Luxury vegan shoe brand Aera joined forces with Italian fashion and design school Istituto Marangoni for its spring/summer 2026 campaign.
Inspired by the beauty of Liguria, on the northwest Italian coast, the collection reflects the region’s soft coastal palette and understated elegance.
The season also marks a first for the brand: the introduction of Aera’s inaugural print, developed from a floral watercolor painting.
Over the recent semester, five graduate students specializing in visual communications and art direction designed a campaign to bring the narrative to life.
“Collaboration is central to how we create, and working with Istituto Marangoni Florence was a natural extension of that,” said Tina Bhojwani, founder of Aera. “The students, who represent the future of our industry, brought a thoughtful, modern perspective, capturing the collection’s softness and sense of place with clarity and restraint.”
Here, the students weigh in on their experience with the brand:
“Working with Aera was an extremely formative experience, as we got the chance to work on a campaign with the standards and expectations of a real luxury brand. Aera’s promise to ethical luxury and high-quality design challenged us to think beyond the visual and create a story that was aspirational, but real. The project quickly evolved into a real collaboration, a test in creativity and strategic storytelling as a class, bringing together different perspectives to create a campaign that was true to the brand’s identity but also to our creative vision.” — Anastasianna Vatou
“It was inspiring to translate our ideas into something that felt relevant beyond the classroom.” — Louise Naessens
“It was a pleasure to develop the campaign. An inspiring project with a strong creative vision and seamless collaboration from start to finish.” — Francisca Carvalho
“Working with such an innovative and sustainable brand was a fun and demanding experience. Tasked with elevating their new line up, we managed to capture [the brand’s] identity and let their natural fabrics shine. Proving that sustainability, quality and luxury go hand-in-hand is one of modern fashion’s main goals, and I believe we managed it here.” — Luana Zibetti
“Collaborating with Aera was an inspiring opportunity to connect our academic experience at Istituto Marangoni with the reality of the fashion industry. We appreciated the chance to creatively interpret the brand’s identity while exploring new approaches to visual storytelling. This collaboration allowed us to grow both creatively and professionally, encouraging experimentation, teamwork, and innovation.” — Ludovica Vullo
