MILAN–The Neapolitan sartorial family par excellence cut the ribbon on their Milan flagship store and gentlemen’s club on Milan’s Via Gesù, the city’s newly designated Mens Sartorial Street. In tandem, Caruso and Luciano Barbera also inaugurated their flagships on the exclusive street, a few steps away from Via Montenapoleone.
A mix of English architectural charm and Neapolitan flair went into the planning of the Rubinacci venue outfitted with hand crafted-accents like wood floors dislodged from an ancient castle in Scotland, as well as yellow and black Venetian-style ceilings.
The 400 square-meter retail space houses the new ready-to-wear mens line and accessories for women, as well as a made-to-measure corner with vintage fabrics from the 1930’s, resurrected from the Rubinacci family stash.
“With vintage fabrics, you can have a true luxury product. Once it is gone, it is gone,” 33-year-old Luca Rubinacci told BACO, as he showed us personal mementos situated throughout (The family meeting Pope John Paul II, personalized autographed photo of Luciano Pavorotti and many other baby, family wedding and vacation photos).
A cut above the rest, Rubinacci decided the gentlemen’s club will be a haven for upscale bespoke consumers to escape the pavement, share a cocktail at the hearth of a cozy fireplace, smoke a cigar and hook their iPad up to wifi.
The store is a stone’s-throw away from Rubinacci’s original Via Montenapoleone Milan headquarters, where older, experienced tailors are currently teaching neophytes the Neapolitan bespoke craft, whilst benefiting from the younger generation’s fresh, unbridled style.
–Sofia Celeste
