PEAKLIFE

Stefano Gaudioso Tramonte is the Style Director and General Merchandising Manager at Italian menswear major, Corneliani. In a tête-à-tête with PEAKLIFE, he tells the story of Corneliani, then and now!

Born in Milan in 1973, Stefano Gaudioso Tramonte cultivates his passion for fashion and sense of aesthetics thanks to the environment of his day-to-day living. With his grandparents owning a fur atelier in the center of Milan, and another part of his family working in the fabric industry, his understanding of the finer nuances of fabric, construction and aesthetics started early in life as he developed a sense of curiosity and a sort of love for this “magic” world. He completed his education in a Swiss college where he learned the profound sense of respect for discipline and of the environment that are now an important part of his character.

Stefano started working at the age of 22 in the Ermenegildo Zegna Group where he stayed for more than 15 years covering different roles. As the Style Director and General Merchandising Manager at Corneliani, he has found the right balance between his creative and his commercial side and is able to further develop his professional skills and his vision.

In an e-interview with PEAKLIFE, Stefano tells the tale of Corneliani, its deep-rooted Italian heritage and strong values, and how his role of managing style and merchandising for the brand although exhausting but a very rewarding experience.

PL: Let’s begin from how it all began… Tell us about the initial years of Corneliani, and how it all began with Alfredo Corneliani’s craft business of making raincoats and coats, to Corneliani becoming a world-renowned menswear brand.

Stefano: Alfredo Corneliani, a pioneer in the Italian menswear sector, opened a craft business in Mantua making raincoats and overcoats in the 1930s. It was an immediate success, but production was halted by the start of the second World War. Alfredo’s sons Claudio and Carlalberto went on to found Corneliani S.p.A. in 1958, which has since then become a global reference point for high-end menswear.

The town of Mantua – a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Italian Capital of Culture 2016 – is steeped in art and culture, and it reached its height during the Renaissance under the rule of the Gonzagas, a truly enchanting place which influences the tastes and sensitivities of anyone who lives and works there. The town’s vibrantly elegant mood and harmonious atmosphere have inspired Corneliani’s approach to style, one which places substance over form in the pursuit of beauty. The company’s Mantua factory remains the nexus for design, research and production for the clothes and accessories which have made Corneliani synonymous with Italian sophistication and elegance across boundaries.

Corneliani today counts 1.250 employees among its Mantua Headquarters, Milan offices and showroom, foreign branches in China and the USA, and direct retail operations. Distribution is global, counting over 750 points of sale worldwide between high end luxury department stores, multi-brand specialty stores and 60 mono-brandstores.

In 2016 Investcorp, a private equity firm with over 30 years of successful investments in high potential businesses, acquired the majority stake in the company, with the objective to continue and further accelerate the international development of the Corneliani brand.

PL: Tell us about the journey of the brand and the various ups and downs it has seen over the generations, and where does it stand today?

Stefano: Corneliani is a brand of inherent and strong values and heritage… Values that stem from the principles of its founding father, the Corneliani family; and values from the Italian culture and tradition! It is a long-standing tradition of sartorial and elegant style, with passion to spread this elegance. Corneliani is born from savoir-faire that blends human touch and innovation, combining traditional methods and technology, embracing and perpetuating the fine heritage of Italian tailoring.We are devoted to excellence with a continues research on new fabrics and a deep study of new silhouettes dedicated to invent always new garments that can provide to our customers an advantage and always a touch of elegance in their everyday life.

PL: How would you define the sartorial concept of the brand? And, how is it different than its competitive brands?

Stefano: We want to be the curators and creators of Italian style for our men. At Corneliani we have a unique style, and a distinctive and instinctive sense of Italian refinement and sophistication that comes from our origins, our heritage. Staying true to our roots, we relentlessly uphold the passion of Italian sophistication and lifestyle. By using the best our Italian craftsmanship and savoir-faire, we wish to create the best opportunity for men all around the world to effortlessly style their lives to the fullest. Enabling them to enjoy and express the best Italian culture and elegance in every detail. Much more than a product, we want to deliver a service, a way of life and an ultimate experience of sophistication and Italian excellence. This is what makes Corneliani different!

PL: The brand has seen a revival of sorts viz its branding, new logos, packaging and also a new e-commerce site. What was the catalyst for this change, and has it helped the brand to open up to new customers?

Stefano: Everything has a unique purpose. We aim to shift our brand perception to an experiential one and less product driven.

PL: How do you balance the heritage of the brand with the demands of innovation and modernity?

Stefano: We always try to put all our sartorial know-how into every category. Hybridization between Sartorial and Sportswear, new technology on formal fabric and new constructions on sportswear. Mixing all elements is the name of the game.

PL: Tell us about your journey with the brand, and what do you consider as your personal milestones in your years with Corneliani?

Stefano: I joined Corneliani in September 2016. My role and how it has been designed is not so common for our industry. I’m the Style Director but at the same time I’m also the General Merchandising Manager. This means that I have the ownership of the creative aspects of the job, but, on the other side, I need to be very analytical and aware of the competition. I have a great team supporting me with both roles, Style and Merchandising. We analyse everything and we do a quantitative briefing containing all numbers, complexity, target price and positioning. At the same time, we are creating, designing and developing all projects. It’s really a great experience, really exhausting but very rewarding at the same time!

PL: How do you define a Corneliani man? And, how similar or different is the Indian customer to this definition?

Stefano: Refined and sophisticated he has culture and knows what’s going on. He has a sensitivity for beauty and authenticity, he’s connected and he’s spending money to live an experience not to own products… he is a globetrotter who loves Italy and is refined and elegant. No matter the age and nationality, our consumers are driven by experience, uniqueness and elegance. For the C-Gen(Connected Generation) technology in no way substitutes savoir-faire and savoir-vivre, it simply helps access it.

PL: What according to you are the risks and challenges faced by luxury menswear industry?

Stefano: Of course, in the last 20 years a lot of things have changed in men’s fashion. Today there are no more age cluster you can refer to, it’s about your social environment and about your culture, furthermore, the habits of men have changed and everybody. Customers choose something not only because of the brand and the product, but even more because we belong to the same world. It’s more and more a question of experience, it’s a continuous evolution in order to offer something unique. Off course exclusivity and customization are an important goal of our business. That’s why in Corneliani we want to design new experience, one that embraces our savoir-faire to empower our clients savoir-vivre.

PL: What should patrons of Corneliani look out for in the future, viz your plans for expansion, if there are any in the pipelines?

Stefano: Until now we had really many new project and we are still working on them such as: brand identity, new store concept, digitalization approach… so our objective is became more and more an Experiential brand in term of shopping experience, in terms of communication, in terms of digital approach. We are an Italian brand with a great history and we are devoted to excellence. We want to be the curators and creators of the Italian style; we use our savoir faire to create a seamless savor vivre to style men’s lives. This is our mission for the next year!