This Italian Designer Is Making the Suit Feel Rebellious Again

Photo credit: Courtesy
Photo credit: Courtesy

From Esquire

The suit is not dead. In fact, watching the first collection from Italian designer Aldo Maria Camillo make its way down the runway, I was struck by just how vital the classic two-button felt for the first time in... well, a while. Because while the suit surely isn't dead, one might reasonably make the argument that it's been on life support in certain circles as the casualization of fashion continues apace.

Maybe that's why Camillo and his designs are such a breath of fresh air. In an era defined by the intersection of streetwear and high-fashion-and let's not forget Casual Friday stretching into Casual Everyday-a brand putting down stakes in the world of tailored clothing isn't as common as it once was. Granted, the designer himself is well aware of that.

Photo credit: Courtesy
Photo credit: Courtesy

"What I tried to do, and what I expressed to the Pitti team at the beginning of this project, was the idea that I didn’t make a marketing plan," Camillo told me at the Stazione Leopolda directly after his debut made its way down the runway during the semi-annual Pitti Uomo tradeshow in Florence, Italy. "I didn't look at what's working well, what's the trend, which items are selling better. I was really thinking, 'I have one chance, the first chance of my life, to show my idea of fashion without any restrictions or limits.' And this doesn’t mean that I was obliged to do something crazy; just to do what I really love to do."

Which meant, in large part, suits. Camillo referenced everything from movies to music to art in his first foray under his own name-he's got a pedigree, having previously worked at Valentino, Zegna, Cerruti, and Berluti-but the primary source of inspiration was his personal history. He described his time as a 20-something-year-old skater, "wearing hoodies and collecting sneakers and wearing camouflage pants" in the '90s.

Photo credit: Courtesy
Photo credit: Courtesy

Then he saw something that would shape a whole new approach to dressing: "There was a blazer that was completely different," he says. He broke out of his style safe zone, and now, decades later, that blazer-reworked, cut for 2019, built into a suit-has become a standout of the new Aldo Mario Camillo label. (Of course, pieces like a double-breasted shearling coat and a paneled, leopard-print jacket give it a run for its money.)

"You have this kind of dream of the young generation could, again, be attracted to something different. It's not a hoodie, it's not a T-shirt, it's something that is still there-I don't think it's dead-the blazer and the suit." As for his approach to styling that sort of piece right now, Camillo thinks we shouldn't be so precious about it.

Photo credit: Courtesy
Photo credit: Courtesy

"It's just the way you mix and match," he says. In fact, his preferred move was pairing classic tailored pieces with zip-up boots and simple T-shirts. Understated? Maybe. But you could feel them resonating in the room. "The way you use it should be more free," he explains. "Free from restriction, free from the idea of a uniform. In that sense, I believe it’s still alive. It’s something that I really believe in."

('You Might Also Like',)