Beyond the Logo: Building Authentic Brands in the Age of Transparency

What does it mean to build a brand that people actually believe in? In the first part of the panel of Re:Nari, Suhani Surana and Anshika Mangla, Mumbai-born, Milan-based co-founders, sit down with two industry veterans at their first Creative Collective event in Milan a gathering of their growing community of founders, creatives, and cultural professionals for an honest conversation about where the luxury and fashion world is heading. The discussion moves across quiet luxury, founder-led storytelling, the death of the logo as status symbol, and what it now takes for a brand to earn genuine cultural credibility. As Gen Z and Millennial consumers demand authenticity over aspiration, the rules of brand-building are being rewritten and these are two women who have been ahead of that curve for years. Orietta Pelizzari is a Milan-based cross-cultural business strategist with over 25 years of experience at the intersection of fashion, design, and luxury. Special Project Consultant for Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, Global Advisor for the Italian Trade Agency, and Co-Owner of Mattori Studio, she has built her career helping brands scale globally while preserving what makes them worth scaling with a particular focus on Made in Italy across Asia, the US, the Middle East, and Europe. Daniela Russo is a São Paulo-born, Milan-based brand strategist and founder of Métier Tropical. With two decades of experience across Bally and Wolford in global marketing and omnichannel communications, she now runs her own consultancy helping luxury brands launch and grow on the European and global stage. Together they explore how brands build trust in a landscape where consumers have never been more discerning from the craft and cultural storytelling redefining luxury to the new rules of founder visibility, and what it takes to translate a brand across cultures without losing its soul.