Luxury men’s tailor Canali has used innovation as a means to persevere through challenging moments in its long history
‘During the pandemic we publicised our Anthology project,’ explains Stefano Canali, the 50- year-old CEO of the firm that bears his family name. ‘It was a look at our company’s history, not to celebrate our first 85 years, but to convey an optimistic message in a very difficult period of our life. We told the story of two major crises Canali had survived: World War II, which cancelled whatever we had accrued to that point, and then later when our core business was making overcoats, at end of the ’60s, they went completely out of fashion all of a sudden.’
It was important, he says, ‘at a time when we were locked up and people were wearing sweatshirts,’ to remind not only those working at Canali, but also others in the Italian fashion industry, that Covid-19 did not mark the end of the road for a tailoring-based business but was the moment to pivot once again.
The optimism of Canali’s Anthology is evident in its new collection for spring/summer 2023, a lesson in how to transition an aesthetic that is rooted in the sartorial tradition into something fit for purpose in the modern day. Inspired by the spirit of the Italian Riviera, it features not only lightweight suiting in wool, stretch cotton-silk, Solaro and linen blends, but also shirt/jacket “shackets” in linen, suede and denim, suede bomber jackets, lightweight peacoats and the “Saharan” field jacket in a linen and wool blend. Plus, complementary trainers, knits and denim pieces.
Canali has always been the choice of the successful professional and is famous as a maker of suits. (Indeed, it can rank one Barack Obama among its wearers.) ‘But those guys in finance or the law or whatever no longer wear the type of suits that they did during the era of the power suit,’ says Stefano Canali, who himself was a banker in New York before joining the family firm in 1998. He worked his way up to the CEO role, which he took on in 2018, and during that time witnessed menswear move towards a more comfortable and relaxed style. The pandemic may have acted as a catalyst, he says, but Canali was already embracing casualwear before it struck.
Canali CEO Stefano Canali
‘Let’s keep in mind that the boundaries between sartorial and sportswear are very blurred today,’ he explains. ‘Many companies with our sort of tailoring heritage have decided to move away from what they were; and history shows that this never pays off.’ Today, Canali is using its sartorial expertise to make a collection that spans formal and casual, something the CEO refers to as a “smartorial” approach. This, he says, is in line with Canali’s values.
‘Our values define who we are. Like it or not,’ he states. ‘And if you know who you are, you know whatever you do will be inspired by these values. I always tell my team; we’re not just selling a product; we’re selling a jacket underpinned by our values.’
Solaro-effect linen-blend blouson, £990, with striped tie
To crystalise this, Stefano Canali has launched a programme called Canali CARE that is all about respect – for people and the planet. He is eloquent about the perils of greenwashing, and to make sure he doesn’t fall victim to this he has commissioned an audit of his company’s sustainability credentials (across product and business practice) following two European Union-endorsed assessment methods – OEF and PEF – so he can identify the areas that need addressing.
He is also a founding member of Retex.Green, an Italian organisation created to improve the management of pre- and post-consumer waste – including recycling and recovery – from the clothing, textile, leather goods and footwear industries. One idea being floated is to charge manufacturers a tax to facilitate better practice.
If he is passionate and committed to the CARE initiative it is because, he says, this behaviour is baked in to the family business. ‘My grandparents maybe did not even know it, but their business was all about respect for people and the planet. They made a great product for their customers and made it to last, to be repaired and adjusted. To have a long life. To be loved by the wearer. And so to have a lesser environmental impact.’
His own wardrobe is full of old Canali designs. They are, he says, companions for life, and they stimulate memories of experiences and people. In the main Canali flagship stores you can now bring in your old pieces and have them repaired or re- tailored to fit you under the firm’s REpair and REstore programme.
By focussing on the values of what he is trying to do, Stefano Canali has freed up a business that is almost a century old to change with the times without losing its way: ‘Italian style is all about an expression of beauty that comes from our history and our encounters with other cultures. If you are able to couple a responsible approach with an aesthetic like that, you are all set.’
