The “COFFA”, from Arabic “QUFFA”, meaning “BASKET”, is a handmade basket of natural materials. It is about weaving palmetto leaves by hand. Still today, around San Vito lo capo, a small town in the Province of Trapani, it isn’t rare to meet local artisans who work them by hand. According to the island’s rural tradition, the coffa used to serve to carry the horses’ provender, and to allow women to engage in the so-called “viscuglia” (olives, pistachio and almonds harvesting).
History
Today, this straw bag has turned into a real fashionable accessory. It is decorated with baroque motives, typical of the Sicilian “carretti” (carts), now being considered a perfect souvenir to get from a trip to Sicily.
Usually the coffe are decorated with pompons, golden little mirrors, coins and colourful tassels, preserving their joyful summary style, even in winter.
Here’s where I started thinking, since everything has already been invented, it only remains for me to strip away the rules, moving away from commonplaces. I want to give a new life to my artworks, I don’t want them to taste like the sun, the sea, the salt, even in winter.
Therefore, I reworked them in velvet, silk, flannel, damask tissue, soft eco fur, decorated with trimmings normally used to refine couches and curtains, rhinestone chains, tassels, ribbons, always in accordance with the Sicilian tradition, which wants them to be as decked as possible: the more baroque, the better.
A new style, basically. My Coffe Reali are made to be worn with charme, going hand in hand with oversize coats, big scarves and camperos, as well as with fancier outfits, to fill them with an unusual little flamboyant touch. It goes without saying, a woman wearing a Coffa Reale is a self-confident one, being it tough for her to go unnoticed.
The Coffe Reali are entirely artisanal, and, for this reason, each piece is unique.