Dear Shaded Viewers,
The other day I was leaving my favourite Japanese restaurant, YEN in Saint Germain, and I ran into Giulio Sapio and his lovely associate sitting on the terrace of Café Flore. He told me he wanted to talk to me about his new project but I was running home for a Zoom call with Colm Dillane, aka KidSuper, and so we arranged to meet the following day.
You only have to look at Giulio to know what ever he would design would be a reflection of himself and that means it would be timeless, elegant and refined. He is Italian, and maybe this is going to sound a bit cliché, but part of that culture is taking great pride in one’s work and in Italian craftsmanship. Not to keep you in suspense, Giulio has put together a collection for both men and women. The materials are sourced in Italy and the garments are constructed there as well. It’s a first collection and he is already selling to the best stores in Europe. Aside from the collection being the definition of luxury, you have to hear how the collection is presented.
Think of a travelling medicine man aka vintage cinema and then fast forward to someone that is concerned about the planet, its resources and wishes to reduce his carbon footprint and also provide the best service. That is the focus of Sapio, the collection designed by Giulio Sapio.
Giulio Sapio does not invite you to a showroom, he brings the showroom to you in the form of a container that he drives to your location, rolls it out of the back of his van and opens it up like the most luxurious piece of wardrobe luggage. Now he told me, but I did not experience it for myself, that inside the van is a gold plush couch where you can sit and relax. I’m trying to contact Michael Hadida from l’Eclaireur because he actually had the full experience, I only heard about the experience from Giulio. But till Michael gets back to me, that is if he wants to share his social media pictures, we will make do with one image I have of Giulio Sapio in front of the open wardrobe.
After our tea at Café Flore Giulio was on the road driving his container to Italy for some appointments. When you are driving 12 hours or more it is a little difficult to make precise appointments because who knows how much traffic you will encounter on the way… Giulio is also planning on taking the container to New York and listen to this Greta Thunberg, he is driving the van with the container inside onto a boat. The voyage will take 15 days.
When I left Giulio I could not stop thinking about his project, the collection, and the story that goes along with it. The idea took a few years in development, and it all came together during lockdown. We are all interested in sustainability and the blockchain but there is more to the definition of sustainability than just the production of the textiles. Do you sample more than you need? Do you produce more than what you have orders for? How and where are the garments made and what are the working conditions? What is the percentage of waste? How do you ship and present the collection? How long will the garments survive? Although his textiles are not ‘eco’ friendly every other aspect of his process is. These pieces are made to be worn for years and to end up in the closet of the next generation. There is nothing trendy about them they are just simply beautiful, timeless and luxurious. I look forward to my first encounter with the container. Probably that will be in September when hopefully I can be a fly on the wall when Giulio presents to Michael Hadida from l’Eclaireur.
Later,
Diane
