Gerardo Cavaliere is somebody whose model I’ve admired for some time, however hardly ever had an opportunity to speak to for quite a lot of moments at an occasion.
Whereas Milad and I have been in Rome not too long ago, due to this fact, I spent a while with Gerardo and his accomplice Margarita of their studio within the Regola space of town, studying concerning the enterprise.
I really feel there shall be some readers who may even have seen photos of Gerardo round on-line – he is arduous to overlook, with these placing options and infrequently equally placing tailoring – however will not have identified what he does or purchase it.
Gerardo grew up close to the Amalfi coast, and educated as a lawyer. However like many who find yourself with their very own enterprise on this space, he give up to observe his ardour for tailoring.
That enterprise is what is named Sartoria Giuliva at this time. But it surely would not have that top a profile – other than these footage of Gerardo – as a result of it is solely accessible by visiting the studio in Rome.
“The entire level of the model was that it was simply issues I really like,” Gerardo says. “So it is smart to do it right here. It could appear too chilly and impersonal some place else.”
The tailoring is made to a bespoke stage in Naples, however fitted by Gerardo in Rome and normally requires one or two fittings. Milad was measured for a jacket whereas we have been there. A two-piece swimsuit begins at €3500 excluding fabric.
The Sartoria has additionally been a bit eclipsed in recent times by Giuliva Heritage (above), the ready-to-wear line of initially solely womenswear that Margarita and Gerardo began after they met six years in the past.
Giuliva Heritage is an enormous model, actually for a younger firm. It is carried by Selfridge’s, Harrod’s and Matches; Eva Herzigova fashions; there was a collaboration with H&M. Ten folks now work out and in of the Rome studio – one cause they’re about to maneuver down the road.
After three years of Giuliva Heritage, menswear was added, which means a few of Gerardo’s designs can now be accessed there. The make isn’t the identical because the bespoke tailoring, however the supplies typically are.
That is vital for me, as a result of whereas it’s at all times arduous to purchase fits and jackets off the peg, it’s the design components at Giuliva that I discover most attention-grabbing.
Milad was planning to go to Gerardo anyway – earlier than we scheduled our journey for PS – as a result of he’d needed to have one thing made with him for some time. And this is smart: Giuliva is extra Milad’s style than mine.
Milad likes bolder colors and larger patterns. He’s extra more likely to put on one thing that stands out, and take actual pleasure in it. He had been notably enamoured with Giuliva’s pink shawl-collar jacket – above – which regardless of my occasional foray into pink and purple jackets, will not be one thing I’d put on.
The identical goes for tailoring just like the Prince-of-Wales verify swimsuit I’m attempting on beneath – in that case much less for the fabric and extra for the dramatic lapels. Even on the white jacket pictured decrease down, I’m conservative sufficient to want extra conventional scarf lapels with a low stomach.
However as I by no means tire of claiming, should you’re serious about garments then you definitely’re serious about greater than what you put on. Plus I do know from assembly them that there are readers who enjoy uncommon tailoring.
Most significantly, inspiration must be pursued in all places – possibly not in a lapel, however in a color; or within the mixture of colors; or in the way in which the cuts are mixed. In any other case all we do is make carbon copies of one another and flow into them, round and round.
For model to be inspiring, what it wants is creativity. And Gerardo actually has that. Even in such a slim aesthetic as tailoring, he at all times appears implausible and at all times appears completely different.
On the day we met, he was carrying a shiny blue polo underneath a white-linen jacket, for instance. Now it helps should you stay in a sunny nation, however nonetheless it made me contemplate bolder polos underneath white linen.
He was additionally carrying crimson socks between his tan worsted trousers and tan suede sneakers. I don’t put on shiny socks typically, nevertheless it made me take into consideration robust colors as a technique to separate comparable sneakers and trousers. And he’s typically extra refined on this combos too – a cream silk shirt with that white linen jacket, for instance, with a a pair of pale-green linen trousers (see varied photos on the backside of this publish).
Creativity stimulates. It makes you not simply need to copy, however to be extra inventive your self. It opens doorways in your thoughts. Or at the very least it does for me
The identical went for a number of the issues Milad and I attempted on within the Giuliva studio.
I cherished the form of the lapels on the massive suede coat above, even when I would not have them fairly as massive. The child-blue color of the ditch on the proper, beneath, was attractive, though the ditch on the left in a super-heavy linen had woven leather-based particulars that weren’t for me.
It was truly Gerardo’s assortment of classic materials that I gravitated to most – maybe as a result of they have been typically extra refined, and might be made up in additional conservative cuts.
I ended up ordering a shirt in a phenomenal 80s cotton, a cream with wonderful multicoloured stripes. It’s a cloth you’ll by no means purchase on-line, and I can perceive why it may not have bought the primary time round. But it surely made excellent sense in individual, with Gerardo’s recommendation and eye.
In any retailer it’s straightforward to get caught up within the aesthetic round you, shopping for one thing that basically appears finest within the store – of their world. Gerardo’s studio is so fantastically appointed that it may actually have that impact on you.
However I’m pretty assured the shirt shall be good, and the model was fairly easy – an ordinary level collar, only a contact greater than I might have usually.
Let’s wait and see. That too requires a visit again to Rome, so it would take some time.
For anybody else that thinks they might discover inspiration in Gerardo and Giuliva, I like to recommend attempting to see the merchandise in individual, notably for the materials. Likely the variety of stockists the place that is doable will keep on rising, given the course the model goes.
Pictures above, Milad Abedi. Photos beneath, from current lookbooks and social
