COURTSIDE: LUCIANA SODARO

A company’s history is also made of the dedication and the professionalism that female and male workers gave it through the years. A proof of this, at FILA, is certainly today’s blog guest, Luciana Sodaro. Born in Palermo and raised in Biella, Luciana graduated in Maths at the University of Turin. Her working debut was right in the Savoy city, but in the early Eighties she was hired by our beloved Biellese sportswear brand, where she worked from 1981 to 2004. Luciana has been operating at FILA’s Data Elaboration Centre (CED in Italian); nowadays she’s a huge supporter of the Foundation – especially with her donations for ACHIEVE THE ARCHIVE – and also involved in charity activities. One of them features us as partners: the first AIL Biella, that will take place next Sunday, October 9, at Relais Santo Stefano in Sandigliano. We have prepared exclusive packs for all the winners, serving a worthy cause that Luciana in person is about to reveal us.

FILA’s history deals with a remarkable tradition of female and male champions. Have you ever met some of them?

LUCIANA SODARO: First of all, thank you for involving me in this event, able to keep us close to the brand. Yes, I had the opportunity to meet many athletes…I proudly remember I was ‘colleague’ of Gelindo Bordin, I saw him suggesting shoes to other athletes, he was always able to privilege health and comfort.
Anyway, the most curious meeting I had was with Reinhold Messner: one day I was trying to park my company car in Biella, I was facing some difficulties but he came and kindly helped me, with information and support. They were strange meetings indeed!

What makes FILA clothes so iconic, in your opinion?

LS: FILA products have always been ahead of their time, creating something unique since the very beginning. The introduction of colors on tennis courts, for example, encouraged the production of innovative clothes and accessories, supporting the research of avant-garde design and materials. Their modernity made them unique objects of desire.

Your donations made you one of the most active supporters of ACHIEVE THE ARCHIVE, the ‘swapping’ event thanks to which our Archive, starting from 2020, is enriching its collections with clothes and accessories from the past. Which pieces do you feel you’re closer to, and why?

LS: I love sports, I had the opportunity to practice many, so FILA clothes have always been with me. My best memories are related to the sea: when I was young, I used to spend many Summer holidays with friends and with Enrico, who would have later become my husband. In my pictures swimsuits, sea towels and waxed jackets are never missing…I brought them with me all the time!

Last, but not least: you have involved us in the very first padel tournament by AIL Biella, that will take place at Relais Santo Stefano, Sandigliano, next October 9, Sunday. It’s a charity event (organized by AIL Biella Clelio Angelino): what would you tell our readers to convince them participate?

LS: AIL Biella Clelio Angelino is a volunteering association involved in the assistance of people diagnosed with leukemia and their families. The padel tournament has been organized in order to support the ‘AIL psychologist at the hospital’ project, whose aim is to deal with persons who experience illness every day. It’s going to be a fun day, but also an occasion of solidarity and contact with young people, to reflect on the importance of giving. Living generosity is crucial and really makes you feel good: I would like to thank Fondazione FILA Museum for being so close and all those who are going to come support.