The Decisive 60 years in Fashion Industry Alfredo Mattiroli
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I S T I T U T O
I T A L I A N O
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©2020 Stampa – Press Up, IT10922761001 Via Cadu� sul Lavoro, 01036 Zona Industriale Se�evene VT ©Is�tuto Italiano Design Anwa S.r.l. (IID Srl) – Editore Come da revisione dell’ogge�o dello Statuto Sociale effe�uata con A�o Notarile registrato in Perugia in data 2 gennaio 2019 ed iscri�o al Registro delle Imprese di Perugia il 9 gennaio 2019 protocollo n. 25, contenente il nuovo Statuto Societario Sede legale in Perugia (Italia), Via Galeazzo Alessi n. 1, 3/A e 11 – 06122 Dire�ore Responsabile Do�. Ing. Andrea Lenterna, pubblicista iscri�o all’Ordine dei Giornalis� di Perugia dal 30 maggio 2013 (già Dire�ore Responsabile di: “Cerco & Trovo”; “Art & News”) Approvazione del Comitato Scien�fico IID Grafica e Illustrazioni: ©IID Srl Proge�o Grafico: Diana Magri I diri� di traduzione, di memorizzazione ele�ronica, di riproduzione, di ada�amento totale o parziale, con qualsiasi mezzo (compresi i microfilm e le copie fotosta�che), sono riserva� per tu� i Paesi. Le fotocopie per uso personale del le�ore possono essere effe�uate nei limi� del 15% della presente opera rispe�ando in ogni caso le previsioni della legge 22 aprile 1941 n. 633. Le riproduzioni diverse da quelle sopra indicate (per uso non personale- a �tolo esemplifica�vo commerciale, economico, professionale- e/o oltre il limite del 15%) potranno avvenire solo a seguito di specifica autorizzazione rilasciata da IID Srl. L’elaborazione dei tes�, anche se curata con scrupolosa a�enzione, non può comportare specifiche responsabilità per eventuali errori o inesa�ezze.
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Contents I.
Tex�le Market in Italy.................................................................5
II.
The real start..............................................................................6
III.
1960: Fashion’s Evolu�on in Italy...............................................7
IV.
Prêt-à-porter in Womenswear..................................................13
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First steps in the Fashion World...............................................17
VI.
Focus on Italian Fashion Companies........................................18
VII.
Umberto Ginocchie�: an Italian genius..................................22
VIII. Prêt-à-porter in Italy................................................................27 IX.
Entrepreneur vs. Manager.......................................................30
X.
How to start a Fashion Consul�ng Business............................31
XI.
Fashion Consul�ng: an outlook on the Chinese Market.........38
XII.
Head Hun�ng...........................................................................39
XIII. Evolu�on in the World of Fashion...........................................40 XIV. Made in Italy.............................................................................41 XV.
Owners and Managers.............................................................42
XVI. Clients.......................................................................................43 XVII. Case Study: Brunello Cucinelli..................................................44
Bibliography........................................................................................45
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Introduction In this first part the topic of the evolu�on of the Italian and French fashion markets is explored. These two countries have created the basis of what today we call “European Fashion”, focusing on two main players: Milan and Paris. This evolu�on shall be seen as a whole case history from the perspec�ve of the Prof. Dr. Alfredo Ma�roli, Fashion Manager and Owner of Ma�roli Associa� Fashion Managing and Business Strategies Consul�ng Firm. His “love story” with the Fashion Industry started in 1925 (the period that the Frenches refer to as “Belle Epoque”). His grandfather creates “Ma�roli Antonio C.” with three factories in Varese and Como, which is one of the major Italian ci�es for the Silk Market (Italy), near to the Swiss border.
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I I.
Textile in Italy
A�er the end of the Second World War, Italy was a country in full reconstruc�on. Textures were derived from war companies (e.g. silk fabrics for parachutes) making again precious fabrics for French high fashion houses, with customers like Dior, Givenchy, Balmain and Lanvin. A�er 1945, in Italy there was a new development of the districts, par�cularly concentrated in the north-central part, as it follows:
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In Naples there s�ll is a small district specialized only in damask, jacquard and high ar�s�c content tex�les (the most important palaces and opera theaters of embroidery, using Neapolitans tex�les of Bourbon origins). Indeed, Prato is renowned for the reconversion of the used wool with which the fabrics are redone recovering scraps of wool, then imported all over the world – especially in the United States of America. Today Prato produces fabrics in pa�erned virgin wool, while Biella produces the classic ones in pure Bri�sh style. Como remains the capital of silk especially for prin�ng that is used to produce top quality scarves and �es. The co�on industry has entered into a great crisis (fabrics were produced abroad) but in Italy s�ll remain excellent companies that produced shirts.
II II. The real start
Alfredo was born in a tex�le environment, as in 1946 when he was only 8 years old his toys were silk cocoons, crates full of yarns and tex�les. “At home my grandfather and my dad o�en talked about their work. This way they fascinated me talking about Paris, the tex�les that were sold to the most important and famous stylists, their catwalks. They were also nervous about the perfect deliveries, that should be extremely punctual. Some�mes they directly took the night train from Milan to Paris for these deliveries, thus this train was named: Orient Express of Fashion”.
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III III.
1960: The evolu�on of Fashion in Italy
A great historian of Italian fashion, Maria Luisa Frisa, talks about Italy and I will write down her ar�cle: her interview is an excellent premise to the following part, which will deal with the evolu�on of fashion in Italy over the last 60 years seen by the perspec�ve of prof. Alfredo Ma�roli, extremely seasoned Fashion Manager.
Maria Luisa Frisa
Maria Luisa Frisa
Maria Luisa Frisa has always loved fashion and its complexity: she was thirteen when she asked her mother to buy her first Ken Sco� dress. Eclec�c art cri�c, fashion curator, and professor at Venice IUAV University, she argues that fashion is uncomfortable, and needs to be permanently prac�ced. Fashion creates shapes and silhoue�es, it distorts volumes. Fashion finds its defini�on within its �me, and it is way more complex than people think. Born in Venice, she graduated in History of Art in Florence. She started university late, becoming an art cri�c. Then, she met Stefano Tonchi, with whom she founded Westuff Magazine, and there she got into fashion. From that experience, she became consultant for Giorgio Armani, and then it all started. 7
She started working in fashion because she understood that fashion is an extraordinary point of view on our �me. She started cura�ng exhibi�ons for Pi� Immagine, and she was called to build the Fashion Course at IUAV, so she moved back to Venice. She realized that university is an extraordinary place because it is not just her teaching, but both students and professors learning. Italian journalist Mar�na Marche� met personally her. Hereto her interview of Maria Luisa: «I started working at university twelve years ago, and I have now become professor, the highest posi�on at Italian universi�es, which I would have never thought possible. In par�cular, I teach Fashion Cura�ng to postgraduate students, crea�ng a dialogue with them. I never stop studying: so I travel to Rome, Milan, Paris, London to a�end both fashion and art shows. I used to a�end ar�sts’ studios when I was an art cri�c, and now I am interested in visi�ng fashion designers’ ateliers, to understand the processes, and the works by the ar�s�c director.1» Frisa believes that fashion is so powerful, that it influences every individual’s life, crea�ng and spreading style. «Young people are very o�en fascinated by this world, because fashion is o�en not represented in its complexity but in its simplifica�on. On the contrary, fashion must be handled with much care. It is a system that creates culture, but requires great capabili�es. Fashion requires a strong mindset, because it needs con�nuous quick, great ideas. Just being talented is not sufficient.» Maria Luisa Frisa’s perspec�ve on fashion originates from her experience with Giorgio Armani, first, as an editor for the Emporio Armani Magazine, and a�er as a consultant.
1“Love Fashion to Death. Interview with Maria Luisa Frisa”, in Mind Design Magazine, by Mar�na Marche�, 6° November, 2017.
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«I was very lucky to work with Giorgio. There, I understood the complexity of managing a fashion collec�on, in which you do not just have great ideas for a fashion show, but you also need to give a consistent image to all your projects. Armani was one of the first designers to understand this. In par�cular, ‘Emporio Armani’, which has recently been reedited, was a magazine aiming at represen�ng the philosophy behind Giorgio Armani’s fashion. It was there, where I understood that talent needs to be taken care of, it needs to be cul�vated, and can grow if supported by a strong educa�on. Because simply being talented is not enough.» Besides cura�ng Emporio Armani Magazine, Maria Luisa Frisa has worked on many other publica�ons. “The shapes of fashion – Le forme della moda” is one she is most fond of. «This book represents my opinion on fashion, and seeks, with no simplifica�ons, to make the readers understand its complexity. It is a book which could not have existed before my experience at IUAV. It is the book which, despite never thinking it possible, gave me the greatest sa�sfac�on. It has been very much appreciated by readers and journalists. Besides, all books start from the need to say something and form an idea: my books do not seek to close a topic, but instead, they open it. We live in a society that tends to simplify everything. Instead of simplifying, we should describe complexity in a comprehensible way.» Le forme della moda also showcases Frisa’s opinion about Li Edelkoort’s argument that “Fashion is dead”. Maria Luisa Frisa thinks that the statement by the guru Li Edelkoort was meant to be a boutade, used to draw a�en�on on the fashion system and its mechanisms. Frisa believes that the statement has a rela�ve meaning, because it looks at highligh�ng some downsides of high-end fashion. “Those sentences”, Frisa says, “refer to concepts which, today, have totally been surpassed”. Frisa argues that, in the retail sector, the mul� brand stores will never lose their importance.
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«The shop is one of the may sides of fashion. It is essen�al to empower shops, because they have the same func�on as an encyclopedia, which is to fulfill the consumer’s necessity of browsing the items of clothing and trying them on. In par�cular, mul� brand stores should be preferred, because, despite being beau�ful, single brand stores are the same all over the world, while mul� brand stores are the result of a selec�on, therefore are more interes�ng». Concerning fast fashion, Frisa states that shops such as Zara, Uniqlo, H&M are very useful to understand what customers want. Maria Luisa has a good opinion about fast fashion, because it allows many people to get dressed correctly and honestly with affordable prices: «Fast fashion has to co-exist with fashion, but it definitely cannot be called fashion. I do not like the behavior of people who, despite having enough spending power to afford the original haute couture fashion item of clothing, buy the fast-fashion versions of it. I find it stupid: if I like a coat by Céline, I buy the Céline coat, not an imita�on, because it would mean I am not interested in fashion. I love fashion to death, I have always loved to get dressed.» Maria Luisa is a woman who has earned power and respect, demonstra�ng to her collaborators and students the merit of being a hard worker: «I believe that authority is a consequence of how you work, how you relate to other people, what example you set, and how you get involved in projects: it is something you earn day by day. If you don’t show you are a hard worker yourself, you will never earn authority.» Frisa created the Fashion Course at Venice IUAV University more than ten years ago, and it is now considered the best fashion course in the country: «The former Director of the Design and Arts Faculty, Marco de Michelis, invited me to Venice, and told me, ‘you are the person I chose to direct the Fashion course.’ As many �mes before, when I am asked to do something I have never done before, I accept. Because it is a way of growing, because if you keep doing the same things, you do not change.» 10
For young people willing to enter the fashion sector, Maria Luisa suggests having an understanding of fashion in the first place, in order to understand whether fashion is only a passion for clothes, or if it derives from a desire of expressing themselves. «Studying fashion, looking at it, understanding it. And having the courage to get involved in situa�ons, because work experiences are truly important. Gian Ba�sta Valli himself had many work experiences, and when he understood it was �me to speak his own language, he progressed in his career. We learn by working and ge�ng involved in experiences, without being afraid of making mistakes and falling. Because failure is an extraordinary way of growing.» People who work in fashion, like Frisa, need to u�lize a uniform, the same ou�it everyday as a way to iden�fy and simplify things for themselves. «I consume fashion a lot, at an emo�onal and visual level. Uniforms make things easier. Let’s think of Giorgio Armani or, more recently, Maria Grazia Chiuri; they are always construc�ng, crea�ng, making fashion, but they are s�ll themselves. Even though my signature uniform is a skirt with a black top, I also buy items of clothing I like. I like to buy very peculiar items that are almost objects. For example, I bought the Stockman by Margiela, because it reminds me of De Chirico’ Mannequins. In my opinion, this is fashion, a composi�on of par�cularly meaningful items.»
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In Italy we only talk about high fashion for women, the dress for men was made by tailor made to measure. Women used to go to the dressmaker who bought high-fashion designs in Paris and made a copy for her clients. Indeed, men used to go exclusively to the tailor who made the custom-made suit, the collec�ons that existed were produced in mediocre quan��es and without style, the work was highly ar�sanal and handmade. The world con�nues to move and, as ever, America is the first country that has introduced the automa�on concept in the tex�le industry. Therefore, in America, companies introduced processing chains (Ford also does the same in the automo�ve industry) and tailors become specialized workers (90% of them are Italian emigrants) and the first ready-to-wear collec�ons are born. Merchants in Paris escaped from Poland begin to copy high fashion, making copies in series: thus, the Prêt-à-porter is born, of which the most famous lines are Cacharel, Saint Clair and Hechter. In Italy those years there are companies run by women like Max Mara, Luisa Spagnoli, Happy Fashion, Cova but there are no stylists behind their collec�ons either. From 1960 to 1970: these are very revolu�onary years, in Italy they begin to import the former emigrants who worked in American companies to organize the first Italian companies of clothing for men: Facis, Lubiam, Falco, Pal Zilleri, Corneliani, Nervesa that become the strongest companies in Europe by expor�ng very strongly.
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IV IV.
Women’s Fashion: P rêt-à-porter
Let’s focus on French and Paris markets and let’s get back to 1946, when war was over and Polish merchants were emigra�ng to France (“Sen�er district of Polish merchants”). Those merchants were tex�le wholesalers, also selling to tailors. They argued that in France and Italy there was the best expression of high fashion all over the world, all women dreamed of dressing in Dior, Givenchy, Balmain, Yves Saint Laurent clothes. What about copying these ideas using poorer fabrics but producing large quan��es and with an acceptable price: this is how prêt-à-porter was born.
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Cacharel is a French brand of clothing, perfumes and accessories. It was founded in 1962 by Jean Bousquet, inspired by the name of a local race of ducks, the Anas Querquedula. Bousquet was the son of a sewing machine salesman who joined an ins�tute to become a tailor. He worked for two years with a fashion designer before opening his own fashion house in Le Marais. Following the success of his first collec�on, Bousquet created the Cacharel brand. Elle Magazine contributed to make the brand one of the most pres�gious in the world because in the same year as the company was founded Elle dedicated a cover to it.
Cacharel adver�sing
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Daniel Hechter
Born in Paris from a Jewish family who owned a clothing company, Daniel Hechter a�er his studies worked as a salesman in a fashion house un�l 1956. From 1956 Hechter's drawings were sold by Louis Féraud and Jacques Esterel and from 1958 the designer worked for Pierre d'Alby. But by 1957 the popularity of the designer had increased enormously when Brigi�e Bardot wore her clothes in the movie Una Parigina. Finally, in 1962 the company Daniel Hechter Company was founded, in partnership with Armand Orunstein, whose goal is to spread a women's fashion for everyone, but s�ll of high quality. In 1965 Hechter launched a fashion line for children, followed by the one for men in 1968. The Daniel Hechter Company is also one of the first fashion companies to produce clothing for skiing and tennis, lines launched in 1971. Later the produc�on has also expanded to accessories (1976) and perfumes (1989).
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A�er having entrusted the crea�ve direc�on of the brand to the young designer Grit Seymour in 1997, Hechter re�red from the fashion industry and moved to Geneva where he became vice president of the Etoile-Carouge football club. For Hechter it was not his first experience in the world of football, as he was one of the main financiers in the early years of the French club Paris Saint-Germain, of which he was also president from 9 June 1974 to 6 January 1978.
Daniel Hechter shop
Daniel Hechter shop
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V. First steps in the Fashion World Between 60s and 70s his fashion educa�on begins, as he usually a�ended a tex�le school, Alfredo Ma�roli became an expert in weaving, spinning, dyeing, he began to see the family company with a more expert eye, he learns, he loves more and more this world, the Fashion world.
Textile laboratory in Italy
He s�ll wanted to deepen his knowledge and go abroad, in Switzerland, of which he is also a ci�zen and he a�ended the school of tex�le engineering in San Gallo, it is a university master's degree. He learned German and in his spare �me he went to a co�on fabric factory as a worker, a wonderful experience. It is 1962, he returned to Italy and Somma Company called him, the most important company of blankets in Europe to be a technician, he is however a�racted by a fascina�ng and beau�ful novelty: Marke�ng. he became a marke�ng technician, perhaps one of the first Merchandisers. He completed his prepara�on with a master's degree in Marke�ng from Columbia University in New York where in the 90's he received a bachelor's degree in Economics for work merits in the fashion field. 17
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VI. Focus on Italian Fashion Companies Alfredo’s student career is over, from here his work as a Manager begins: in the 60s he started learning the techniques used to make the collec�ons, he worked as a designer and product manager, but this type of work began to become monotonous for him, he suffered to leave the company Somma, he thanked them very much for what they teached him. He went to Hitman in Milan, it is a company at the forefront of men's clothing and he had the great pleasure of having Giorgio Armani as a colleague. Hitman was an Italian menswear company, founded in 1956 by Nino Cerru�, with plants in Corsico and Gaggiano. In the period of maximum ac�vity, it employed 350 employees, producing over 120,000 items a year. His designers included Giorgio Armani un�l 1970.
Alfredo Mattiroli attending his bachelor degree in New York
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Giorgio Armani (on the left) and Alfredo Mattiroli (on the right)
Alfredo, expert in marke�ng able to speak many languages, became an Export Manager: First trips took him to France, Germany, USA and England. He took part in the first High Fashion shows for men, a fascina�ng world and he created commercial companies abroad. Good work and seriousness pay upright. Somma Company calls him back in 1968 and when he was 30 years old he became a real manager: he was the commercial and strategic director for Hilton. At that �me, Armani started consul�ng and Alfredo called him to work together. In 1970 the most important knitwear company in Italy, the very famous ICAP of Assisi, was looking for a commercial director with general manager func�ons, Alfredo accepted the challenge and entered the world of licenses and he met many designers of Moschino, Mihake, Lance�, Ferrè and Armani. Here in the ICAP company was born the Armani brand and the Emporio Armani brand.
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Alfredo became the manager of the north in Perugia and the largest leather clothing manufacturer, IGI called him: they wanted Alfredo as general manager. The leather for Alfredo was a completely new world that fascinated him a lot. He was involved not only in the collec�on ready to wear but he also cooperated with doctors and psychologists to design children’s shoes, it was a new way of marke�ng. Primigi is a children's footwear brand founded in 1976, establishing itself in the market with its first-step footwear. Immediately it became synonymous with technological know-how, carefully selected materials and Italian style. Primigi shoes became renowned for the quality of its materials, the advanced construc�on technology, the carefully studied and calibrated shapes to help the li�le feet to grow in health, according to innova�ve criteria for the sector. In a few years Primigi becaome the leader children footwear company in Italy, maintaining and progressively strengthening this posi�on. At the same �me, the brand's diffusion began in the main foreign markets. In 2001 the pres�gious brand was acquired by IMAC, leader in the produc�on of footwear for men, women and children, which gives a strong technological accelera�on. Over 35 years of experience and specializa�on in the world of children guide the Group towards Primigi Total Look with the extension of merchandise to clothing. In IGI Alfredo started running a company of 750 people and he felt a strong responsibility. He had licenses with Valen�no and Enrico Coveri and for the first �me he entered the Maison not only to see or to a�end fashion shows, he also went there to do business.
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Opening of a Fashion Boutique in Singapore
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VII VII.
Umberto Ginocchietti: an Italian genius
Umberto Ginocchie�, photo by VOGUE Deutch 22
A�er comple�ng his classical high school diploma in Rovigo, he enrolled, at the behest of his father, at the Bocconi University in Milan where, a�er three years of studies, he was no�ced by some execu�ves of the famous Lane Rossi, who proposed him to become commercial manager. Subsequently he became Director of the new Marke�ng Division of the company. Given his talent, the job proposal came from the Linificio Canapificio Nazionale, s�ll as commercial director. A�er gaining experience in these companies, Umberto decided to set up his own business, opening the “Maglificio di Perugia” in 1966. In 1969 he commissioned the construc�on of an impressive plant in Solomeo (in the province of Perugia), today owned by Brunello Cucinelli. In 1970 Umberto Ginocchie� bought another important wool mill in the area, the Ponte Felcino Wool Mill, and then opened in Umbria the packaging factories in Valfabbrica and Colombella. Among the most important collabora�ons of Umberto Ginocchie�, in these years, there is Giorgio Armani at his side from 1974 to 1976. From 1972 to the mid-1980s there were many licenses acquired by Umberto Ginocchie�, and the names that are entrusted to him are some of the most pres�gious of high fashion. From Valen�no to Yves Saint Laurent, from Dior to Givenchy. In 1976 Umberto met Thierry Mugler in Paris, to whom he bought the brand and then resold it 13 years later. The business reality of Umberto Ginocchie� grew more and more rapidly and in 1980 the employees of the group were 1400 in addi�on to 5000 external collaborators. The project was complete autonomy in the manufacturing cycle of the garments, from the raw raw material, to the yarn, to the fabric, to the knitwear. All produced with the utmost a�en�on to the quality and value of the manufacturing, iden�fying itself as a luxury brand known throughout the world. Umberto Ginocchie� first conceived luxury prêt-à-porter, following the birth of this produc�on line for the most important and famous fashion brands. Important are the collabora�ons with models and actresses such as Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford and Kelly Lebrock, Isabella Rossellini and Ta�ana Pa�z. In 1987 Umberto Ginocchie� stands out further with the purchase of a work "Il Guerriero" a�ributed to Tiziano for two and a half billion lire. (next page: extract from an Italian newspaper).
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“How can he be pompous just for having bought a pain�ng. He thinks he can do anything and be so shameless and treacherous. To be photographed with an object that is totally unrelated to his work like a Ti�an pain�ng is totally provincial.” Versace’s comment from “Sfida ai re della moda”, Repubblica 17/11/1987
In those years, he bought the Primigi company, for the produc�on of children's shoes. In 1996 the disease took him away from the scene and the Umberto Ginocchie� produc�on ceased. He died on October 3, 2014, at the age of 73 in Perugia. Alfredo met Ginocchie� in Paris and fascinated him a lot, he was very tall, thin, shy and a great smoker but also brilliant! Alfredo spent 8 wonderful and s�mula�ng years with Ginocchie�, without work limits and with the possibility of being an interna�onal manager. Alfredo transformed the knitwear manufacturer into a complete look produc�on, bringing the export to 92%. With Ginocchie� a license was also made in Japan, they also opened a bou�que in Hong Kong in 1978 and one in Kowloon. They were the first Italians that opened a bou�que in those countries. in 1984 in Singapore Alfredo and Umberto made a pret a porter license with Chris�an Dior which allowed Alfredo to open collabora�ons with his offices in Tokyo, Panama, Singapore, Hong Kong and USA. Primo Italiano and a French label, Thierry Mugler were bought, and they created a base of 120 people in Paris. They had a wool mill that gave them yarns and fabrics in a short �me and in this way they could speed up shipments: they were superior to our compe�tors. They had offices in Paris, London, Dusseldorf, Tokyo, they were one of the most excellent Italian companies.
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“Let’s put an end to the story that I’m upset with the Milanesi. We just do different jobs, they sell their name, I sell clothes” Umberto Ginocchie� from La Stampa, 19 July 1988
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VIII VIII. Prêt-à-porter in Italy In the years that Alfredo worked with Ginocchie� a great phenomenon took place in Italy: the Italian alterna�ve to the French prêt-à-porter was born and Italian designers began to take their first steps with industrial concepts different from high fashion designers. There was an excep�on: Valen�no made the first pret a porter licenses. Those great Italian designers ennoble produc�on companies with licenses, in these period Giorgio Armani, Gianni Versace, Gianfranco Ferrè, Moschino, Enrico Coveri, Missoni, Krizia make themselves known. It was the new deal of Italian fashion, for the first �me the French faced a real compe�tor. Alfredo was in charge of export, but Ginocchie� was also a stylist. Alfredo found an open field, he felt that with their crea�vity they could conquer the world markets. Alfredo also remind that in those years there was a very important episode in Florence: Count Giorgini had the idea of making a show combining high fashion with prêt-àporter. It was the first �me that PITTI was discussed, which today means the most important fair for men's and children's clothing in Italy and in the world, as well as being a reference point for yarn fairs. Ginocchie� was also a rebel, against conserva�sm and tradi�ons, he wanted a free market, he wanted the Italian government to help everyone and not just a few poli�cally-chosen designers.
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Alfredo lived the period with Ginocchie� in a posi�ve, s�mula�ng and winning way. He felt that Italy was in the midst of the Renaissance with regards to fashion. This magnificent period lasted un�l the 1990s, everything was easy and the companies were booming. With the boom the desire for independence returned, Alfredo wanted to create his own company just like his father and grandfather; at the end of 1984 the Ma�roli Associa� was born.
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Alfredo had a long experience as a manager, he learned the posi�ve and nega�ve sides, he made mistakes but also achieved successes, he had the chance to travel the world, learn about the markets, study the psychology of various peoples and understand their tastes, s�mula�ng them with Italian taste.
Mattiroli Associati srl
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IX
Fashion Business Consul�ng: Case Studies
In this Second Part the main topic is the evolu�on of the Fashion Industry that carries new challenges not only for designers and managers; thanks to the globaliza�on Fashion became a global phenomenon that involves different cultures, countries and lifestyles. Fashion transformed into a complex world, and you’ll have the opportunity to read the history of this world through the experience of Alfredo Ma�roli and his company. IX.
Entrepreneur vs. Manager
Going from manager to entrepreneur is not an easy path. Teamwork: try to spot the main differences between a manager and an entrepreneur! Being a manager means .................................................................................. Being a manager means .................................................................................. Being a manager means .................................................................................. Being a manager means .................................................................................. Being a manager means .................................................................................. Being a manager means .................................................................................. Being a manager means .................................................................................. Being a manager means .................................................................................. Being an entrepreneur means ........................................................................... Being an entrepreneur means ........................................................................... Being an entrepreneur means ........................................................................... Being an entrepreneur means ........................................................................... Being an entrepreneur means ........................................................................... Being an entrepreneur means ........................................................................... Being an entrepreneur means ........................................................................... Being an entrepreneur means ........................................................................... 30
Hereto listed some differences. Being a manager means to be protected by a roof called a company. Being a manager means not to bear the entreprise risk (you might lose your own money). Being a manager means that you’ll defend yourself first of all in respect of the company. Being a manager means that if the company changes policy, you can always be free to decide whether to accept the new one or leave the company. Being an entrepreneur means taking the enterprise risks on yourself. Being an entrepreneur means defending your personal figure. Being an entrepreneur means feeling responsible for your employees and their families. Being an entrepreneur means bringing results directly. Being an entrepreneur means crea�ng an image on the market. Being an entrepreneur means confron�ng the compe��on.
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X. How to start a Fashion Consul�ng Business A�er two companies, Gilmar and Genny, leaders in 1985 in Italy, offered Alfredo to be their organiza�onal consultant, thus having a guarantee of a financial income.
Giuliana Marchini Gerani (Gilmar founder)
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The Gilmar Group was founded in 1959 by Silvano Gerani and Giuliana Marchini Gerani.The Gilmar Group is a leader in the produc�on and distribu�on of proprietary clothing brands- Iceberg and Ice Play- and under license- Paolo Pecora, Siviglia and N ° 21. Gilmar Group is an organiza�on in full expansion, which develops a wide range of product: from high-end prêtà-porter to young lines. Always following a path of growth in terms of style, technology and communica�on, Gilmar is s�ll completely in the hands of the founding family of which Silvano Gerani is the current President, Paolo Gerani is CEO, Ar�s�c Director and opera�onal guide, Giuliana Marchini is an ac�ve figure on the board of directors while Patrizia Gerani is responsible for the style, ac�ve in the Board of Directors and in the development of crea�vity.
Genny Fashion show
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Genny was born as a brand with which Arnaldo Girombelli produced women's clothing (ini�ally skirts and blouses) in his own bou�que in Ancona in 1962. The success of the brand, and the interest of customers around Girombelli's cra� produc�on is such that in 1976, the entrepreneur called on the designer, and his future wife, Donatella Ronchi, to join him. A�er the death of Arnaldo, in 1980, Donatella took his place and she became the director of the brand. In 1968 the first factory of the brand was opened, and in 1973 the designer Gianni Versace, who will con�nue to work for the company un�l the early nine�es, will be hired to the company, crea�ng, among others, the young line Byblos, which, established in 1973, from 1983 will become an independent brand. Versace will only be the first in a long line of designers who will debut in the company and then undertake very successful careers on their own, such as Claude Montana, Keith Varty, Alan Cleaver, Dolce and Gabbana, Chris�an Lacroix, Rebecca Moses, John Bartle�, Richard Tyler and Josephus Thimister. In 1984 Donatella Ronchi was invited to the White House, on the occasion of the Princesse Grace Founda�on manifesta�on, held in Washington, where she presented her collec�on. This is the first �me that an Italian fashion house has such a pres�gious opportunity, which allows the company in 1987 to be chosen as represen�ng Italy in New York, on the occasion of the Colombian celebra�ons. In the same year, Ronchi was awarded the �tle of Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic.
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In 1987, under the leadership of Donatella Ronchi, and his son Leonardo Girombelli, Genny becomes a financial holding company, and the presence of the brand on the foreign market becomes more important. In fact, since the mid-nine�es, the Genny brand has been distributed in America, Europe, Japan and Asia, while produc�on has expanded to Perfumes, accessories, eyewear and shoes. But then Alfredo found two other clients, Antonella Tricot and a very small reality in which he believed and risked. The owner of this small company is Brunello Cucinelli. In the company with him there was his aunt who was a great kni�ng technician, two workers, an administra�ve and his brother- in-law. With Ginocchie� Alfredo realized the dream of becoming a manager, with Cucinelli he realized the dream of consul�ng. Alfredo and Brunello traveled a lot together and organized the sales structure, they went to the USA, Spain, France, England, China and Japan.
Below: Alfredo in Guilin (China) 1989, to create a cashmere company there combining Brunello’s know-how with the financial resources of a Japanese group, using only Mongolian cashmere.
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Alfredo in Guilin (China) 1989, to create a cashmere company there combining Brunello’s know-how with the financial resources of a Japanese group, using only Mongolian cashmere. Brunello Cucinelli was founded in 1978 in Castel Rigone, near Perugia, it began with the produc�on of women's knitwear in colored cashmere. Seven years later, in 1985, he acquired the fourteenth-century castle of Solomeo, a small medieval village on the outskirts of Perugia where, in 1987 (a�er two years of restora�on) the company's headquarters was transferred. In 1994, the first men's collec�on of the Brunello Cucinelli brand and the first singlebrand store in Porto Cervo. In 2002 the first total look for men/women. Simultaneously with the consolida�on of the distribu�on through the mul�brand channel, the company begins a strategy development by opening single-brand stores located in the main world capitals and in the most exclusive resort loca�ons. In 2009, the shoes became part of the Brunello Cucinelli collec�ons, in 2012 the company was listed on the Italian Stock Exchange. The ins�tu�onal road show, scheduled in two weeks, stops a�er only 6 days due to excess demand. Thanks to the great interest of investors, demand exceeds 18 �mes the offer. On April 27, 2012, on the first day of lis�ng, trading increased the stock price by 49.7%. In 2017, the year in which the company exceeds 500 million in turnover, there are 124 single-brand stores (15 in Italy, 46 in Europe, 25 in North America, 21 in China, 17 in the rest of the world).
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Alfredo Mattiroli (blue shirt on the left). Brunello Cucinelli (on the right, red shirt) in Guilin (China).
In 2018 the monthly Robb Report, a sort of US bible of luxury menswear, indicated Brunello Cucinelli (together with Ralph Lauren) as the fashion designer who redefined men's fashion over the last thirty years. According to Forbes, in 2018 Brunello Cucinelli occupies the 33rd place among the richest in Italy with assets of 1.5 billion euros. Also in 2018 the Cucinelli family decided to sell 6% of the owned shares to donate 100 million to charity.
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Brunello Cucinelli with one of his invention: the tuxedo gray
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XI XI.
Fashion consul�ng: an outlook on the Chinese Market
It was in 1989 in Guilin (China), Alfredo and Brunello were among the first westerners to arrive there, there were no cars but lots of bicycles, Alfredo remember the streets full of bicycles, like a river in flood. In a short �me Chinese People has managed to turn China into a country of the future. There is no other country in the world that has had a con�nuous progression like Chinese one. China did like Italy in 1945, Italy was a great laboratory to produce for the whole world.
Alfredo Mattiroli in China
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XII XII.
Head Hun�ng
Alfredo started working as organiza�onal consultant, gave reports on how a company should be organized and he also said, since the owners were families, who had to include managers, product managers, opera�on managers, commercial managers, etc. Everyone told him: search for them by yourself! Ma�roli Associa� thus became the second office in Italy of Execu�ve Head Hunter. Here’s how casually this job was born! Over the �me Ma�roli Associa� became very well known in Europe but they also worked in America with Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, in Japan with Seiko and in China with companies that produce clothes for men. This was an important and responsible job. «We must work on the human being and o�en decide his des�ny. Fortunately, our professionalism has made us appreciate in the world of work and this is for Alfredo the thing that makes him most proud, together with his daughters Barbara and Cris�na» Alfredo says today.
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XIII XIII. Evolu�on in the world of Fashion In the last 20 years there has been a revolu�on especially thanks to globaliza�on. Even the fashion schools themselves have created new opportuni�es all over the world and today there is not only Milan or Paris when it comes to fashion. For example, a strong Bri�sh and American fashion was born, in Germany beau�ful companies were born (since 1975 they were not like Hugo Boss for men and Jil Sander for women). A Belgian school was born in Antwerp, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Swedish and Asutralian designers came out on the market. It can be said that today fashion is a global phenomenon which unites different cultures, opens up to cultural exchanges. Chinese designers working in Paris, Americans working in Milan, Italians working in China, Belgians working in New York. It is no longer said that fashion is French or Italian but we talk about quality of the works, the beauty that those works expresses: this is what we judge.
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XIV XIV. Made in Italy What has kept Italy is high quality in luxury both in prêt-à-porter and in shoes and leather goods; companies are o�en no longer Italianowned. Luxury is almost exclusively French property, except for Prada, Cucinelli and Ferragamo. In Italy companies are born from families, where the founder is a genius, this does not mean that children are too. Companies o�en feel immortal, but they do not think that increasing turnover requires managers with modern skills. Frenches understood this before Italians.
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XV XV. Owners and Managers
The evolu�on of these last 20 years: there is an absolute need to create a managerial team to be able to control the company as it grows. Italy has had and currently has great geniuses in fashion, but there is a problem: the Italian in general has an individualis�c character, tries to do everything by himself and is a centralizer, he is the Boss. Many Italian companies have succeeded and then collapsed. First the Americans and then the French applied the group work where the boss is at the center and, helped by the managers together, they coordinate the management of the company, each of them taking responsibility. The examples in Italy are the companies bought by LVMH and KERING that doubled or tripled their turnover with the change in management. See also Versace, since Michelle Kors Americans entered. «The philosophy of the master against the philosophy of the manager; that of the manager is a winner! When you are a manager, remember how important it is to work in groups because. Unity is strength!» Alfredo stated.
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XVI XVI. Clients From 1985 to 2018, Ma�roli Associa� worked with clients such as Gilmar, Genny Ferragamo, Versace, Ferrè, Lacroix, Mugler, Dior, Valen�no, Monclair, Armani, Celine and then in the world of luxury, he served as a stratup to Brunello Cucinelli or to other smaller companies that today are very strong like Liu Jo, Twinset, Peuterey, Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein.
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XVII XVII. Case Study: Brunello Cucinelli
What to do without money but with brilliant ideas: build a business like Brunello Cucinelli. Let’s analyze some of his simple strategies to get started in his business. In each one you will find the real methods that Cucinelli used to develop his company from a small one into a luxury brand renowned all over the world. • When Brunello had only two workers, he aimed to give the idea of having a large company to German customers, that's how he did it: he hired for two hours a day an old German lady who telephoned customers to get feedback on the quality of the products and the sa�sfac�on of each customer, se�ng up a sort of call center. • He copied the idea of Bene�on of do all the white pullovers and then dye them in 110 colors (something to which the Bri�sh tradi�on rebelled since the cashmere according to them had to be only in autumn colors). • Buy a trouser factory to combine with pullovers in order to have a coordinated collec�on. • He covered his mouth with a handkerchief when he answered the phone, if someone asked to talk to the manager he removed the handkerchief and talked to make it look like he had two directors. • When he moved with his collaborators he paid only one room in a luxury hotel and everyone slept there. • He used external services in order to avoid fixed costs. • He personally followed the renova�on of the Castle in Solomeo (the town where it is located his company). • In order to avoid the costs of architects and engineers. • He worked himself directly on kni�ng machines. Teamwork: create small groups of 2-3 students and try to guess why Brunello used these strategies and what are the effects on the customers, on the image of his company and on his brand. Develop a strategy to promote your brand fi�ng in a limited financial budget, using your crea�vity to increase the brand iden�ty and the reputa�on of your company. 44
Bibliography
“Storia della Moda”, J. Anderson Black, Madge Garland, Is�tuto Geografico DeAgos�ni, 1980; “Thierry Mugler: Galaxy Glamour”, Daniele Bo�, Thames & Hudson, 2010; “Zoom on Fashion Trends”, miscellaneous, Nuova Libra Editrice, 2019; “Happy Fashion. Companies, styles and an�-fashion. Felice Moda. Imprese, s�lismo e contro-mode”, Viaindustriae Publishing, 2001.
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ISBN 978-88-944763-9-2
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788894 476392 >
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