A Journey Into the World of Tissa Fontaneda
Words Bethany Berkeley
As I entered the Tissa Fontaneda boutique I am thrust into a pace filled with luxurious colours and shapes enough to tickle the senses. I have time to quietly peruse the eponymous bags, made from lambskin leather before I am greeted by Tissa and with a lovely smile and a welcoming handshake. Tissa is exactly how I pictured her, a vision of grace and elegance draped in a scarf and pieces from her namesake brand. Before we embark on the interview, she tells me a bit about the store and how it is a space shared with other luxury brands, hinting that soon there will be a Tissa Fontaneda standalone store here in London, but we will get there…
She begins to depict the tale of how she began the brand, and I’m instantly blown away. She speaks with the same elegance that her name and manner suggest. Born in Munich, Germany in 1956, Tissa moved to Italy at the age of 19 and instantly fell in love with the Italian way of accessorising. From luggage to jewellery and bags, she explains that she loved how the Italians would mix designer brands with pieces they had picked up on their travels or at a market. As her story continues, she says she initially studied literature and moved to France to become a writer. She found it difficult to get a job at the time due to being overqualified but with her French not being good. Working at Swarovski packing boxes she met the then creative directors Rosemarie Le Gallais and Hervé Leger and began her journey into accessories. Tissa’s journey then took her Loewe to develop the Thierry Mugler handbag collections. After the brand was acquired by LVMH Tissa was invited by the president Yves Carcelle to be the Head of Production for Loewe accessories under Narciso Rodriguez. She immersed herself into her work, learning the ropes and honing her talents, until one day she decided that a desk job was not what the future held for her. She was right.
As the years passed Tissa gradually realised that she could use the experience, her talent and the relationships she has formed to create something that was hers and thus Tissa Fontaneda was formed. After meeting one of the manufacturers, she had previously worked she began to realise her dream step by step. “A desk job, focused on numbers was never for me. I loved being in the factory with the manufacturers, working with the materials! Her iconic bags made through the process of vapour to create the bubbles on the lambskin leather are one of the things that make her designs so unique. Her bags first made their way into a boutique named Kado, where to her surprise they sold out in one day. This gave Tissa the confidence she needed to continue and grow her brand, she realised that there was a love for her bags out there.
We continue to navigate through her journey, and I begin to learn things about the character of the woman behind the bag. She is someone that is daring, bold and likes to get stuck and do the work alongside her brand these attributes transcend into each of her collections. Tissa speaks about the struggles the brand faced over the years especially during the pandemic, which affected so many fashion brands across the globe. “During lockdown, because we’re not killing the animals, we use for the leather; they come from the lambs that are used for food and we take the leather from the waste that would otherwise be burned, to make it sustainable.” As the eating of lamb in Spain dropped drastically during lockdown, she tells me how hard it was to get leather as a raw material if you were not killing the animals for that sole purpose. “In the line of work, I’m in you’re so dependent on the raw material and it’s not always easy, but you have to fight for it.”
Each bag in her various collections has a story attached to their designs. For instance, ‘Tango’ bag which is a cult favourite was created because she was to attend a wedding and didn’t want to carry a typical handbag. She describes this scene of her speaking to one of her manufacturers saying, “I was sitting on my chair, and I had this leather, and as I was crouching, I scrunched it together and I said to him I want a bag like this out of one bit of leather, with tassels and this is how Tango was born.” Confessing that she never designs anything on a desk and that she travels and bases each design firstly on the material. “Sometimes I’m sitting in a chair in Capri. I mean it doesn’t always have to be such a chic place it can be wherever, and I see a woman pass or something passes in my head, I have a little scribble book and I make some sketches. So, it comes” It’s inspiring to hear how different Tissa’s design process is and I instant understand why people have fallen in love with the brand.
Speaking of the future the brand has expanded into ready to wear, eyewear, jewellery and much more. “We are growing the brand organically, but we are lucky enough that people really like what we do and that’s why people buy the bags.” Tissa also mentions that the brand is developing different styles of the bubbles using the same vapour process to diversify the designs, to keep their customers wanting more. She goes into detail about the stand-alone store, which will be opening soon in London. “I want people to feel as though they’ve come to a place not just of luxury but somewhere they feel at home.” The store, she explains will be an experience rather than just a cold retail building, to feel a part of the brand and family.
Tissa Fontaneda’s passion etches her way into every piece she designs so intrinsically, that it’s difficult to see the brand without the woman behind it. As we wrap up the interview, I am comforted that there are still designers out there. Those that are not just focused on trends, or what social media is saying about their products. Designers that really put themselves into their design process and the story behind those designs. As I await the opening of the Tissa Fontaneda in quiet anticipation one can only be confident that it’s up from here for Tissa Fontaneda.