Throwback photos stir up laughs, memories and—for denim heads—a wealth of vintage denim inspiration. This weekly column on Rivet asks individuals in the denim industry to take a look back and reminisce about a denim moment in time captured on film.
This week, Alberto Lucchin, a marketing executive at garment finishing technology company Tonello, looks back on a photo that demonstrates his early love for nature, and how it continues to fuel his passion for a career in sustainable fashion.
Lucchin joined Tonello six years ago after graduating college. He was referred by a teacher who provided consultancy services for the company and thought he would be a valuable addition to the marketing team.
And they were right. At Tonello, Lucchin quickly discovered a world of creative challenges that gave him unique opportunities to make strides in sustainable technology used by some of the world’s largest fashion brands. Since then, he’s helped the company evolve from a machine manufacturer to a global leader in garment finishing technologies.
Alberto Lucchin, Marketing Executive, Tonello
This picture was taken in the early ‘90s. I was probably two at the time, and we were somewhere in Venice, not far from my hometown. I was wearing a pair of jeans that had been washed way too many times by my mom in an effort to clean up the stains left from spaghetti sauce and pizza.
From the photo, you can easily guess my two greatest passions. The first, obviously, was the sea, water and nature—especially if it was wild. I still indulge in this passion. I love going swimming and sailing. This is probably where my interest in sustainability comes from. My second passion is even more obvious: food. At that age I was a bit plump, which was almost inevitable living in Italy and often visiting my grandmother who was always making tons of homemade pasta and sweets.
It’s rather fun looking at what I was wearing back then. Seeing that and comparing it to what I wear today, not much has changed. So, in looking back, I think ‘90s aesthetics and times have definitely influenced my way of being as well as my way of working—and so has living in a small town in northeast Italy, in between the mountains and sea.
