hf FASHIONINSIDER
Carmen Borgonovo and Joana de Noronha, co-founders of label Borgo de Nor, have imbued their designs with colour and powerful prints
Although Carmen Borgonovo and Joana de Noronha had both worked in the fashion industry for 20 years, and also shared mutual friends, they didn’t actually meet until some time later when they attended a dinner party. And this long overdue meeting marked the beginning of something exciting.
“It’s incredible,” Carmen tells us when we meet. “And the funny thing is, I’d heard so much about Joana, we’d known about each other for years. But, if we hadn’t met we wouldn’t be here right now… it was serendipitous.”
At this first encounter, the pair discussed their different skills and experiences. Carmen has a rich background in editorial, having worked as a stylist and editor for various publications including W magazine, US Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
Joana’s positions have included a sales role at Diane von Furstenberg and head of wholesale at Heidi Klein; and in 2013 she launched Barefoot Chic, which is a London showroom that represents high-end resort and swimwear.
“We always say it was a good marriage from the beginning,” Joana smiles. “Both of our inputs have been very complementary: I come from a B2B background and have been working in sales for quite some time – so I have knowledge about product, pricing and what’s lacking in the market and where.
“That, together with Carmen’s amazing taste and all her editorial work and styling, I think it was a recipe for success from the beginning.”
With their skill-sets perfectly aligned, the next step was to explore various options and determine how they could manifest their vision. “We knew we wanted to create a dress brand and at the time we saw a gap in the market for gorgeous niche print dresses, that are luxury, but below a £2,000 price point,” Carmen explains.
“And that space was not at all busy at that point,” Joana adds. “Things have changed a bit over the years but, at the time, we had a very unique positioning and that obviously also helped.”
Borgo de Nor launched in London in 2017 and is now stocked globally, with the UK and US being its biggest territories. Along with their style and business credentials, what was also crucial initially is that they both had plenty of strong contacts in the industry. Meaning, from the get-go, they had a platform whereby they could place the brand with all the right retailers, including Net-a-porter and Matches Fashion, both of which stocked their inaugural collection.
“We didn’t have to go through that struggle of spending years trying to get the brand out there and attract attention. And I think that aspe
