I did the following (bad) translation this lunchtime. It's from the Corriere della Sera's monthly Style magazine. It has some nice articles every month on Italian and other designers. There is a nice one also on Cornelliani in Ventiquattro magazine but I can't be arsed to translate it (too long). Pity the magazine isn't on-line like the daily paper. Style Magazine - Kiton article ‘I have taken everything from uncle’ For twenty years he has worked with his uncle, Ciro Paone, from which he has learned all that he knows. “ The most difficult man, but very generous: he has never been jealous of his secrets”. They are ‘mysteries’ to make jackets, trousers and ties continuing to tell me of more traditional Napolitan tailoring rules. Paone founded Kiton (‘I know, it seems like an English name, in reality it’s most ancient, it comes from ‘chiton’, a garment worn by the Greeks’) and Antonio De Matteis, 42, is the commercial and marketing director. “The diktats are simple” he explains, “to make men's garments you need passion and also, why not, love for Naples, our city, the true cradle of male elegance although we are going through a bad period (these are the days of a crime outbreak in the administrative centre of Campania) “. Kiton has existed since 1968: then they produced 50 garments a day, today in the factory of Arzano (expanded with another 4000 square metres of space) there work 450 craftsmen, but the garments are barely 100, a sign that, instead of numbers, one prefers quality. “ We have demanding customers. It promotes a new way to buy, above all on behalf of the entrepreneur, the globetrotter for excellence: one buys identical suits in more pieces to have in all residences, from Milan to Aspen. The craziest expense? A Chinese tycoon has bought 93 pairs of shoes from us.” Regarding China, for Kiton (turnover for the current year: 60million Euros) the far east is an opportunity, certainly not a threat: “We produce everything in Italy, for us the Orient is only the new Russia. We have opened two shops, one in Chengdu and one in Beijing. It is a market that promises wonders and we are in it. When he takes off his manager’s clothes, De Matteis has a single ‘vice’. It's called the Twins; the boat with which is granted a small gite on the Amalfi coast, and also for the winter. “The name’s inspired by my twins, Walter and Mariano. I hope they will follow my trade. One works with ‘the beautiful’ and it is the most beautiful job in the world” he concludes, satisfied. (Veronica Russo)
