Artisan Encounters17 February 2020

Melillo 1970, the Southern Hub of Haute Couture

This is the story of the Melillo family, who in the province of Salerno, have created a real tailoring hub. The secrets and experience of Salerno tailors have a place and it is there that they have been preserved since 1970.

In the past, in the surroundings of Naples and Salerno, they learned the secrets of haute couture to perfection. Many, some more and some less, with real interest or just out of curiosity, absorbed the techniques and passion for the noble profession to such an extent that, even today, they represent the legacy of an important Italian cultural heritage.

This is the story of the Melillo family who in Montecorvino Rovella, in the province of Salerno, have created a real tailoring hub. The secrets and experience of Salerno tailors have a place and it is there that they have been preserved since 1970. In this place, the master craftsmen still create impeccable garments with a unique fit by hand, the same today as in the past. With surgical precision, they cut and sew tailored clothes thanks to their extraordinary knowledge of human anatomy. Needle and thread together follow the natural harmony of the body giving life to sleeves and armholes, collars and undercollars suitable for every shape and size.

Wearing a Melillo garment means, in fact, choosing a comfortable, convenient garment that is made to suit your figure and enhance it. They are the same needles and threads that, after setting up the infrastructure, enhance the garment with original details, such as buttonholes, buttons and stitching and everything that symbolises the charm of the tailored clothing.

The Melillo family has assimilated the codes of the Italian style from an early age and used them to create refined and timeless collections, aimed at the elegant man who wants to feel special during a ceremony or in his spare time, at work or on the road and, at the same time, at both young and older men, because authentic style has no age.

Melillo 1970 skilfully shapes the fine fabrics carefully selected from companies adhering to the Made in Italy brand because it is the raw materials, together with skilled hands, that guarantee the success of a garment.

Classic jackets, men’s suits and coats are the Melillo products. Micro patterns or checks, pure virgin wool in classic colours ranging from different shades of blue to intense greys, including the colours that, varying each year, interpret the trends of Italian men’s fashion.

Over the years, the Melillo tailoring centre has researched and invested in modern sewing methods that allow the company to create a greater number of garments in less time, namely cutting-edge tools supervised by the master’s gaze and touch. The new Melillo sewing systems have combined the value of hands with the precision of the machinery, without ever having a negative impact on the product.

The production chain of the Melillo 1970 Brand starts by listening and interpreting needs: creating a garment that conforms to the individual’s physical and aesthetic needs is what the company intends to continue doing to make its customers happy.

2020 will see the company engaged in the production of new collections for lovers of the classic jacket for all seasons. What will not be missing in the new proposal? Classic blue, of course. The colour of the year will characterise Melillo garments: an iridescent blue in typical Solaro garments, houndstooth in coats and navy blue for single-breasted jackets.

Maestro Melillo explains his art with simplicity and the importance of the Campania tradition, the “flagship” of Italian craftsmanship, with devotion.

Is there an iconic garment from your maison? Is this an evergreen of your collections?

Of course, the classic jacket/suit is our iconic garment, the star of all our collections. This garment has always involved various stages which are carried out entirely by hand, and that is still the case today. These include blocking the jacket bottoms, the armholes, the collar and the under collar, the buttonholes and the buttons. In this way, we are able to try to respond positively and make our customers happy.

How important is the quality of the raw material for the success and wearability of a garment? How do you select your fabrics?

Quality, together with manufacturing, are fundamental elements for the wearability of a garment. In order to be appreciated by our customers, we focus on the particular processes that we carry out with needle and thread by hand. As for the choice of fabrics, we only turn to well-known and established companies and, above all, Italian ones. Some of these are, for example, Draghi Spa, Carnet, Loro Piana Spa, Fratelli Tallia di Delfino, Reda, F.lli Cerruti and Trabaldo Togna 1840.

Yours is a family business and its history is in tune with those of other traditional Italian artisan businesses. What allows you to stand out from other tailors?

It is our customers who decide and judge our garments and this is what sets us apart from other craft businesses. There are many family-run tailors in Italy and we strongly believe that all of us, in the same way, are committed to giving only the best.

The Campania region is the cradle of fine artisan products, especially when we talk about tailoring. How important is inherited cultural heritage and how important are progress and innovation for remaining competitive today?

The tailoring tradition in Campania? It is the result of sacrifices and traditions which fortunately have been and continue to be handed down from one generation to the next. What still counts to be competitive today are the manufacturing steps that are carried out by hand for the creation of a garment.

Melillo 1970 was and continues to be abreast of the times: what do we expect, therefore, from the next collection? Will 2020 really be the year of Classic Blue?

It will certainly be the year of classic blue. Blue is an easy colour for matching and can be worn on a variety of occasions; it is a very elegant colour and above all it feels good because it gives a sense of tranquility. You must always have blue clothes ready in the wardrobe!