Prostitutes as Trendsetters: Veronica Franco
16th-century Venice didn’t have fashion shows, fashion weeks, or influencers’ unboxing videos, but its courtesans were fashionistas who set new trends whenever they graced the banks of the canals. One of the most famous of them was Veronica Franco—a courtesan, poet, women’s rights advocate, and philanthropist. As a young girl she, received the same level of education as her brothers, due to her father—a man ahead of his time—which was an unusual opportunity for a woman at the time.
As a teenage girl, she got married to an older man, a respectable doctor. During her marriage, she had an affair with a wealthy merchant from Dubrovnik. The affair lasted for months (or years) until she got pregnant. Franco accepted the fact that she would give birth to a child that wasn’t her husband’s, asked for a divorce, and continued on her own—as a courtesan. She started to mingle among well-learned men, writers, and painters, where she caught the attention of Domenico Venier, a patron and advocate of women writers who will become her lifelong friend.
Besides providing earthly pleasures, Franco was very skilled in verses and she was a first woman whose poems were published. Franco published two collections of poems, “Terze Rime” and “Lettere Familiar a Diversi,” that were not only love poems but also intellectual critiques and reflections on society. Franco wrote essays advocating for the education and empowerment of women—a revolutionary stance in patriarchal society. Her intellectual and societal rebellion made her a pioneer long before the feminist movement took hold.
No title, Veronica Franco, 16th century
We danced our youth in a dreamed of city;
Venice, paradise, proud and pretty.
We lived for love and lust and beauty;
Pleasure then our only duty.
Floating them twixt heaven and Earth;
And drank on plenties blessed mirth.
We thought ourselves eternal then;
Our glory sealed by God’s own pen.
But paradise, we found is always frail;
Against man’s fear will always fail.
Franco’s intellectual superiority saved her life when she was accused of witchcraft. She defended herself alone, with such eloquence that she was acquitted. Franco attracted the intellectual elite of Venetian society into her salon—poets, artists, philosophers, and influential men, and remained remembered as a muse of Tintoretto, a rule-breaking genius painter, one of the Great Masters of Renaissance. Until the plague outbreak, Franco’s influence and wealth were such that she managed to support herself, her three sons, and several of their tutors and servants. In the plague era, like many other people, she ran away out of the city, and by the time she came back, her house was robbed and most of her wealth stolen.
With her peculiar sartorial style, Franco was like a magnet, attracting the gazes of both men and women. She often dressed up in fine gowns with men’s trousers underneath. The necklines of her dresses were as deep as her verses, while her heels were as high as the moral standards of the Venetian Republic. Other women looked to her as a beacon of what could be achieved with intellect and determination. She wasn’t just influencing fashion; she was influencing the fabric of Venetian society.
Branding takeaway: Innovation from the margins of society
Franco teaches us that innovation often comes from those on the margins, unconventional or overlooked groups. Her unique perspective, unbound by societal constraints, allowed her to pioneer new ideas. By looking beyond mainstream sources, brands today can benefit from engaging with unconventional communities to spot fresh ideas. It’s in these overlooked spaces that true innovation is born, trends are set and new ideas are adopted. Brands should free themselves of keeping pace with competition in fulfilling current market demands in a predictable way, but to keep an eye on novelty aligned with their own values. Only then they will be able to please consumers with the products or services they didn’t know they needed.