CANALI – A SUPERPOWER OF SUITING AND SEMI-FORMAL MENSWEAR.
The night after his election as President of the United States in November 2008, Barack Obama was photographed waving to the crowds in Chicago. As he did so, his jacket fell back and exposed the label of his tailor of choice: yes, he Canali.
The night after his election
as President of the United States in November 2008, Barack Obama was
photographed waving to the crowds in Chicago. As he did so, his jacket fell
back and exposed the label of his tailor of choice: yes, he Canali.
Most clothing companies
would have seized upon this accidental presidential endorsement – back when the
President was popular – and ruthlessly milked it for every available drop of
sales-boosting publicity. But quietly quirky Canali – nicknamed “the
little frog” among Italophile tailoring aficionados – hops in another
direction.
Even five years later,
Elisabetta Canali pauses when Obama’s name is mentioned, then says:
“Whoever they are; presidents or prime ministers, architects or actors, we
prefer not to discuss individual customers. Firstly, that’s because we choose
to be known from what we do rather than who wears Canali. And secondly, it’s
because every customer is equally important to us, and every customer is
treated the same.”
Elisabetta Canali (in the middle)Elisabetta Canali is a
third-generation member of this family-owned tailoring business, which was
started by her grandfather Giovanni and great-uncle Giacomo in 1934. It began
as a modest suitmaker, expanded aggressively in the Fifties, producing
accessories too, and now employs 1,300 tailors and 400 further people in its
seven factories across Italy – where it makes about 250,000 individual pieces
of clothing annually.
Although Canali’s meat and
drink has long been the production of perfectly fitted and personalised
business attire fit for a president or any other power dresser who requires
one, it specialised in subtly off-kilter clothing, too.
“We don’t think suits
are a way to be uniform,” says Canali, “we try to create tailoring
that provides something that distinguishes its wearer, makes him a little
different.”
Fit, materials, and
construction are the three elements that provide these points of difference. In
its Bond Street store – it is Canali’s largest single shop, and Britain is the
largest market (Italy aside) for the company in Europe – the soft-sell staff
are especially adept at leading set-in-their-ways customers to colours and
textiles they might not have tried, explaining the merits of a floating canvas
(stitched rather than glued), or unfussily arranging for even the most
freakishly proportioned to have his purchase altered to a perfect fit.
Canali Boutique on Bond Street – BritainTypically, every man will
need at least one fitting for his personal physical idiosyncrasies to be
synched precisely with a new jacket or pair of trousers. While most definitely
a member of the “luxury” category – suits start at around £1,000 and
Canali’s excellent informal wear is costly, too – it’s not luxury of the
ostentiously logo’d, yacht-without-sails-owning, gold buckled-variety.
“We find that our
customers, whichever country they are from, are looking for quality,
innovation, elegance and uniqueness, which we work hard to produce. But they
aren’t trend-obsessed, and they aren’t buying clothes just to display
status,” says Canali.
Five years into his presidency, and opinion about Barack Obama seems split. Some maintain he’s an America‑threatening radical dressed as an enlightened moderate. Others are convinced he’s a surveillance-state authoritarian disguised as a galvanising agent of change. Either way, it’s his disguise that’s working. And often, at least when it comes to clothing, that disguise is provided by Canali – an undisputed superpower in Italy’s tailoring scene.
Canali Vietnam Boutique
Address: 63 Ly Thai To, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Phone: 024.32011592
