Designing diversity... with love from Italy

Pune girl Neha Poorswani recently emerged as the first Indian fashion designer and shoe-preneur to showcase her collection in the recently concluded Spring Summer 2023 fashion week in Milan, Italy. Cheering her on was her Italian husband Marco Vinto, also the co-founder of their brand Runway Reinvented that focuses on fun, kitch and impactful footwear.

An artistic little girlie from the word go, Neha Poorswani has always had a passion for colour, fabric and design. Encouraged by a fashion savvy mom who believed in her, pursuing fashion design in the US was a logical step. “It was hard work but fun. However, I knew that when it came to the heart of fashion, Milan was where I needed to be,” she says. With some thought and consideration, it made sense to move to Milan to pursue fashion styling in 2014.

Even as she learnt the ropes of the fashion world and settled into a whole, new way of life, it was a given she would meet new people. And that’s how she met Marco Vinto…on a dating app. From the word go, there was a deeper connect between the two. “After that first meal together, we knew this would go further,” says Neha. For the one reason that despite being the opposites in every way, there was a shared chemistry. Never mind that he’s Italian; she’s Indian’; he’s calm and collected, she a bright shade of red. He’s grounded, while she’s always in emergency mode.

When it’s meant to be, it is meant to be. “We dated for close to 2 or 3 years before gradually and naturally progressing to marriage. It just happened-no dramatic moments, honestly,” she says.

“Despite our different personalities, we share a common passion for creating beautiful things,” says Marco. A qualified product designer from the Politecnico di Milano (the Polytechnique at Milan), he has his own take on all things bold and beautiful.

A natural offshoot of the conversation and connect was the birth of Runway Reinvented. “I love shoes. They are a significant part of the styling world, and yet, there’s so much more to be done, especially in the segment of women’s footwear,” says Neha. Thanks to his technical background, Marco was able to help with the concept and function designs. “From the outset we were clear that we wanted to step away from the safe path of simplicity and elegance. It’s nice, yes. But it does not push the envelope. We wanted footwear that’s whimsical, fun, romantic and yet not afraid of making an impact. In other words, we would reinvent the shoes on the runway—and that’s how the name Runway Reinvented was born,” he says.

While Neha designs and looks after the front-end, Marco helps with the accounts and back-end. It’s been a tough journey-getting the shoes off the ground (pun intended!) but they’ve both come a long way. “While a lot of things have evolved in the last 4 years with Runway Reinvented, one factor has been a constant throughout: the accent on sustainability and environmentally friendly fabric. We don’t want to contribute to a negative footprint in anyway,” says Marco.

Despite having trained abroad, Neha’s Indian roots are reflected in her love of colour, embroideries and embellishments-something she flaunts proudly and with aplomb on her shoes as well as her recent line of clothes. “That’s the point of fashion. To make room for assorted expressions,” she says. The interesting part of the clothing line is that it produced with ateliers that produce for Versace and Chanel.

THE MANTRAS OF A MARRIAGE

• Celebrating differences
• Keeping the conversation going
• Sharing passions and dreams.

"While Neha designs and looks after the front-end, Marco helps with the accounts and back-end. It’s been a tough journey-getting the shoes off the ground, but they’ve both come a long way"

The building blocks of a marriage

Currently based out of Milan, Italy, life is hectic but happy. While Marco works with the IT firm Salesforce as a user experience designer, Neha’s days are full of connecting with modelling agencies, doubling up as a stylist plus developing her line of ready to wear pret-a-porter collection.

Given how diverse their backgrounds are, what did their families think of the match? “Luckily for us, everyone was very open minded. I had been living abroad for a long time, so I guess my parents were mentally prepared for the fact that I could choose a partner from another culture. As for his side, they too were happy to welcome me. Honestly, there was no resistance from anyone,” she says.

However, she concedes, dating is vastly different from being married. As it happens, the young couple was tested at the outset of their married life. Their Indian wedding was followed by the onset of the pandemic which hit Italy the hardest in the first wave. “While he lost his grandad, we were stuck in Pune, due to the travel restrictions. It was a very tough time indeed,” she says. “But we learnt to make it work.”

Different cultures do translate to different friends, likes and likes. “You have to find common ground,” says Marco. “Both Indian and Italian cultures have one thing in common: food and family and roots are very important. Participate in each other’s way of life…that’s how it works.”

A case in point would be the food cooked at home. “From pasta and wine to, dal chawal and aloo matar, we eat it all,” she says. “Marco enjoys Indian food as long as it isn’t spicy.”

Three years of dating followed by two and a half years of marriage. What, according to both, are the building blocks of a relationship? Both Marco and Neha are unanimous in their answer. “Being best friends-and being able to talk about anything under the sun-helps. Apart from that, you need to have some common passions that you can pursue together,” they say.

While beauty and fashion are one love, the other involves food and books. “We enjoy eating breakfast together and sharing and exchanging books,” says Marco.

Like every other couple, the duo have their own way of resolving conflict. “I bring in the conflict. He resolves it. It’s simple,” laughs Neha. “Jokes apart, we are temperamentally different and this has its pluses and minuses.”

As part of the “We are Made in Italy group” that propagates diversity and inclusion in the Italian Fashion world, Neha nevertheless says that it will take some time before the famously closed circles of Milan will open their doors a bit more easily to newer influences-in the way cities like New York, London and Paris have.

In the meantime, though, it’s a journey full of hard work, discovery, and lots of colour.