Roberto Coin's theory of Venice as a microcosm of the wider world rests on the floating city's long and rich history as medieval Europe's most important entrepôt.
Roberto Coin, the namesake jeweler behind the Vicenza-based brand, hosted a group of editors from Robb Report, WWD, Goop, and Oprah Daily at Il Ballo del Doge, a masquerade ball during Venice Carnival. Coin, who was born in nearby Venice, explained that to truly understand the floating city, one must attend the lavish event.
Coin’s guests were outfitted in 17th- and 18th-century period costumes by Antonia Sautter, a Venetian fashion designer and event planner. The guests arrived at the palatial venue, Palazzetto Pisani, on the Grand Canal in style, adorned in elaborate gowns, masks, and hats.
Upon entering the palace, masked performers wearing feathered hats and standing on stilts greeted the guests in true Venetian fashion. The scene was set with an all-female band playing classical instruments in white attire, adorned with angel-wing headpieces, against a backdrop of performers on stilts.
Coin, dressed like an 18th-century Venetian prince in a gold brocade coat, presided over the affair with his wife, Pilar, and their sons, Carlo and Kevin, in attendance. Coin’s elder son serves as vice president and CEO of Roberto Coin S.p.A, the brand’s Vicenza-based parent company.
The guests were seated upstairs at a lavishly decorated dinner table adorned with fruits, flowers, candelabra, glassware, dinner plates, and decorative items like the winged Lion of St. Mark, Venice’s mascot, piled high enough to partially obscure the view of fellow guests.
The evening featured extravagant performances by singers and dancers, showcasing their skills in both classical set pieces and a vogueing rendition of a Madonna song, to the delight of the guests.
Coin, keen on highlighting the enduring legacy of his brand, explained that the recent announcement that the Watches of Switzerland Group acquired Roberto Coin Inc.—the company that holds distribution rights for the jewelry brand in the U.S., Canada, Central America, and the Caribbean—did not include Roberto Coin S.p.A.
“We sold the distribution, which I think is a good thing for the United States,” Coin said toward the end of the evening. “Basically, you will see us for a long, long, long time.”
