Presenting LaMunt for the very first time to the public, I stated that behind the brand there is a versatile group of authentic women, bonded by their passion for mountains, nature… and aesthetics.
Today I would like to introduce these women at the core of LaMunt. I remember I felt pretty much alone at the very beginning. There was this idea about LaMunt that became more and more clear the more I thought about it, but it was hard to sit in my office all by myself and having no real daily sparring partner with whom I could share my ideas. Luckily, this changed over the last months, and I am happy and proud to present the women that have become the LaMunt team. I am thankful for these passionate women (and yes, also men!) that joined me on this journey. These are the personalities behind LaMunt.
LINDA – the incarnation of LaMunt
I met Linda first in a video call, and I immediately knew that she would fit perfectly. Linda is strong and passionate but also sensitive at the same time. She has her own clear ideas, but she can as well become enthusiastic about the ideas of others too. As a former athlete, she knows what determination means and today she considers the mountains rather as a place for her wellbeing than conquering them with the approach of a racing mindset. She has taste. Her very individual one. I remember how she told me about her past as a ski racer and what the mountains – especially those with snow – mean to her today. Over the years she explored free riding and ski touring as a new way to discover the world on her beloved skis. Linda has quite a sense of aesthetics and she loves the beauty of things. It must probably be accounted to her family heritage (she worked in the family’s jewelry business and still develops her own special pieces of jewelry). Linda supported me from day one – she simply believed in LaMunt. Together we went through some ups and downs. During all this time she kept the level of energy high with her positive attitude and humor. Today Linda works on product management and product marketing. She makes sure our products work from a technical point of view by being very critical of the performance issues, but she also insists on some style elements. No wonder one of our highlight products will be named “Linda Jacket”. You will discover why.
SAMUELA – the perfectionist, always aiming for the more beautiful
Samuela brings in the experience, the expertise, and has the ability to calm us down whenever necessary! She knows all the processes we must follow internally and all the necessary steps that it takes to obtain a first-class product development. She worked several years as a Senior Product Developer for Salewa and has been an immense support from day one, helping Linda and me (the newcomers in this product world!) with all her know-how. When we were thinking of who internally, of our existing Oberalp product team could support LaMunt, there was not much to discuss. Samuela was a clear choice. On one hand because of her technical experience and on the other because of her love for fashion, and especially for her love for details! She is proactive and aims high when it comes to the point to take a design sketch and to make a product out of it. Samuela is known for her comments during our product discussions: “We need to do it better, nicer, more special”, “we cannot stop here”, “we need to evolve”, “make it more feminine!”. She is always pushing for the little details, sometimes more than I do. I love this attitude! Samuela expresses this also with her style. Always dressed well, always with finesse and attention to the details. I remember our very first product meeting. Samuela was fundamental in helping me to sort out my thoughts and bring them into a matrix that still today determines our way of thinking in terms of product. Without her, I would have been lost a couple of times!
MARIA TERESA – more explosion for LaMunt
Meeting Maria Teresa was special. Samuela introduced her to me and we arranged for a video call. I told her about my vision and ideas, and she captured the right nuances of what I explained. We agreed that Samuela, Giuseppe – our Operations Director – and I would go to visit her in Como, the city where Maria Teresa has her design studio. The aim was to analyze what a collaboration could look like. This was mid-February 2020 and our visit was planned for March… but it never took place because the lockdown hit us. I remember that we had several more calls and then I had to decide. I am a very gut-driven person and meeting Maria Teresa before starting a collaboration was fundamental for me. But once we understood that the lockdown would take longer, I realized that I needed to decide and assign the task of designing the very first collection without having the chance to meet her. And so I did! When we had our first physical meeting – Maria Teresa was supposed to present the concept she developed during the lockdown – I was pretty nervous. I still remember what went through my mind back then: “what if she is different from what I thought?”, “what if there is not the right feeling?” Soon I understood that my worries were totally superfluous! We got along immediately, and I had the confirmation that she really understood what I had in mind. Learning that Maria Teresa was able to bring life to my thoughts and transform them into designs was amazing. She gave a new boost to LaMunt and this feeling was reinforced throughout the last months. Maria Teresa is energetic, fast, and innovative! She is an explosion of ideas. When she starts to talk about an idea, a material, the shape of a product she remembers in that second, she is hard to stop. She is inspiration pure and has become an important part of LaMunt.
ANTJE – bringing in a new inspiring view, the queen of magic moments
Antje joined this summer! I was looking for somebody who takes over the communication and marketing of LaMunt. When meeting Antje I was impressed by her path, privately (having lived far away – to be precise in India – for several years) and professionally, bringing in an interesting mix of startup mentality, consultancy and cooperation experience. When Antje joined the team, we quickly understood that she will help us a lot in bringing in a new view. Unlike many of us, she did not grow up next to the mountains but in a big city (Berlin) and the lowlands near the North Sea. She has always been an outdoor person and when she moved to South Tyrol a couple of years ago she started to discover mountains for herself. Her experience and her slightly different view of mountains have been an enrichment for LaMunt. Antje helped us to find the right words, to describe thoughts that we have not been able to express because it was “too obvious” for us … but which are still very important to be named. She formed the language and the tonality of LaMunt by asking the right questions at the right time and bringing in her love for design and art (no wonder she is doing amazing drawings herself!). Antje is silent and loud as well as shy and very brave at the same time! I like this attitude and the power and self-confidence with which she took over some important projects from the very beginning, such as the launch of our homepage. Antje is fast but she takes her time to give LaMunt some magic moments.
CLELIA – the versatile feline
Clelia is our intern and joined us only recently but for us, she is already a full member of the LaMunt team. Clelia studied fashion design (and yes, she is a fashion person!) She is always informed about the latest trends, designed and tailored her very own jacket, and personally loves leopard patterns and heavy boots), but during her studies, she discovered her interest in marketing and continued in this direction. Whenever Clelia is at the office there is excitement, and I can hear her giggle with Antje or Linda in the office next to mine. Clelia is very versatile and helps out in all different projects. She is our social media queen, bringing in new ideas and a digital network mindset, but she also likes to experiment a lot when it comes to online posts, graphic solutions, and more. On top of that, she also supported us already with ideas for product design and brings in her own opinion. You will find out if one of our future products will be named ”Clelia”!
Many others supported LaMunt over these last months, and they became important elements in this puzzle that we are trying to put together. Next to Giuseppe – who gave me confidence every time I felt that it was too much, too complex – there are Michela Daniel (who sorted out our minds, calendars, and timelines – I think I would have been lost without her!), Francesco Taboga and his team (who did an amazing job when it came to fabric & trims research and who accepted kindly that we changed our mind several times) and many others.
But also our colleagues from our main brands helped a lot. On behalf of all of them, I would like to mention especially Arno Hofer and Andrea Ranaletti, Antonella Girone, and Lisa Kroess who were of big support in launching LaMunt.
