THE HERITAGE INFLUENCER
Neapolitan by birth, Milanese by upbringing, he grew up in the f ashion business thanks to made-to-measure suits. Obsessed with haute couture since his years as a law student, Fabio Attanasio, at the age of 30, boasts over 200,000 followers on Instagram. As a blogger and documentarian of what remains of the Italian ar tisan tradition, via his TheBespoke Dudes he champions the small ateliers of mens high fashion. He promotes knowhow and heritage by pragmatically transforming himself into a mannequin, wearing the fruits of the tens, and sometimes hundreds of hours of manual labor.
L’UOMO VOGUE: What do the shops need to do to promote themselves?
FABIO ATTANASIO: They need strategies to make the product known. Traditionally, they worked by word of mouth but now customers like to research online, comparing costs and services. So, communicating the project on the inter net is essential, even considering that many Italian artisans survive thanks to tr unkshows; itinerant events to present their products to businesses abroad, contacted primarily through social networks.
L’U.V. How does the concept of craftsmanship change from nation to nation?
F.A. In England, for example, no one would go to work in brown Oxfords. You wear black shoes and white shir ts, while in Naples a histor ical tailor like Eugenio Marinella thinks a white shirt in the middle of the day or a blue shirt in the evening is absolutely unbecoming. Furthermore, the London jacket is r igid, has a military heritage and five layers of fabric inside. In Naples it only has one, and in Puglia there is even a tailor’s shop that makes jackets without layers, still managing to maintain the str ucture.
L’U.V. How has the sector been modernised in Italy?
F.A. There are artisans who mix all of our techniques. In Rome, four young people between twenty and thirty, the last graduates of the Accademia dei Sartori, have created Habitus. Their jackets sport a collar and lapel with a cut inspired by vintage Neapolitan tailoring, the front quarter in the typical Florentine style, while the bottom of the jacket is neat in the Milanese fashion. It’s similar to the process I follow for my line of eyewear, vintagely handcrafted but made of acetate or rhodium dipped in four microns of 24k gold.
L’U.V. Does craftsmanship continue to suffer from the commercial success of sportswear?
F.A. The trend today is “casual” but I also see economic g rowth in companies producing tailor-made clothing, precisely because people actually aim at “customisation”. I love sneakers and I think it’s ridiculous to ride a motorcycle in a suit and tie. Therefore, I believe in the rule of congruity; in being able to dress appropriately depending on the circumstances. Also, the craft does not adhere to the same seasonal rhythm of the fashion circuit. As they say in Naples, “tailoring is fashion in and of itself ”. Finally, it’s worth considering that if 83% of my followers are men, the rest are women, who do so because they want to enter the world of tailoring, a histor ically male circle.
F.A. In Milan there is the Caraceni dynasty, which created its own unique style for jackets. And, also in Milan, try Musella Dembech, the tailoring shop of a young man who uses more modern fits. In Florence we have the Liverano brothers. In Naples there is an expert like Rubinacci, but also Eduardo De Simone and Dalcuore who, in 2012, had only seven workers whereas today they number thirty. Francesco Marino, in San Giorgio a Cremano, is the maestro of neckties. Just consider that Japanese journalists go there to study how his tailors make a hem in an unlined tie. Fabio Attanasio is part of the CN Social Talent Agency, which embodies Condé Nast’s new approach to influencer marketing by promoting profiles r ich in stories and authenticity. Each influencer is selected not for their number of followers, but for their ability to create a daily narrative of l ife experiences filled with positive choices and actions.