics at waist, wrists and ankles and an attached hoodie that can cover up and hold hair in and it goes down to your eyes. You can also button the suit up around your neck if you wish. The fabric is made from a high percentage of acetate - a plant- based fiber - and one of the properties is that it grants great absorption making it very breathable as well as hypoallergenic. The fiber is mixed up with silk making the fabric elegant and luxurious so it really is extremely comfortable.
Along with the jumpsuit, what else did you carry with you that made you feel safe when you were travelling?
I had gloves on at all times and the matching face mask (which is now mandatory on almost every airline). I was also carrying the usual hand sanitizer with me! Plus, I also carried with me a small travel bag specifically made for the Jumpsuit so that I could remove it as soon as I arrived and send it off to be dry cleaned.
What feedback did you get from other passengers or airline crew on the flight?
It was amazing! One flight attendant immediately approached me and told me that from the moment she saw me board the plane she had to come ask me where I had purchased the jumpsuit as she thought it was so chic and elegant! Then when we got off the plane, I was greeted by health officers at JFK and they were so curious about my outfit that we all started talking about the jumpsuit and the matching face mask. The conversation actually ended with them telling me that they thought I had a “cool idea” there!
How is the product being received so far? Any early indication of expected sales?
It’s doing really well! There have been plenty of "impulsive shoppers” who just see it and want it. And then there are also shoppers who have a few questions as it is a new product and not something that they might be used to seeing. So, we get a lot of questions about sizing and a few questions about delivery times as people are choosing to wait until they need to travel to actually purchase it. Overall, we have been very pleased. Also, there have been lots of requests to extend our sizing options so we went from offering US 0-12 to now offering up to US 18.
Where can travellers purchase one of these? Are they on pre-order or are they available now?
With Italy open from lockdown, we have been able to start production in our fabric mills once again and all pre-orders are now being made. Our clothing is made-on demand, so we produce upon order and we ship our products to customers 15 business days from the purchase date. There are still some delays, especially for shipping, however, we are monitoring everything and we’re keeping up with our timelines.
How important is business travel for your business? And when do you think your organization will be back to travelling for business?
We travel a lot! Especially me – I’m always on the road doing trunk shows around the US. We are really hopeful that we’ll resume travel soon. We also have a great Travel Cape we are working on for our Fall launch so hopefully that will be useful for many travellers if they are back to travelling by then.
If you’re interested in purchasing the Deco Jumpsuit and Travel Set from Marta Scarampi, they are available online starting from $460 USD. The shop also includes other travel accessories including a variety of facemasks and a travel bag. Additionally, the sisters are open to creating custom branded suits for groups and organisations which are a great idea for any companies looking to provide stylish support for their travellers.
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