OUR STORY

Our story is about a forgotten girl, a legendary iconic Italian fashion brand, our Mother Earth, and you. The story begins one afternoon in early 2017 while we were researching historic photographs of American life. Looking at old artwork - forgotten artwork - paintings and sketches and lithographs that haven't seen the light of day in years and years and years, and then, here before our eyes, unexpectedly - appeared a girl - this girl. 

ALTINO - STRONG FIT SMART BEAUTIFUL - BEAUTY GIRL
Look closely at her, look at her face - look at how fearless she is, how smart she seems. Look at her arms held in the air - she is very strong, look at the arch of her body and the tone of her legs - she is fit, and look at her, really look at her - she is beautiful !

In that moment, in the time it just took you to read that description, the vision of a fashion mission was formed. This girl - well she embodies everything to cherish about being a girl, about being a woman. In short - she is STRONG, FIT, SMART, and BEAUTIFUL.

There is hardly any idea more beautiful than a woman who has the qualities of strength, fitness, intelligence, grace and beauty.

Our "strong, fit, smart, beautiful" mantra defines us perfectly.

That's the first part of the story - the message, the mission, the life goal, the mantra.

Part II - A Legendary Italian Fashion Brand

Like most people we decided to give this company a name... but what name would be honorable for such an important mission?

Here is our story of rebirth - a magical rebirth of a fashion name that began nearly 500 years ago - established circa 1534.

We searched for many weeks for a name to give this fashion company, to give this concept and message that her image instantaneously inspires.

After endless searching we had nothing - no name - that would fit her, nothing that would honor her intensity, her strength, fitness, intelligence and beauty.

Then magic again... it happened again.

Sometime around 1:00AM in the morning we were sitting alone in our work room - searching for a name. We opened her picture on a laptop, this etching of her from a long time ago. We said to her as we sat there with fingers on the keys - tell us... tell us... TELL US - what do you want to say? Without hesitation the fingers began typing and we slowly sounded out the letters A, L, T, I, N, O, S, A, H, I, E...

We looked at what was typed:

"A L T I N O S A H I E"

WHAT? What is that? We said.

As we looked closer we noticed something - mmmm - what is A L T I N O ?

Interesting... so began our search for the meaning of these letters...

What appeared an obscure collection of letters proved to be a significant connection from 500 years ago, through the recent past in American history, to today - that early morning!

Within minutes our hair was standing on every edge, and our bodies were alive with the tingle of magic.

What - Who - How? How did that happen?

What she put before us, what she lead us to was the name of a legendary iconic Italian fashion brand, the name ALTINO.

ALTINO is / was / still is / a small village in Italy - who's early artisan history had been to provide the highest fashion designs to the powerful young noble women in early Venezia (Venice), Italy.

Even after being driven out of their port-side-village by conquerors, these artisan fashion designers reformed - building a fortressed village at the top of a nearby mountain. Legend has it that today's fortress village of ALTINO was founded in 452 A.D. by these Venetian refugees who escaped oppression following the burning of the Roman military harbor at Altinum (today's Quarto d'Altino). Occupied, forgotten, oppressed - but never ever truly conquered - ALTINO came back into recorded history sometime around 1534 during the medieval period.

It is from this unique historic vantage - high above the delta plains of Italy, a tiny fortressed village of expert artisan fashion professionals, with a population around 2,000 people, that present day ALTINO exists where they still designed and manufactured fashion apparel of the highest European standards and quality for many of Europe's great fashion houses.

TODAY, we are honored and humbled to continue this long and profound history of this iconic fashion brand - perhaps the first true fashion brand in all the world - the brand ALTINO. Established (circa) 1534.

ALTINO SAHIE - STRONG FIT SMART BEAUTIFUL - READY TO SAVE THE WORLD!