28 February 2014

The Ethnics of Antonio Ciongoli




Terra cotta basket weave cardigan - $595 Pine/white with navy deco gingham spread collar shirt - $225 Pine/terra cotta medallion printed open weave silk tie - $150




Inspiration for our Duomo scarves and ties




Brick "Duomo" wool challis scarf - $175




Terra cotta/pine/stone gun check sportcoat - $995




Various ties in the pine/terra cotta stone story, including prints inspired by Medici family shield and Ghiberti's bronze panels for bapistry doors - all $150




Pine donegal "Medici" rolleck sweater inspired by the diamond windowgrates of Michelangelo's Capella Medici in San Lozenzo - $595




Terra cotta casentino wool maremanna jacket - $995




Terra cotta Italian chamois work shirt popover - $250




White/terra cotta/pine bold tattersall twill spread collar shirt - $225




Navy/white/lavender japanese flannel spread collar shirt - $225 & Gray knit toggle vest with suede trim - $595



White/charcoal stripe Japanese cotton tab collar shirt - $225 Fatigue green knit toggle vest with suede trim - $595 & Fatigue green/charcoal shepherd's check belted peacoat - $995


Cashmere blend crewneck with wool "guild shield" embroidery - $650  - The shields  represent the Florentine tailors and shoe makers guild as well as the Medici family coat of arms



Shearling asymmetrical peacoat - $2995 & Brick "Duomo" wool challis scarf - $175

"...he might hear a young grandson being greeted
at the Cosenza train station by packs of jubilant relatives
who would make the boy feel like a McArthur returned, or 
a kind of Latin Lindbergh in a ticker tape parade -
except instead of confetti, the boy would be showered
with wet kisses from endless uncles, aunts, and cousins who
could not understand a word of English.

With an 8mm movie camera, the boy would begin to 
click off scenes of these relatives…Perhaps these films
would later be shown in a kitchen back in Brooklyn
where a bedsheet, serving as a projection screen,
would be tacked up to the flowered wallpaper.

And when the lights would go on in this 
Brooklyn kitchen, tears would be seen in the eyes 
of some older folks." 

The Ethnics of Frank Costello by Gay Talese
Esquire Magazine, Sep. 1961

A few years ago Antonio Ciongoli introduced me to Gay Talese.  A meeting was set up at Gay's home and we talked for a couple hours.  I brought up the excerpt from the Costello cover story in Esquire and while  Talese remembered the story he couldn't remember his unusual but beautiful meandering off subject and loaded with remembrance and nostalgia.  I told Talese how much it moved me and he smiled, his eyes narrowing into slits, and said with some surprise that he should probably revisit the story if only to see it if it was worth republishing.

New York Fashion Week is a cold slog through mostly forgettable designers who are all trying too hard.  Throw in the pushing and shoving by remarkably nasty attendees and it's a scene light years from what I envisioned when I attended my first show in what would be Bryant Park's last.

I've cut back on shows and a lot of shows have cut back on me.  Probably as it should be since I'm not a fashion guy.  But like Talese, I love storia and especially the kind that connects to something completely foreign and unknown.  Only in this way is it possible to continue to misspell people's names.

Antonio Ciongoli of Isaia's Eidos showed me his new line for Fall / Winter 2014.  The show room is still in the understated quiet of Elizabeth Taylor's townhouse on West 56th.  If you're quiet,  you can almost hear the walls talk as Anthony Perkins gets drunk and Richard Burton orgasms.  Antonio has had a lot to do with educating me in Italian apparel.  But I still think, as a whole, the Italians are too studied.

If American sportswear is about being relaxed and casual, then the Italians have taken that and extruded it through endless and needless details: scarves in July, wrist dental floss, double monks and now triple.  Pitti is all you need consider to get my point.  I like the billowing sail of an oxford button down over a man's alligator belt -- Antonio prefers a more fitted silhouette…over an alligator belt.   Seems there's always something to agree on.

I'm not writing for anyone but me so what you see here is what I like.  I love green and don't think anyone uses it enough.  It's everywhere in this collection along with my appreciation for the even rarer color I call, 'dried blood' or what Antonio calls, 'terra cotta." If you cut yourself shaving a lot then this is a no brainer for you.  Even the chamois pop over comes from another place but the roots are so American.  What you do with Eidos is your business…tang it up all you like --  Or, just leave it alone and let it speak for itself.

Update: Following are retailers for Eidos Napoli.  

For spring, it will be available online via Carson street clothiers, CHCM, The Armoury, Haberdash (Chicago) and Lawrence Covell (Denver). All of these stores will also carry in store as well as Charles Speigel (Pittsburgh), Boyd's(Philadelphia), Pockets (Dallas), Sy Devore (LA area), Carriere (LA Area), Steven Giles (Oklahoma city) Scoop (East Hampton and Brentwood), Syd Jerome (Chicago), Mr. Sid (Boston area), J3 (Cleveland area), AK Rikks (Grand Rapids), Butch Blum (Seattle), Shaia's (Homewood, AL), Oak Hall (Memphis) and Got Style (Toronto).



12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tin:

I agree with you on some things--particularly fashion. Nothing better than a nice Mercer oxford, khakis and Alden loafers.

The years I spent working in Italy turned me off to their fashion (and I'm Italian by heritage). Someone sets up a window display and the next night everyone in the Piazza is dressed exactly like it. Armani said it best when he claimed his countrymen were like sheep following designers like shepherds.

The stuff in this collection is solid. Dried blood and green. Colours of the earth. Colours that most neglect, as you pointed out. Antonio did a splendid job. Simple but beautiful. Very refreshing. Brooks and Ralph should take notice.

Thanks for sharing.

--Matthew

tintin said...

Nicely said, Matthew. I'd kill to live and work in Italy... and wear Mercer, Bills & Aldens with that shearling up there.

Anonymous said...

Um, I'd rather hear Liz orgasm. But that's an interesting take on Italians being too studied with their clothing. I believe British men exhibit a natural sense of relaxed ease wearing their suits. Not what comes to mind with the Brits.

-DB

Oyster Guy said...

Being studied is such a double edged sword.The intelligence and taste is always apparent but it loses some measure of seductiveness or mystery. the the Italians seem to say "look at what I can do." Trad seems to say "look at what I don't need to do." Prep in the middle says "look at what I am trying to do." GTH says "look at what I want to do."

I do like the colour and textures very much.

tintin said...

DB- I've worked with the Brits for years -- I think that natural ease comes from a huge confidence that there so right about dress. I've heard they're not like that in the bedroom or at a church revival in Palatka, FL.

Oyster Guy- " Trad seems to say "look at what I don't need to do." Prep in the middle says "look at what I am trying to do." GTH says "look at what I want to do."

I'll pay you to write for me. Not much but enough to keep you in Labatts and Export A's, which is better than I'm doing.

The Desert Echo said...

I love the Inspiration board at the top. Great photos of the fabric textures.

Anonymous said...

I must say that this collection really speaks to me and I'm looking forward to it popping up for A/W. That said, it seems to me that Isaia Eidos is really hard to find in North America or online. Is it available anywhere other than Carson Street Clothiers?

tintin said...

The Desert Echo- I love your house. Amazing.

Anon- From Antonio....

The first season was hard because it was only available in 7 specialty stores and bloomingdales NY and SF.

He may be having a hard time finding spring because it is just starting to deliver. For spring, it will be available online via Carson street clothiers, CHCM, The Armoury, Haberdash (Chicago) and Lawrence Covell (Denver). All of these store will also carry in store as well as Charles Speigel (Pittsburgh), Boyd's
(Philadelphia), Pockets (Dallas), Sy Devore (LA area), Carriere (LA Area), Steven Giles (oklahoma city) Scoop (East Hampton and Brentwood), Syd Jerome (Chicago), Mr. Sid (Boston area), J3 (Clevland area), AK Rikks (Grand Rapids), Butch Blum (Seattle), Shaia's (Homewood, AL), Oak Hall (Memphis) and Got Style (Toronto).

Anonymous said...

Thank you Mr. Ciongoli for the incredibly helpful list. And thank you Mr. Tinseth for one of my favourite blogs!

ELS said...

"But I still think, as a whole, the Italians are too studied."

I was horrified in Rome a couple of years ago. They were all dressed like they came from Sheffield.

Not bloody studied enough.

tintin said...

I suppose Italians are not above being slobs. But I think they're much more studied slobs than Americans but less studied than German slobs. There's a rich vein to mine...The Continental Slob.

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