SPONSORED: HOW A YOUNG ITALIAN ENTREPRENEUR IS BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL MENSWEAR BRAND

While many fashion companies these days are struggling to reinvent themselves, Luca Faloni has a more straightforward approach to brand-building. His philosophy is simple: partner with the best Italian mills for the world’s finest fabrics; ensure outstanding craftsmanship by working with Italy’s most talented artisans; sell direct-to-consumer to offer exceptional value without the middleman; and make sure the entire customer experience is perfectly managed and flawless.

Of course, this strategy is hardly as simple as it sounds. Here, we speak with designer/founder Luca Faloni to find out how he does it.

Q: What inspired you to launch a men’s collection?

A: I grew up in Turin, a mid-sized city in northwest Italy filled with artisans and fabric mills so inspiration was all around me. No one in my family was in the apparel business: my dad was a chemistry professor, my mom worked for Fiat. I went to university in Milan, then business school in London. At age 21, I was chosen for a semester at Wharton School of Business in the States; I then became a strategy consultant in San Francisco.

When I lived in Turin, I always shopped at local independent stores. I never wore clothes from major brands but bought shirts from the local shirtmaker, shoes from the local cobbler, etc. When I moved to London, it was difficult to find what I wanted: when I finally found something I loved (e.g. great trousers from a known designer), the style would be discontinued when I next came into the store. I always felt the market needed a consistent source for top-quality luxury classics at fair prices so we launched our business six years ago. (I still don’t understand why brands change their styles every season!) We have four of our own stores (London, NYC, Milan) but a good 80 percent of our volume is done online.

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Q: You’re known for timeless designs in luxury fabrics, but couldn’t the business grow faster by adding contemporary styles? Or women’s?

A: As a small brand, we can’t serve everyone but we have many designs (zip cardigans, hoodies) that lean contemporary. While we don’t do entire new collections each season, we do add new pieces and new colors, building on what we have based on customer feedback. We’re a global, direct-to-consumer luxury brand and our focus is updated classic styles in fine fabrics: linen, brushed cotton, cashmere, silk/cashmere. We’ve considered adding women’s, especially since women shop less out of need and more out of a desire for something new. So we’ll likely add women’s down the road but as a young brand, we first want to focus on our core.

Q: How is your core business? How has the pandemic impacted your growth trajectory?

A: We’re doing well: the pandemic hasn’t derailed our planned growth trajectory; it’s just shifted more business online. But clearly, the global supply chain is in severe distress. Early on in the pandemic, factories in Italy were closed for 12 weeks which was tough. Now they’re open but with fewer orders since many of their clients are struggling. So to help our factory partners stay open, we gave them advanced orders on our summer ’21 collection. Sadly, the big brands have tons of unsold inventory which is hurting the entire supply chain. The government might have to step in but even so, it will take a while to return to normal production cycles.

From a fashion perspective, the pandemic has brought a definite shift to more casual comfortable styles: brushed cotton rather than oxford shirts, soft zip-front hoodies, and our first foray into cashmere sweatpants.

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Q: What does a man’s clothing say about him?

A: I’d like to think we’re in an era where we don’t judge people by their clothing. Of course, it’s nice when men appreciate good design and fine fabrics but when a man puts too much effort into getting dressed, the result can be comical or contrived.

Q: Yet Italian men always look so well dressed: it’s that sprezzatura thing. How can we get American men to dress more Italian?

A: I think it’s a matter of taste, not of who dresses better. I find the British are more conservative but adventurous with color; Italians might take more risk in design but are more conservative with color, often choosing pastels over brights. American men are definitely more casual and comfort-driven, but they’re willing to try new brands whereas Europeans stick to what they know. As for that sprezzatura factor: it’s the art of studied carelessness, note the word studied.

So, to encourage more style-right options, we’ve added a ‘shop by look’ section to our website to increase customer understanding of what to wear with what.

Q: How would you describe yourself as a manager?

A: I have to admit I’m a bit of a control freak: I’m a perfectionist, very driven, paranoid about details getting overlooked. I expect all of my 30+ employees to share my passion so I’m sometimes too direct, which can come across as lacking empathy and sometimes causes friction. I’m working on it…

Q: What are some of your interests outside of work?

A: I love cooking and organizing small dinners. I love reading, especially biographies that explain how successful people rose to great heights. I also like playing chess.

Q: Can you recommend a couple of good biographies?

A: Yes. I’ve recently finished Let My People Go Surfing, an interesting biography of Yvon Chouinard, world-class climber and founder of Patagonia. I also highly recommend Shoe Dog by Phil Knight, the founder of Nike. Unfortunately, I’m now understanding that it can take a good 30 years to become an overnight success.