Meet the Team
Lili Cacopardo
FOUNDER | HEAD OF DESIGN AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTLili Cacopardo has over twenty years of experience in the international fashion and design industry. Her career includes work with Premiata, Bally, Dolce & Gabbana in Milan as well as senior roles in design development and project management across Europe.
Shaped by in-depth material research, technical development, and strategic project work, she combines aesthetic clarity with functional and process-driven thinking. Within the studio, she contributes across concept development, material selection, product development, and project coordination, supporting projects with a strong focus on quality, feasibility, and sustainability.
Lili Cacopardo is a footwear designer, entrepreneur and product development specialist with more than twenty years of experience creating premium collections for international brands including Premiata, Bally, Dolce & Gabbana and Peter Kaiser. She also founded her own premium footwear brand, gaining first-hand experience across the entire product journey: from brand strategy and product development to sourcing, production, retail and e-commerce.
She combines creative direction, technical expertise and commercial thinking to transform ideas into market-ready products with a strong focus on quality, sustainability, comfort, feasibility and long-term brand value.
Lili Cacopardo
Lili has designed shoes for more than twenty years and has led design at three very different houses: Dolce & Gabbana in Milan, Navyboot in Zurich and Peter Kaiser in Pirmasens. At D&G, she designed for runway and luxury collections. At Navyboot and Peter Kaiser, her premium shoe designs were made to be worn every day. Early in her career she was solely responsible for Premiata’s men’s, women’s and sport lines.
In 2022 she launched COPARDO, her own made-in-Italy shoe brand, so she knows the founder’s side first-hand: sourcing, production costs and selling. She also lectures at the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, teaching design process, material research and product development.
At Copardo Studio she leads design and development, from first sketch to production.
Fiona Podes
CLIENT RELATIONS & PROJECT MANAGEMENTFiona Podes leads brand development and client partnerships at Copardo Studio. She works with founders to align how each product fits in the brand strategy. As designs move through development and production, she makes sure that intent carries through.
Her background includes brand development work in New York. As an American based in Europe, she brings a US consumer perspective to European manufacturing and keeps communication clear between the client team and the collaborators making the product.
Teresa Pillan
LEATHER GOODS & ACCESSORIES DESIGNER | PRODUCT MANAGERTeresa Pillan is a senior leather goods designer based in Milan with extensive experience in the development of men’s and women’s accessories for fashion and lifestyle brands. After graduating in Industrial Design at Politecnico di Milano, her career led her to work with internationally renowned brands including Dolce & Gabbana, Valextra, and Police.
Her work spans the full design and development process, from early concept definition to product realization. She combines creative vision with strong technical understanding and deep expertise in leather goods, material selection, and product development. Her work focuses on translating brand identity into coherent, market-oriented leather goods collections, supported by precise technical development and the coordination of technical packs with international suppliers.
In the Press
Aletha Talks, March 2024
“Copardo: Our customer doesn’t just want to wear her shoes for one season, but for years to come”
Interview with Lili and influencer Gitta Banko at Shoes Düsseldorf about their COPARDO x Gitta Banko shoe collection, and what it takes to launch a new shoe brand. (English)
Rheinpfalz, March, 2024 : “Neuer Pop-up-Store bietet Luxus, Kunst und Design” [New pop-up store offers luxury, art and design]
On the COPARDO pop-up store in Landau and Lili’s path from Dolce & Gabbana and Peter Kaiser to her own label. (German)
Rheinpfalz, August, 2022 : “Schuhe aus Ananas: Landauerin entwirft eigene Kollektion” [Shoes made from pineapple: Landau designer creates her own collection]
Profile of Lili’s career and the launch of COPARDO, her sustainability-focused shoe brand made in Italy. (German)
We wouldn’t be anywhere without our artisans…
