“I have a cousin who was born three days after me, so we grew up as twin sisters and this I consider such a gift. We grew up with our grandparents spending half of the year in the mountains and when I think I back I always smile,” Margherita Cardelli reminiscing about her childhood in Italy...
She’d make pasta with her great grandmother, ride horses, ski in the mountains – to say it was idyllic is an understatement.
Born with innate style, it’s no surprise that in 2017, she launched fashion brand Giuliva Heritage Collection, with her husband – a brand inspired by the couple’s love of injecting femininity into menswear and transforming it into womenswear. Her daughter Aida was born the following year. Here, we find out more about her business journey, where it all began, and where it’s all headed.
Go to Giuliva Heritage
I love working with my husband...
We have completely different responsibilities, but we share everything each morning before taking any decisions. Lots of people ask us how we can work together. We actually love it and consider it a miracle.
I always wanted to be a mother...
I never thought not to have children. It’s the best gift one can receive and I feel very grateful I got to be a mother. It teaches me so many things and it always makes me think of when I was little and how I took certain decisions while I was growing up.
We travel a lot for work and making this work with a baby is difficult...
I always feel I need to do more to make both my child and my husband happy and making this work with all the job responsibilities is not an easy thing. We don’t have our families in Rome, so we needed to have a nanny. My mother comes often and helps us a lot. The main reason why I work this much is the future of our baby and I would never consider slowing it down. Also working makes me feel empowered and satisfied.
Since COVID-19 hit, the future is still uncertain but we strongly believe it will be for the better...
We started from 0 and we are not afraid. We firmly believe in what we do and nothing will stop us.
The most challenging part of motherhood is...
Being the best mom and at the same moment I need to be the best person. I always question if I am doing enough but my daughter’s smile gives me all the answers. But definitely being the best version of yourself when you have so many things to do to make your loved ones happy is the toughest part.
The best part of motherhood is...
Knowing that I am doing good and the smiles of Aida Atena. I can’t even describe what I feel. I am so grateful to have her and make her grow in our family.
I love a clean look with lots of styling such as vintage jewelry and hair accessories...
I definitely love a masculine look but never forget to stay feminine. So I use a lot of vintage silk shirts and feminine slingbacks.
Giuliva was born out of a common idea I had with Gerardo about repurposing menswear into womenswear and the tailoring skills on a feminine look...
I love the sleekness and the power a masculine outfit gives to a woman’s body. And again never fail to make it feminine.
We only buy children's clothing made of natural products...
She’s a mini-me and we look for baby clothing that resemblance what we wear. Misha and Puff is definitely my favorite.
Live your children free to choose their life always supporting them if needed...
Make them open their eyes and teach kindness and respect for anything.
Right now, I am loving...
The Peter Diamandis book Abundance, trying to master it and benefiting from the optimistic point of view it gives you. I am rediscovering the pleasure of cooking and water color painting. I am enjoying the pleasure of slowing down re-reading classics listening to classic Italian music, my favorite Lucio Dalla. Dancing the days away with Aida Atena and our dog Ottone in our living room.