The protagonists of this all-Italian story are trousers, the male leader par excellence and symbol of freedom and conquest for women after a millenary struggle for emancipation.
An iconic garment that, as often happens, was created as a practical work garment. Wearing trousers today is a custom, it couldn’t be more normal. Elegant trousers, evening trousers, comfortable trousers, trousers that stop just above the ankle, jeans, and so on. An infinite number of models each representing a style, trend, period, personality. Wearing tailor-made trousers on the other hand is a luxury, almost a slice of fortune. Only those who believed in handmade value could understand and those who have done so, most of the time, do not look back.
Massimo Corrado, artisan maker of trousers from Campania, is a witness of the High Fashion of the 1900s. Born and raised in the family fashion house in Orta di Atella near Naples, he has consumed that productive atmosphere since childhood, absorbing the inspiration and creativity that, in the laboratory, gave life to garments of the highest quality and of unmistakably Italian style. After years of experimentation and working far away from the magnificent Gulf, in 2010 Corrado supported his need for tradition. To go home and make men’s trousers “like in the old days”.
His congenital knowledge of noble art, enriched by his experiences in other places, inspired him to create trousers from the past yet for a contemporary client. Pins and a high waist enshrine a retro style and a classic fit that people just like more and more. “I’m inspired by Cary Grant and the elegance of 1950s Hollywood cinema,” says Corrado. His boss’s strong point is the story he tells. Trousers designed and made to dress the modern man, attentive to the quality of the fabrics and that do not renounce comfort, while wearing classy clothes. And what is elegance without nonchalance? The V opening on the belt, the elasticity of the chain stitch and the containing band of his high-waisted trousers are devices applied by the designer to ensure comfort and sophistication even during working hours. A sensitive connoisseur of the trends that cyclically follow one another in terms of fashion, Corrado focuses on the timeless classic style, that eternal desire to feel elegant every day, even on the metro.
To support change and not to undergo it, while remaining devoted to a cultural heritage, that is the real revolution. Corrado does this every day, in the shadow of Vesuvius, in a place where there is no need to explain beauty because it is in everything, in the faces and alleys of a “tailor-made” Southern Italy.
Why exclusively design and make trousers and not another item of clothing?
Because I was born in a trousers factory. My family started this business in '64. When I was very young, I used to play in the lab when I was five years old. My parents, not knowing who to entrust me to during working hours, took me there and I, imitating my father and my uncle, played at pretending to sew and cut.
After various experiences elsewhere and also working for major textile and fashion brands, I believed in the value of tradition. I wanted to get back to what I already had in 2010. Then, over the last five years, classic trousers have come back into vogue: if before they were worn exclusively with your jacket, today classic trousers are stylishly combined with a pullover or a T-shirt. Once upon a time it was really out of the ordinary to think of trousers without a jacket.
Making a garment for Massimo Corrado is almost a heroic undertaking, a meticulous and precise job: a pocket for change, a shirt-stopper, a V-belt, and other unique details. His is a very demanding approach as far as trousers are concerned. Right?
Yes. I was the first wearer, the guinea pig for my own trousers. I wondered how I wanted to feel with my trousers on, what I wanted to keep in my pockets, how I wanted to feel when I sat down and how I wanted to look outside. After these considerations, some special elements and finishes came out: on the top of the right pocket, there is a pocket for coins with a clip to keep banknotes; a strip of silicone to hold the shirt in the trousers and not let it become untucked; the V belt at the back that allows the man to sit without a feeling of constraint; the side buckles, inspired by the '50s, to widen and tighten the trousers over time. Not to mention the kneepad, an inner lining placed in the direction of the knee to avoid creasing the final tissue when sitting. Thanks to all these details, my trousers can be worn every day because they are a comfortable garment.
What are the fabrics and materials Massimo Corrado loves? What do you choose for your customers?
We only process noble fibres and mix them with noble fibres: wool, cotton, silk and linen. A choice of quality and style... but also of sustainability. As a matter of fact, not only the fabrics that I use are natural. The choice of buttons also is for those not made with synthetic materials. And then there's the packaging: I don't use plastic and thin sheets of cellophane to pack my clothes, but cardboard boxes because they lend themselves well to differentiation and are also a beautiful piece of decor and can be recycled, for a new purpose such as, a document holder for instance (they are the same size as an A4 sheet).
What will we see in the new Massimo Corrado winter collection? Will there be any novelties and what colours will be chosen?
Strong colours and shades typical of nature. Flannel, cotton and velvet in autumn colours: from yellow to ochre yellow, from brown to maple leaf red. These warm shades are contrasted by the countless cold shades of blue and snow-white, especially in the rocky velvet trousers, a wide ribbed velvet, widely used between the '60s and '70s, which I wanted to bring back from the past.
The global market and its product: how important are quality and the Made in Italy brand?
The global market was an inevitable process, fatal for many small and medium Italian craft shops. I think it's a completely positive phenomenon (even if we Italians don't know how to interpret it). Just think: my customers are men; they are usually around the age of forty years old and have an average-high willingness to spend. Considering the number of inhabitants in the world and the fact that all Italian craftsmen produce real excellence, I could say that I have 800,000 potential customers!
The role of communication and new channels, such as social media, has shortened distances. This has been and will be a huge advantage for us Italian creators.
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