L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano Restoring the Integrity of Tailoring H anging on the wall at a f a s h i o n s t a r t - u p i n Whittier, California is a quote, which reads: "The bitter- ness of low quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten." We've all been there - buying something we thought was a "bargain" and then see it fall apart. However, what is even worse is when we spend a lot of money for a gar- ment of poor quality. T h i s i s w h a t h a p p e n e d t o founder and director of Sartieri, Oscar Santi, and is what inspired him to be a change-maker in g e n t l e m a n ' s o u t f i t t i n g b y launching his brand in October 2015. Like everything great, Sartieri, the online tailors, start- ed with a good story. Santi had just finished his Masters degree and was looking for a great suit. His sights were high – he desired nothing short of a perfect suit for his laurea. Fed up of the ready-to-buy and standard sized suits the shops offered, Santi decided to go to a tailor in his hometown, Lecce for his needs. After getting mea- s u r e d u p a n d p a r t i n g w i t h a p r i e s t l y s u m o f m o n e y , h e closed the tailor's door behind him feeling satisfied. However, at home, with the new suit on, his father's words epitomised e v e r y t h i n g t h a t w a s w r o n g : "questo abito fa pena!" Ill-fitted, made from fabric of bassisima quality and second-rate sewing, Santi was left with a very bitter taste in his mouth. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 4 "I think this is what sparked my vision, the idea of creating something unique and top-quali- ty - something exclusive but not elitist," Santi said. Fast-forward to today, and Sartieri is already winning prizes: the team's latest accolade is the Mediastars Prize, where they won best Italian e- commerce of 2015/2016. P a r t n e r e d w i t h G i u s e p p e Ramondo (aka Geppino) a "liv- ing legend" of Neapolitan tailor- ing, Sartieri combines innova- t i o n a n d c r a f t s m a n s h i p . However, unlike traditional tai- loring, the tailor comes straight to you. The customer creates and designs their suit online, choosing from one billion possi- ble combinations. Once the order is made, a personal style consultant will visit the client to take proper measurements and ensure a 100% fit guarantee. This is what gives their brand an edge Santi explained: "Some of our competitors are selling jack- ets and suits abroad, but because t h e y a r e n o t t a k i n g p h y s i c a l measurements, they are trusting the customer to be able to take t h e i r m e a s u r e m e n t s autonomously. We're not doing it like that." Unknown to many, a u t o n o m o u s m e a s u r i n g c a n result in dissatisfied customers with clothes that do not fit - Sartieri's solution is sending experience stylists to personally and accurately take measure- ments. It is not just about making money for Santi, as he remains 100% committed to Made in Italy, and refuses all offers of outsourcing, despite the cost- cutting lure: "We get phone calls and e-mails almost every day from Chinese manufactur- ers," Santi explained. Asked why they have dedicated them- s e l v e s t o M a d e i n I t a l y , h e replied, "It's just too easy to offer poor-quality goods. These days the overwhelming majority of big and small clothing brands manufacture in countries where costs are 10-20 times lower. F a s h i o n b u s i n e s s e s r e l y o n branding to help customers for- get where their products come from. At Sartieri, we are trying to create a different discourse – reconciling the image of a prod- uct at a fair price with the high- est quality. This is our chal- lenge." Adhering to the Five pillars of the Slow Fashion Revolution, Sartieri's priority is to provide the best existing raw materials. They accomplish this by sourc- ing world-renowned wool and cotton mills and so trade with well-established cloth merchants in Biella, Piemonte, città della lana. Buying from century-old- mills like Fratelli Tali di Delfino ( e s t . 1 9 0 3 ) a n d G u a b e l l o (est.1815), the alpine waters of Biella provide a final treatment to the wool, which is unachiev- able elsewhere. Santi is passion- ate about the quality of their fab- rics, and likens fabric sampling to tasting the finest foods: "It's like when you eat something delicious and your senses go into ecstasy…the same thing happens when you touch one of our fabrics." Driven by passion and com- mitment, it is no surprise that Santi draws inspiration from fig- ures as inspiring as himself. He holds great admiration for Italian fas hion des igner, Brunello Cuccinelli who is famous for saying: "I have always dreamed of creating useful work for an important objective." S artieri is achieving jus t that. As both traditionalists and modernists, they seek to provide a service, which artisans have poured, love, passion and time into. As Santi expressed, "pas- sion and love are the characteris- ing elements that create not just clothes but works of art." It will be interesting to see how Sartieri performs in this fast-fashion world. However as public con- sciousness is raised on fashion ethics and sustainability in docu- mentaries like True Cost, Sartieri could well be on the winning side. Sartieri's hand-made, person- alised pocket squares and cravats are available to US customers on http://www.sartieri. com. They are currently working on their full expansion to the USA. NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Geppino is Sartieri's Master Tailor, "an amazing person, with a huge genero- sity of spirit". Credit: Roberto Tondi ph Lecce ELISABETTA SANTI

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