MILAN–If Corrada Rodriguez d’Acri had been born into the pre-Unification days that Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa so vividly illustrated in his novel “The Leopard,” she definitely would have been waltzing under the Prince of Salina’s gilded ceiling. In the 21st century, however, she spends her holidays rolling her sleeves up, in a family-effort to preserve their 18th century home and to perpetuate their wine and oil business. 

Corrada is the creative force behind the made-to-order blazer label Blaze’ that she runs with two friends: Delfina Pinardi and Sole Torlonia.

Her career trajectory took off in Milan, where she got her start as a stylist for glossies such as Italian Elle. Her Sicilian roots and its Greek and Baroque landmarks and decor, however, have been crucial to her artistic approach.

“Baroque can be quite heavy, but if you have a good sense of visual composition, and you know where you need to position things and balance,” Corrada said, noting she took course in Fine Art, an education that aids her in restoring the home once lived in by her great grandfather. Even though she grew up in Rome and now lives in Milan, their Sicilian home, which is situated in a small town outside of Messina, represents real family time for her and her four siblings.

“My Sicilian side is not in my clothes or how I dress, but I do like small jewelry, charms and necklaces with saints like the Madonna and Jesus on the cross. Sicilians are very connected to symbols.”

BACO’s Editor in Chief chats with Corrada about personal style: 

Occupation: Designer, Entrepreneur

Age: 34

Personal Style: “Masculine but deep down on the inside I like a good dose of girly femininity.”

Always: Blazers

Never: “I would never wear gym clothes unless for sports and activities”

 CORRADA SHARES HER SICILY:

Is women’s fashion becoming more conservative? Are we obfuscating the lines between casual, work and evening wear even more? Is the Savile Row men’s craze bleeding into women’s wear? Or has the “safe fashion” Kate Middleton-effect marched from Kensington Palace and onto the runways of Milan and Paris?

This fall winter 2015/16 fashion season, I spotted lots of sartorial looks for women on the catwalk. But in reality, I had my eye on the trend a bit earlier, especially after interviewing brands like Kiton and Rubinacci in September, who both told me about the growing appetite for women’s made-to-measure men’s items. In fact fabled Neapolitan suit maker Kiton this season unfurled a women’s ready-to-wear collection in the spirit of their men’s line.

In terms of bespoke, our curves make it a bit difficult for traditional Neapolitan tailors, who lived through WWII and are used to dressing the quintessential Italian gentleman.

“There is one huge problem,” Luca Rubinacci told me. “It has to do with the anatomy of the woman. Tailors groan when a woman wants to make a bespoke blazer. It is no easy task.”

Still, the blazer is one of the easiest things a woman can put on. What really inspired this issue was an encounter that took place over one year ago, when I discovered a brand named Blazè, which at the time, functioned as a small atelier, much like the millinery that Coco Chanel serviced her friends with before she became a worldwide sensation. Met with coffee, homemade cake and girly chatter, I was able to create my own signature blazer with my initials and my measurements. I now have three. Since then, Blazè has been featured in Vogue, W and Style.com and is on an upward trajectory that, you never know, could be similar to Coco’s. I like to think so.

All of this has reminded me of the fashion hall of famers that have made the tomboy look so sexy: Catherine Deneuve, Katharine Hepburn, Bianca Jagger, Diane Keaton and even Emmanuelle Alt. They all share a certain kind of male confidence that makes them so appealing, especially among other women.

I once heard Carolina Herrera say in an interview that the most fashionable thing a woman can wear is something she feels comfortable in. A blazer facilitates that sense of comfort and highlights the face and the décolletage. 

I think Kiton’s Maria Giovanna Paone (daughter of the brand’s founder Ciro) describes the phenomenon best: “Women’s minds are continuously changing. Men’s interests now are also women’s interests.”

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 

 SEE HOW THE BLAZER TREND WENT FROM ARTISAN TO THE RUNWAY IN THIS GALLERY: 

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 Blazè.

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 

BACO tracks the female sartorial look from the atelier to the runway this season. See how the trend evolved in our gallery: