THE FOUNDER
AN EXTRAORDINARY DNA
Entering the exceptional world of the Lamborghini family means encountering one of the most unique parts of the Italian history that has transformed the brand’s Italian style into a worldwide recognized symbol.
Tonino Lamborghini was born in Cento (Ferrara) on October 13, 1947, and is the heir of the Lamborghini dynasty, a family renowned for the creation of an industrial empire within the mechanical and automotive field, between the ’50-80s.
In 1974, he obtains a degree in Political and Economic Sciences at the University of Bologna to then dive right into the family’s businesses becoming president of Lamborghini Oleodinamica S.p.A. and later both vice-president and president of Lamborghini CALOR S.p.A.
A NEW BEGINNING
Despite his many business responsibilities, Tonino decides to focus on his personal passions, accessories and design, and, in 1981, he founds “Tonino Lamborghini Style and Accessories.” Taking inspiration from his previous professional experiences within the field of engineering and mechanics, he is able to create a new brand dedicated to luxury accessories by re-interpreting his family historical values and symbolism.
«During the first part of the ‘80s I was assisting my father in his businesses under the Lamborghini Group, but I felt the need to take-on something that was entirely mine and different from the automotive world. I have always been passionate about fashion and accessories, which is why I invested the few resources I had to create my own entrepreneurial world. My strengths were my ideas, a driving will and a sense of bold cleverness. I truly admire the winning styles of Gucci and Hermès, which played an important role in the creation of my business and its products branded Tonino Lamborghini. Just like Hermès and Gucci have taken inspiration from iconic elements of the equestrian world, such as the stirrup or the horse bit, I was inspired by mechanics elements like bearings, connecting rod, wheel nut and suspensions».
Influenced by his family heritage and professional experiences within mechanical engineering and automotive design, Lamborghini created a Lifestyle Experience Brand that includes a wide range of luxury products. Lamborghini family’s heritage is, in fact, the main source of inspiration for all the brand’s accessories that display stylistic details mainly dedicated to an audience that has a passion for the world of luxury sports cars.
THE FIRST YEARS
Watches, eyewear, small leather goods and apparel are the product categories developed in recent years.
The recognition of Tonino Lamborghini’s style begins in 1983, year during which, after the first successes in the Italian market, Tonino Lamborghini, man of vision, opens the first flagship store in Hong Kong. The former British protectorate immediately proves to be the perfect stepping stone for what was, at the time, the unexplored Asian market, as the brand sees a continuous and organic expansion and growth in the Dragon Country over the years.
The ‘90s represent, for Tonino Lamborghini, years of multiple successes both professional and personal. In 1993, he is determined to represent the tradition and spirit of the world-renowned “Made in Italy” style in all its facets by adopting an innovative strategy of brand extension. He enters the food and beverage industry with the introduction of symbolic delicacies of the Italian culture, such as coffee, wine and pasta, enriching the Italian flavor of the brand. Furthermore, in 2001, Tonino Lamborghini establishes Officina Gastronomica, a new company fully dedicated to his food and wine project. Consecutively to the success of the new brand extension, in 2001 we witness the creation of branded lounges and cafés, which represented the first step in the development of an important hospitality project that will see the birth of branded restaurants, hotels, coffee bars and resorts.
During the same years, more precisely in 1995, the entrepreneur creates the Ferruccio Lamborghini Museum in Dosso (Ferrara, Italy) to celebrate the history of the Lamborghini family and the mechanical talent of his father. A few years later, in 1998, Tonino Lamborghini founds the companies TLR Srl - Golf Cart and Town Life Spa – City Car for the manufacturing of the first small cars in Europe to use electric engines with zero environmental impact.
A CREATIVE SPIRIT – THE BRAND EXTENSION
«My creative instinct is completely free and without limits. An idea can come to my mind in the middle of the night or during a visit at a museum or even during a fair…Eclecticism is part of who I am and it is clearly seen through the diversity of products in my brand’s portfolio and the various themes each collection displays. At the same time, they remain united by an uncompromised spirit, by a passion for all that is Italian and by a strong recall to my family’s heritage».
The brand-extension strategy implemented by the versatile entrepreneur Tonino Lamborghini represents a unique model since its beginning and has become a case study analyzed by many universities, institutes and business schools. Today, it is normal for a brand or a label to develop a 360 degrees lifestyle concept, but Tonino Lamborghini has aimed to be different and original since its first steps: his eclecticism has led him to renovate and diversify his products while staying true to the brand’s origins and values.
In 2011, the Bolognese entrepreneur celebrates the company’s 30 years of business. In the last years, the brand has continued to protect the consolidated business cores and opened up to completely new frontiers adapting its offer to accessories and other design products based on the new needs of the ever changing market. The positioning strategy that the brand is following has seen the advancement of projects dedicated to more exclusive and luxury-focused markets in both the accessories and real-estate fields.
Today the brand offers a wide and heterogeneous variety of products: watches, eyewear, smartphones, perfumes, furniture, apparel, sportive accessories, golf and utility carts, beverage, 5-star hotels, restaurants and branded real estate projects. What ties all product categories is the distinct design that strongly evokes the characterizing values of the family’s history: the passion for cars, mechanical engineering and the Italian spirit.
HONORS/AWARDS
1995 – Mr Lamborghini is appointed as “Honoured Commendatore” by the President of the Italian Republic Scalfaro.
1996 – Mr Lamborghini is appointed as “Señor Don Caballero de Merito con Placa de Plata” by his Royal Majesty Infante of Spain Carlo Borbone of the Sacred Military Constantine Order of Saint George.
2015 – Mr Lamborghini is ordained Honorary Consul of Montenegro in the Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy.
2018 – Mr Lamborghini receives the Honorary Doctorate (D.Litt – Honoris Causa) from the D Y Patil University of Navi, Mumbai, India.
