MILAN–A little over a year ago, through a tip from our sharp-eyed fashion editor Valentina Accardo, I made a Facebook connection with a blazer label named
When I met two of the three stylists-turned founders Corrada Rodriguez D’Acri and Delfina Pinardi in Milan (the third Sole Torlonia lives in Rome), I was instantly romanced by the craftsmanship, history and personalization behind the label. Their British Navy-inspired contours, rounded pockets, golden buttons and their luxe silk, linen and cotton blended materials were like nothing I have seen on the floors of fabric and yarn trade shows like Milano Unica or Pitti Filati.
Each Blazè jacket is made-to-order and crafted by a Milanese tailor and bears unique details like handmade gold buttons, one’s initials embroidered on the lining, rounded pockets and plenty of other pockets for gloss, iPhones and credit cards.
And after chatting in Corrada’s Liberty-Era apartment, eating chocolate cake with them and having a jolly old time trying the jackets on myself, I simply could not help it. I did what no unbiased journalist should ever do: while interviewing them, I put in an order to buy for myself (fyi, it has never been my policy to solicit anything free… at least not as a journalist).
A jacket with my own personalized initials – S.C.- hand sewn in gold thread, the smart iPhone and lipstick pockets and the ornate golden buttons … I saw my daughters wearing my Lady Anne weekend blazer 20 years from now. And certainly meeting these ladies in person and communicating my own taste and body shape issues, was just the icing on the delectable sartorial cake.
Their motto “All You Need Is A Blazer” is ringing more and more true today. It is no surprise that Vogue, W and Style.com have all featured Blazè after they showcased their fall winter 2015/16 during Milan Fashion Week, and their jackets have been spotted on fashion mavens like Caroline de Maigret and a number of A-list Italian stylists.
Unabashed by its elitist, jetset, DNA, the label’s name, Blazè, is a play on the french term blasé. The building blocks of the label were directly inspired by the founders’ passions: horseback riding, seafaring and their fascination with Britain’s Victorian Era – specifically, the type of uniforms worn on the Royal Navy vessel, the HMS Blazer, on the occasion of the royal visit of Queen Victoria herself in 1837.
“The blazer is a piece of your wardrobe that is versatile and can be paired with jeans or even with an evening gown,” Rodriquez D’Acri said.
Timeless indeed, these coats are contemporary yet reminiscent of items that could have washed up in a faded Louis Vuitton trunk from the ill-fated Titanic.
“We believe in personalization,” said Pinardi. “All big brands are produced in huge amounts. We are selling limited edition items,” she added.
For the 2015/16 fall winter season, the trio has added the “Cocoon,” “Robe” and “Colonial” models to their overall array, which is crafted with Savile-Row-inspired materials, as well as duchesse and raffia. One-of-a-kind vintage buttons are also a new feature that they have added to further emphasize the allure of exclusivity that just cannot be found among more commercialized, vanguard brands.
WHO: Corrada Rodriguez D’Acri, Delfina Pinardi and Sole Torlonia
WHAT THEY MAKE: Made to order blazers for women
WHERE THEY ARE SOLD: Through private appointment at www.blaze-milano.com, Fiacchini in Forte dei Marmi
AVERAGE PRICE: EUR700 to EUR1,200
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: Blaze': A Blazer Revolution, CB Made in Italy’s Cecilia Bringheli, RACIL: Smoking the French Way, BACO STYLE: Lidia Pellecchia’s Sartorial Style , Female Sartorial Style: From the Atelier to the Runway , Puglia’s Tagliatore: Amping Up Women’s Wear
