It’s no wonder that “gatekeeping” has emerged as one of the year’s biggest flexes. The pleasure of enjoying a place or a product, unspoiled, has become an increasingly elusive luxury. In an era when your favourite local watering hole is just one Instagram post away from being overrun by influencers and most designer items are indistinguishable without their logos, how else could we respond than by going in search of goods with soul? Fortunately, a new crop of designers is poised to deliver such rarefied clothes and accessories. And because they run small, bootstrap operations, you needn’t fear a regime change and dramatic aesthetic shifts every few seasons. Some of them are trained designers, others are not, but what they all have in common is a deep appreciation for their roots, a respect for craft, and a customer base distinguished by confidence in their own personal style.
La Promesa Paris
It would be difficult not to be taken by the stunning photos of Justina Socas and Clément Le Coz’s stylish wedding in Argentina five years ago. “We wanted everything to be perfect and true to our DNA,” Le Coz says. La Promesa, the Paris-based couple’s two-year-old collection of his-and-her tailoring inspired by the traditional gaucho suit the groom wore for the occasion, is as timeless, distinctive, and full of romance as their nuptials. Thanks to a former Balenciaga patternmaker and a few tweaks to the original suit (longer jackets, flat-front trousers that take their cues from vintage designs), the first samples—rendered in butter-yellow corduroy—signalled that the duo were aiming to do something different.Jackets start at about $1,190, but the clothes aren’t all you get. “Fifty percent of the product is the experience,” adds Le Coz, noting that in the showroom, customers are greeted with tea served in Imolarte ceramics accompanied by “Christofle silverware, Argentine alpaca trays, and traditional French pastries.” Le Coz and Socas aren’t simply selling things to wear, they’re selling a dream—and garments as cinematic and special as the experiences they curate through their bespoke travel agency, Le Coup de Foudre.
Le Tre Sarte
At a passing glance, it might seem that the creative director of this Rome-based atelier looked to India or China for inspiration for her line of band-collar jackets and dresses featuring frog closures. But their genesis is, in fact, much closer to home. The look is actually “quite old-school Roman,” says Camilla Voci, explaining that the sheer reach of the empire resulted in a melting pot of aesthetic influences. Style names and the colour palette also take their cues from the Eternal City: Take the Tyrolean-influenced Costantino cashmere jacket (about $920) or the Aureliano, a single-breasted, peak-lapel jacket (about $2,700). In addition to the local tailors who produce the designs using mainly Italian deadstock fabrics, Voci has also collaborated with Calabrian ceramicists and a bespoke-lampshade maker on a range of home items that further channel the artisanal vibe.
Lokomotive OOO
Don’t be deterred by the private Instagram account. For founder Olivia Schuler-Voith-Albers-Schönberg, a trained costume designer, privacy is one of the most underrated luxuries. This ethos extends to the “models” she works with, many of them close friends, who are often photographed in colorful crochet ski masks and sunglasses to direct your focus toward the clothes themselves. Their whimsical aesthetic is deeply rooted in Swiss craft and tradition, offering an alternative to trend chasing in an era when “everyone looks the same, smells the same, dresses the same, and lives in similar interiors, because everyone has the same references,” she says. The psychedelic-painted shutters found in her native Switzerland inspired the brand’s sunray-like logo, which also crops up as a lining in Austrian-style jackets (from about $1,780) and “evening pyjamas” (from about $1,410). Though select items are available online, knowledge of the brand has spread mostly by word of mouth in and around St. Moritz; Schuler-Voith-Albers-Schönberg recently opened a showroom there offering bespoke and custom options. This fall, she’ll launch her first home collection.
Previously published on Robb Report USA
Photos courtesy of La Promesa Paris, Le Tre Sarte and Lokomotive OOO
