By Dominique Emmen

Florence, Italy – This year’s theme at Pitti 95, “A Surprise Box” (filled with fashion’s latest innovations and trends) did not disappoint visitors to the fair, where there was an abundance of artisanal discoveries waiting to be found. With a set design curated by lifestyler Sergio Colantuoni, Fortezza da Basso was immersed in a variety of themed boxes — each one a vessel of a unique experience. One of the experiences we found most intriguing was at the Precious Box of the MAKE section.

The continuing ‘New Makers’ project by Pitti Immagine gives a new generation of artisans the possibility to share their innovative vision when it comes to craftsmanship, traditional processes and technological developments. In this section, seven countries were represented by 17 exhibitors that each brought their own expertise and contemporary twist to handmade items. One of the brands was Nosakhari London, the accessory brand known for its sleek and unisex designs. Other recurring brands were Bourrienne Paris X, Comme Les Loups and Guanabana Handmade that stood out in the “Cabinet of Curiosities” display designed by multidisciplinary artist Angelo Figus, who has also been the creative force behind Pitti Filati. Representing Italy, there was promising newcomer Cultero and hat brand Cappellificio Biellese:

CULTERO: LUXURY GONE WILD

After 10 years in Ibiza, the founder of Cultero, Ennio Airaghi, moved back to Milan, bringing a breezy, cool island vibe to the Italian footwear market in 2016. Crafted by the best Italian artisans, the different components of a Cultero shoe are only sourced through highly regarded companies in Italy.

The largest part of the production takes place in the same factory as Manolo Blahnik in Marche, the region known for its shoemaking savoir-faire and expert craftspeople. The shoe lasts are uniquely designed for Cultero in Vigevano, so each shoe has its own fit that makes them a bit more edgy over classic models. The leathers used for the uppers are from high-quality tanneries in Vicenza and Tuscany, and are prone to deliver vegetable tanned leathers as well. For the fabrics, Cultero collaborates with weaving companies in Como, famous for their textile manufacturing.

Goodyear Welted Sartorial Footwear Cultero

As for the shoe categories, Cultero reinvented the Spanish espadrilles, infusing them with an elegant and street-savvy character without sacrificing comfort. The subtle and playful details on the upper and sole of the slip-ons can be assigned to Ennio’s background in the graphic arts. However, having in mind the cold winter days, Cultero’s F/W 19 collection has extended its portfolio to loafers and ankle boots, available in different earth tones and leathers. Noteworthy is that these shoes are crafted using the Goodyear Welted method, an assembly process where the upper is sewn directly onto the midsole, without using nails or glue. Simultaneously, this is a slow sustainable process that guarantees a high flexibility and long durability of the footwear.

Cultero’s sartorial footwear is exclusively distributed in multichannel boutiques. Prices range between €150-€500 depending on model.

CB 1935: BRITISH TWEEDS, ITALIAN INTERPRETATION

Since 2013, the British series Peaky Blinders has influenced many men’s wardrobes, with tweed three-piece suits, overcoats and peaked caps aplenty. Cappellificio Biellese was surely a fan as they incorporated their own interpretation of the classic cap in their collection, named “The Peaky.”

Cappellificio Biellese started in 1935 in Biella, a small valley in Piemonte, where the production of hats was of great importance in that time. Nowadays, Biella is still famous for its textile production – wool mills from Zegna, Cerutti, Vitale Barberis Canonico and others can be found here. What’s interesting about CB 1935, is that despite being in this rich area of wool producers, they draw lots of inspiration from the British and Irish culture. Their brand portfolio consists of hats, caps and beanies that are interpretations of classic overseas models or reinventions of their own archive.

 
According to the brand, their aim is to incorporate classic British style and fabrics (e.g. tweeds) with handmade Italian craftsmanship and elegance. The result is a high-quality product that gives customers the excellence of both nations. One of the examples is the Cricket cap, which internal lining origins from Brunello S.p.A. and its fabrics from Vitale Barberis. Both companies are known for their excellence in suits and jackets and give the traditional English cap a luxury feel.

For their F/W 19 collection, Cappellificio has created a special limited edition in collaboration with Vitale Barberis. The wool mill shared 20 different types of characteristic fabrics, categorized by overcoat (winter mood), four ply (travel mood), flannel (business mood) and jacket (sport mood). Each of the categories has been matched by a model of the hat brand for their capsule collection; the Henry cap (flannel), Cougan cap (jacket), Peaky cap (four ply) and the County cap (overcoat). Though they are specialised in textiles, they also showcased a footwear project at Pitti, a prototype of a dialogue between leather and fabrics.

 
Besides having their collection available online (€60-€80), customers can also personalize their own hat, according to shape and fabric.

MILAN-Old traditions die hard in Italy, where it is still difficult to find a tailor that accepts all major credit cards.  But last month, a small e-commerce that sells tailored menswear, became the first Made in Italy e-commerce to accept bitcoin transactions. Lanieri, whose main investor is luxury textile giant Reda 1865, started as a student project by two MBA students at the Collège des Ingénieurs in Paris. The project became a reality and was later awarded the Premio Nazionale per l’Innovazione (National Innovation Prize) in 2012 and later, the Netcomm Award for the best clothing and accessories commerce. Today, with tailoring facilities all over Northern Italy, Lanieri provides Italian suits, as well as chinos, shirts, ties and scarves, all over the world. Their suits, which run north of about EUR550, are crafted with fabrics from Italy’s top mills: Reda 1865, Vitale Barberis Canonic, Ermenegildo Zegna and Loro Piana, just to name a few.

Keeping up with technology, is essential in securing its future, Lanieri’s founders said.

Virtual and digital cryptocurrencies that protect the consumer’s identity are all the rage these days – with everyone from Chinese oligarchs to college kids stampeding into the unregulated waters of virtual currency.   Larger, e-commerce players have been slow to embrace the revolution which through payment systems like BitPay makes it easier for online retailers to skirt fees associated with credit card transactions. BACO chats with the 34-year-old co-founder of the online reality that is shipping Italian tailored suits all over the world.

SC: Simone, we are still wrapping our head around cryptocurrency, and the risks, but tell us how one can make a payment with it on your website?

SM: We accept only bitcoin payments at the moment. Bitcoin payments represent 50 percent of the market capital of all cryptocurrencies. There are a lot of them, as you may know […] like Litecoin, Zcash and Altcoins. So far we have had very few transactions, but we linked up with a bitcoin service provider called BitPay — it is like Paypal for Bitcoin and so we think this is definitely the future.

SC: Everyone seems to be investing in Bitcoin… even my 22 year old brother and his college roommates. Crazy. Do you invest?

SM: I do, not a lot, but I do invest in Bitcoins.

SC: You are currently the only Italian e-tailer that is accepting bitcoin payments. Why such a bold move?

The idea was sparked when one of our clients came to us about if we would consider accepting it. We wanted to really establish ourselves as a fashion tech company. That’s what we are, how we started, and we want to show that we sell a traditional product but we are truly a tech company. We already use STRIPE for example, which is a commerce payment toolkit of arts.

Fashion and tech means a lot of things today. Bitcoin seems to be beckoning a revolution. What do you think?

I think that blockchain startups are revolutionizing the world and that the terrain will seem extremely different in the years to come. Consider that in 2000, amid the dotcom bubble, Google and Amazon were born. They are now the biggest players. We are living in an era where the new BIG leaders will be born.

In terms of your business, are sales growing?

Yes, in 2016 we booked 2M euro in sales and we hope to book 4M, or double by the end of this year.

What are your key markets?

Italy represents the lion share but France and Brussels are also emerging as key markets. In terms of extra-EU, four percent of our sales are booked in the US. We currently ship to 55 countries worldwide.

Your competitors are making elegant products, but in China. In your opinion, how do you compare?

We work with industrial tailors, and that may sound bad, but really these facilities are making amazing, high end products. We link with manufacturers who do our shirts, suits, ties. Our biggest investor is Reda 1865 [Italy’s luxury wool mill] and they give us a lot of advice. As engineers, we speak a language that they don’t but they offer us the advice we need to really make beautiful products.

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: 

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