28 M_Cover.qxp:COVER - Mitchells | Richards

GIUSEPPE PINO
Opposite page:
Luciano Barbera
This page: A
men’s look from
Barbera’s fall
2011 collection
Luciano Barbera always wears white for tennis, prefers
dress slacks on the driving range, and would never
consider putting on a colorful, patterned shirt to
attend a dinner party. “Can you imagine someone
going to dinner in a fancy collar and
checks and stripes?” he once said incredulously.
“It’s not possible. It will not
match with the situation.”
Barbera appreciates the established rules of proper
dressing, but the dapper designer’s passion also
extends to the fabrics and fine craftsmanship of his
clothing and the factories where they are made,
which must be in Italy, of course.
This last mandate has proven a bit
problematic, because current
Italian law allows clothing
makers to put ‘Made in Italy’
on their garments even if
only one simple element,
such as adding buttons or
sewing on a label, is done
in that country. Like most
true Italian designers, he
is strongly opposed to
regulations that intentionally
deceive the
consumer, and he has
been a pioneer in the efforts to
change those laws.
“Italian culture, quality and
style should be promoted in
the right way and not get
jeopardized by other clothing
producers outside the
country. The customer has
the right to know the
truth,” he insists.
Barbera has good reason
to be proud of
Italian style and production.
Italy is unquestionably the producer of
the finest luxury fashion in the world. Barbera’s collection,
very much a product of the man himself, is
no exception. Understated and deluxe, like Italian
cashmere, is how friends and colleagues describe
both Barbera and his label. Indeed, admits the designer,
“I’ve always been considered the natural ambassador
of everything we produce.”
This fall, what Barbera has produced is a trilogy of
designs inspired by the years 1930, 1940 and 1971—
three significant high periods in 20th century fashion.
He hopes to entice more 30- and 40-somethings to classic
99
style by creating hybrid products a man can wear in unexpected
ways. (To wit, a tech-inspired down vest is faced in super 150s
navy chalk stripe suit fabric to deliberately blur the lines
between casual and dress.)
Barbera’s suits, while clearly influenced by old-world
English tailoring, are designed in the Milanese
manner that stresses softly padded, narrow shoulders
and a gently tapered waist. Yet most of his
suits and sportcoats are made not in Milan but in
southern Italy, by many of the same Neapolitan tailors
producing clothing for other world-renowned
brands. “They have a saying in Naples: ‘It’s like a second
skin.’ This is exactly how a well-made suit should
fit,” he says.
Unlike other bespoke suit makers who emphasize
the hand-make of their garments,
Barbera’s clothing reflects a perfect
balance between man and machine.
“You can have a very strong suit made
entirely by hand that is ugly because
the person who made it has no style
or sense of proportions. So what is the
appeal?” asks Barbera. “The key is to
have the ability to generate harmony
in the garment but to make your
suit where they are used to making
the best suits.”
Understated and deluxe, like Italian cashmere, is how
friends and colleagues describe both Barbera and his label.
What makes the Luciano
Barbera collection so distinctive
is more than just the tailoring. “I
really consider the fabric the
root of my clothing,” says
Barbera, who started out as a
textile designer. Not only are his
fabrics exclusive to his designs,
they are all developed in house at
the Lanificio Carlo Barbera mill.
Another important attribute of
the Barbera line is the attention
to detail he lavishes on every
object. “It’s important that
every single piece in the collection
offers something special,” adds the designer,
unable to name a favorite design from his label.
“It’s like asking a man which is your favorite child;
it simply can’t be done,” he says.
Among Barbera’s favorite expressions: sprezzatura,
the Italian word for detachment, but he
says a better way to think of it is quiet confidence
or low-key style. “The most forceful statement is
understatement,” he says. “It is the philosophy
behind everything I do.”