Italian Designers

Italian luxury is regional before it is national. Hides are tanned in Tuscany, silk printed around Como, yarn spun in Biella, knitwear made in Umbria and straw hats woven by hand in the Marche. Milan holds the business and most of the tailoring. Most of these houses work within reach of the workshops that supply them, which is why the first question about an Italian piece is usually how it was made and where.

Gucci opened in Florence in 1921 as a leather goods and luggage maker, and the saddlery references still turn up in the hardware. Bottega Veneta started in Vicenza in 1966, and the intrecciato weave, thin strips of leather worked by hand into a lattice, is still what the house is known for. Valextra has been making cases and bags in Milan since 1937, on clean architectural shapes with almost nothing on the outside to identify them. Brunello Cucinelli works from Solomeo in Umbria, and Fabiana Filippi knits in Giano dell’Umbria, in the same region. Braschi has been making fur coats in Italy since the 1950s, and Montegallo weaves its straw in the Marche.

The younger Milanese labels work narrower ground. Blazé Milano builds each collection out from the blazer. The Attico, founded by Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini, dresses for evening without apologising for it. La DoubleJ, started in Milan by the American journalist J.J. Martin, prints in colour combinations most houses would talk themselves out of. Taller Marmo, founded in 2013 by Riccardo Audisio and Yago Goicoechea, an Italian and an Argentinian who met at Istituto Marangoni in Milan, works between Milan and Dubai on the kaftan. Alessandra Rich, born in Milan and showing from London, holds to a stricter proportion.

Coveti carries 16 Italian houses in total, including Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Valextra, Brunello Cucinelli, Giambattista Valli, The Attico, La DoubleJ, Blazé Milano, Fabiana Filippi and Rosantica.

Frequently asked questions

Which Italian designers does Coveti stock?

Coveti carries 16 Italian houses: Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Valextra, Brunello Cucinelli, Fabiana Filippi, Giambattista Valli, Alessandra Rich, Blazé Milano, La DoubleJ, The Attico, Taller Marmo, Rosantica, Braschi, Montegallo, Annalisa Caricato and Tonya Hawkes. Leather runs deepest, then knitwear, evening, fur and hats.

Is a label Italian if it is only made in Italy?

Made in Italy is a manufacturing fact, and a great many houses with no Italian identity can claim it, because the tanneries, spinners and hat makers here take outside work. Coveti’s Italian edit groups by the tradition a house works in, and names the divergence when there is one. Giambattista Valli was born in Rome and runs his house from Paris. Alessandra Rich was born in Milan and shows from London. Tonya Hawkes was born in the United States and ran design at Furla in Bologna before building her own company in Italy, where her bags are made. Taller Marmo was founded by an Italian and an Argentinian and works between Milan and Dubai. None of that is hidden on the product pages.

Which Italian house is best known for leather?

Bottega Veneta, founded in Vicenza in 1966, is the reference point, with its intrecciato weave of hand worked leather strips. Valextra, making bags and cases in Milan since 1937, goes the other way, on clean architectural shapes and almost no visible branding. Gucci, founded in Florence in 1921, began as a leather goods and luggage business and still carries the saddlery in its hardware. All three are stocked at Coveti, alongside Annalisa Caricato, who makes sculptural leather bags in Italy.

Where are the Italian knitwear houses at Coveti based?

Two of them are in Umbria rather than Milan. Brunello Cucinelli, founded in 1978, works from the restored hamlet of Solomeo near Perugia. Fabiana Filippi has been based in Giano dell’Umbria since 1985 and is known for fine gauge knitwear. Umbria is the knitting region; the yarn itself is generally spun in Biella, up in Piedmont. Both houses sit alongside Milanese labels including The Attico, Blazé Milano and La DoubleJ.

What size will an Italian label be at Coveti?

Coveti lists Italian houses on the UK ladder, so the IT number is already converted for you. An IT 40 is a UK 8, an IT 42 a UK 10 and an IT 44 a UK 12, which is the Italian number minus 32. Letter sizing is left as the house cut it, and country of origin is stated on every product page.

Which Italian labels at Coveti are best for evening?

The Attico, founded in Milan in 2016 by Gilda Ambrosio and Giorgia Tordini, and Giambattista Valli, the Rome born designer who shows his house from Paris. Alessandra Rich, born in Milan, covers occasion dressing in tweed and crystal. Rosantica, founded in Milan by Michela Panero, makes the crystal and chain bags to finish it, and Braschi cuts the fur to go over the top.