We are often asked what is the significance and meaning behind The Rooster. It is my wife’s family crest, but the whole story has a much deeper meaning to me. Many years ago when I was a very young man and just starting out, almost all of our production was made in Italy. While there, I used to stay at the home of the owner of a small shirt factory located outside of a small village called Rezatto in the Brescia province. He was a dear friend, and was one of those larger than life characters with a real passion for his work, and everything else he touched. He was my mentor not only in the fashion business, but also in life. He owned a beautiful country home, and after a long day of work we would sit outside in the early evening, and he would share a song, a meal, a tale, and always a few glasses of wine. Everything he did, he did with joy, gusto and ceremony. One of the things that he loved was this beautiful Rooster he owned that he let run free around the property. He loved how the Rooster strutted around the courtyard with such presence and majesty. He used to tell me “look how it chases away the dogs with just his personality and confidence”.  “This is why the hens love him”, he would say with a wink and a laugh. My friend said that it inspired him every morning when The Rooster would crow with zest celebrating the beginning of a new day. I think he loved that bird so much because it reflected the same great positive appetite for life that my friend had. Years later my dear friend died in a car accident, no doubt driving too fast, without a seatbelt, and probably smoking a cigarette and singing along to the radio. I miss his friendship but his passion and memory continues to inspire me.

When we developed EQ I decided to use The Rooster to celebrate his life, and use it as the symbol of my inspiration to create a line that captures the spirit of the man and the bird he loved.

Paolo Dorigo

Founder and President