There are two ways to discover new (or new-to-you) makers at Pitti: You walk the show floor and visit booths to see what’s what; or you bump into random people and discover they have a brand. If I were a buyer I’d have to schedule my time more carefully and would be more limited to what I could find on the show floor, or find out who may have a rented space in town during the event (for instance, 100 Hands always has an apartment for a trunk show in Florence during Pitti for appointments, fittings, etc., but they do not participate in Pitti Uomo).
As a writer, the serendipitous moments of meeting someone who happens to have a brand are more fun. At last summer’s Pitti, for instance, I met Francesco Maglia in this way, who makes high-quality custom umbrellas.
This summer at Pitti 104, I met three such people with brands I became familiar with and am excited to share with you. I’ll also share one other brand who hosted a booth on the Pitti show floor for the first time this year.
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Original Madras Trading Company
Madras fabric has a well worn history. The story of Indian weavers appropriating Scottish tartans worn by the occupying Imperial forces, remaking them in a breezy cotton cloth with brighter colors is the stuff of legends. Later when Ivy stalwarts discovered the cloth and introduced it to the WASP set, they recast the poor quality color dyes used—which were not colorfast in washing—as a feature, not a bug: “Guaranteed to bleed.” As the environmentally disastrous effects of those dyes were discovered, and banned, many old-timers would wax nostalgic about the sloppy color of the madras of their youth.
Prasan Shah doesn’t deny that held appeal for some in the past, but for him there are only two things that make legit, worthwhile madras: 1. It is made in Chennai (formerly Madras), India. And 2. It is hand-loomed. Prasan is the third generation in a family weaving business that began in the middle of last century, and he’s helping tell the story of madras to a new clientele. They began by selling wholesale to large companies—think Ralph, Press—but he has pivoted to selling under their own label both wholesale and direct to consumer. Mr Porter sells them, Huckberry carries them, A.K. Rikks carries them, and they sell via their own website, OMTCNYC.com
I met Prasan at the WM Brown party, and did a brief video interview with him, which you can watch above. They also had a booth at Pitti, however, where I got to handle their stuff in person, met their designer, and got a feel for the upcoming Spring collection.
Definitely take a look at Original Madras Trading Company.
Antoniella Apparel
I was enjoying the most beautiful light and setting I experienced during all of Pitti at Alexander Kraft’s party, snapping candid photos of people, soaking in the atmosphere and sipping a cocktail. As I composed a photo of @incaseofbrit and @urbancomposition, a voice piped up saying “Ah, yes, that’s a great photo right there, good work.” I turned to say thank you, and introduced myself to the woman who’d spoken up. It was Kate Antoniella, sitting next to her husband Daniele. We got to talking, and I discovered they have a menswear accessories brand known by their namesake. Both were wearing one of their products—Kate had one of their silk scarves tied around her hat, Daniele tied jauntily around his neck.
There’s no shortage of accessory makers, and in particular pocket square and tie companies. What sets Antoniella apart, and what holds particular appeal to me, is that Kate herself designs each print. As she explained it to me, “Most brands use archival prints. Mine are completely original, designed by me.” Kate earns her primary living as a painter, so she brings all those skills to bear on every design she makes. Her husband, Daniele, brings an eye for how each design’s color palette can be to work within the context of menswear. Which is a skill I myself would have to seriously work on—I feel like I’d simply make everything navy, which of course wouldn’t work well with all my navy jackets.
Another nice thing that Antoniella does is make their silks in a range of sizes—not just pocket square size, but large enough to be worn tied around the neck, or for a woman to wear tied up in her hair (or around her hat).
Take a look at Antoniella’s products, and give them a follow on Instagram. I think you’ll find their entire products and entire aesthetic quite pleasing.
Fayad & Co. Custom Clothing
Certain names pop up in the online menswear community and have a streak of popularity for a time. Fayad & Co has been just such a brand. I’d seen Andreas Klow promote Fayad with a custom guayabera inspired by a famous photo of Gary Cooper. I’d seen Matt Hranek promoteh them as well. But I’d never taken the time to stop and examine the company and see what it’s about or who’s behind it. At Pitti this June, however, I had the pleasure of meeting Andre Fayad himself, the founder of the company.
Living in Miami, his backstory is as interesting as the products he makes. With a family history in textile manufacturing, he himself studied design in Milan (which explained his fluent Italian everywhere we went together). In fall 2020 he launched Fayad & Co., proudly making everything in the USA. I loved Andre’s personal style, which spins up a unique take on the linen-centric Miami look by blending in other influences perfectly—I love how he wears sneakers with his tailored clothes in a way that’s actually cool, for instance; or his more traditional East Coast Americana shirts done up in breezy linen or Giro Inglese fabric.
I had assumed Fayad only operated in a bespoke manner, requiring in-person trunk shows to get measurements, but in fact he sells made-to-order shirts on his website, as well as allowing self-measuring for MTM.
I’m having Andre make me a custom shirt out of some nice fabric that was gifted to me, and will share the results when it comes in. In the meantime, check out Fayad’s stuff now and get in on that breezy, Miami steez for yourself.
Saint Gregory, Tailors in Naples
I don’t typically write about bespoke makers on this site. Although the craftsmanship, history and idiosyncrasies of bespoke are greatly appealing to me, I primarily focus on brands with an easily accessible ready-to-wear or made-to-measure product—“can I buy it online?”, basically. Saint Gregory is a bespoke tailoring house that I’ve seen before on my friends—namely Erik Mannby, and Andreas Klow. I did a video showing off the shoulders on Erik’s coat in January.
I’m featuring them now, however, because they are expanding their offerings beyond only bespoke and into ready to wear. Under the leadership of Ennio Collaro—who himself readily explains he’s not a tailor, but a business man—they’re taking what he believes is the best tailoring product out of Napoli, and offering it to a greater audience than possible before. But he’s not rushing in. When I visited their booth at Pitti Uomo, he said he was looking for only a handful of retail partners to carry them—not so many that they couldn’t keep up with demand at the level of quality they are proud to produce.
And so while I can’t give you a link to where to buy their ready to wear online (yet), I want to draw attention to them and help raise awareness. I want more of this kind of thing. I want craftspeople to succeed through wise stewardship in an era of uncertainty for the role that tailored clothing will play in the future. Saint Gregory feels like it’s an ambassador for the old way of doing things, producing great product without compromise, but with accommodations to the reality of the world we live in—can I buy it online? With continued support, I expect the answer will be yes.
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