Introducing
Carla Paravicini Sersale
"I am thrilled to support The Great Elephant Migration’s important message of coexistence and celebration of India’s incredible cultural heritage. I have deep admiration for India’s artisanal excellence; my brand, Emporio Sirenuse, finds common ground between the crafts of Italy and India. Similarly, The Great Elephant Migration’s mission of compassionate coexistence is one I think is essential right now. Preserving India’s native wildlife and indigenous cultures is a cause that benefits the world."
Born in Milan, Carla Sersale met her husband Antonio while living in New York City and shortly after moved with him to Positano, on Italy’s Amalfi Coast, where his family hotel, the iconic Le Sirenuse, is located. The beloved seaside resort was originally the holiday home of the Sersale family, who converted it to a hotel in 1951 and still operate it today. Located in one of Italy’s most attractive coastal villages, Le Sirenuse has long been a destination for discerning travelers ranging from John Steinbeck and Lee Radziwill to Sienna Miller and Waris Ahluwalia.
Carla was inspired to create Emporio Sirenuse as a way of making the hotel’s ephemeral charm tangible. Her niece, designer Viola Parrocchetti, was living in Mumbai at the time and fascinated by the endless possibilities that the region’s traditional screen-printing and embroidery offered. Hundreds of thousands of miles away from the Amalfi Coast, the first Emporio Sirenuse collection came to life in Viola’s Indian atelier.
To this day, the collection is a dialogue between the cultures of Italy and India. The collection made its debut in 2013 at the two Emporio Sirenuse stores in Positano with a unique range of Mediterranean-inflected prints on caftans, silk summer dresses and beach cover-ups capturing the breezy elegance that defines Le Sirenuse. Every element of the Emporio Sirenuse is rooted in the beauty of craftsmanship. The brand collaborates with hand-loom weavers in Bengal, and the finest fabric mills in Como. These materials are then meticulously embroidered by artisans in the brand’s ateliers in Mumbai and Delhi, marrying Italian elegance with artisanal traditions from around the world such as screen- and block-printing, ikat and tie-dye.
Emporio Sirenuse only partners with socially sustainable workshops and small factories in India. Carla and Viola make personally sure that working conditions are up to their standards and the women and men weaving, printing, dying, stitching and embroidering their collections are doing it in a clean, curated and healthy environment.
