Grab your munchies as I’m taking you behind the scenes to experience the allure of Nina Leuca: A sustainable luxury brand hailing from the enchanting region of Apulia in southern Italy. Designers have started to reclaim the meaning of what ‘Made in Italy’ truly stands for, and Nina Leuca, Benedetta Rossi’s brand, is a frontrunner in this new generation. Benedetta often goes by the name ‘Nina’, which is the name her mother called her. And 'Leuca' is the name of the place where she was born and spent most of her summers - A small village located on the tip of Puglia, where the Ionian and Adriatic Seas meet.

Nina describes her brand as the land of two seas, a magical place that touches the soul, where it is unclear where it begins but there is no doubt about where it ends.

Nina Leucas’ story is one of tradition and began in the 1800s with her great-great-grandmother Maddalena Santorufo, who owned a tailor shop in Lecce. She was known throughout Italy and had clients in London and Paris too, competing in various competitions with her daughter Lucia (Nina’s great-grandmother). Luica took over the family business expanding it further, which created more and more exposure.

This fashion line was then passed on to Nina’s grandfather, Michele Rossi, and later Giovanna Rollo, Nina’s mother. In 2005 Giovanna opened her own atelier called ‘Gomitolado tricot’ in Lecce, where Nina discovered her own passion, making her first accessories at a very young age, which were sold to major Italian brands.


Discovering her talent, Nina developed her skills through internships at Central Saint Martins and the London College of Fashion, as well as training with Vivienne Westwood and Michelle Lowe Horder. Simultaneously she continued her regular studies and obtained a law degree from the University of Rome.


Upon returning to Lecce, Nina spent the summer in Santa Maria du Leuca once again and there decided to produce her first pieces inspired by the Salento traditions. The brand Nina Leuca was born, inspired the immense creativity for Salento, love for colors, fabrics scents and the magical characterization of this ‘land of the two seas’. Her idea was shaped by reinterpreting traditional fabrics made on manual wooden looms – fabrics that were used for home furnishings and can still be found in some historical residences today. Evidently Nina gave these fabrics a modern and artisanal twist by combining them with fine linens and silks, all made in Salento. Her embellishments and hand embroideries enhanced her pieces giving them a unique touch, authentic to the Nina Leuca brand we know today. Collaborating with a team of talented local women, the vibrant essence of this land was captivating and the beauty of this landscape infused every design and pattern with a kaleidoscope of colors, whilst using all natural fibers like stone-washed linen, cotton and hemp. Nina's bohemian collection reflects the effortless of elegance and refined taste of women of all ages, shapes, and sizes. She produces limited pieces with exquisite imperfections, handmade in her Salento Atelier in Lecce.


For Nina the word 'artisanal' is synonymous to 'sentimentality'. There are no large industrial processes, marketing strategies or business plans behind her pieces, just a simple sentiment, an uncontrollable force driving her to create each modal intuitively using fabrics even without pen and paper. Nina explains that the ideas come without the intent of preconceptions, market research or seasonal trends and colors. Some of her authentic embroideries feature floral or geometric patterns inspired by the culture and territory of Salento.

Discover Nina Leuca - an exquisite example of a brand that embraces its rich cultural heritage and captures the vibrant energy of the southern Italian region. 

See you there,

Addi xoxo