The 90th anniversary is a significant landmark in any brand’s history. Canali celebrated this milestone with a celebratory event at the historic IFBE, Mumbai, last month. The celebration presented the heritage Italian brand’s Anniversary Capsule Collection, which trained the sartorial focus on the two iconic garments of the design house – the overcoat and the suit – reimagining and reconciling them with contemporary finesse. 

ELLE caught up with Stefano Canali, President and CEO of Canali Group, over a Zoom call. Warm and approachable, he breaks the ice instantly as he speaks about the Canali jacket he’s wearing. “The jacket I’m wearing is unlined, no shoulder pads; it feels like a sweater while it has the shape of a jacket,” he quips.  

In the ever-evolving menswear space, Canali notes that for a brand renowned for impeccably crafted formal wear with precision and exactitude, it is important to embrace this change, and that’s what the company has done over the last nine decades. Over to him…

ELLE: For the past nine decades, Canali has been a paradigm of luxurious men’s elegance.. What has changed, and what has remained the same?

Stefano Canali (SC): I can write a book (laughs). Over the last 90 years, the brand has gone through eras, cultural shifts, and major turning points. A heritage brand like Canali must remember that no matter what changes, the way the brand evolves must be consistent. What we’ve learned over the last 90 years – stay true to yourself while reinventing yourself.

ELLE: Since 1934, Canali has promoted the value of ‘Made in Italy’ excellence. What does the term imply in Canali's creative universe?

(SC): Whatever Canali proposes as ‘Made in Italy’ is a credible expression of what Italy’s culture stands for. In Italian cities, you walk by wonderful palaces and museums, have a chance to admire beautiful statues, see wonderful paintings, and live and breathe this culture every single day of your life. For an Italian brand, it’s easy to transfer this culture into the design proposal.

ELLE: You have a repertoire of seven stores nationwide, including its latest addition at the Jio World Plaza in Mumbai. What's the demographic of the Canali Indian consumer? What have been your key retail learnings?

(SC): The demographics have changed a bit over the past few years. We observed that the average age of our customers has decreased over time. Being an international brand, you must ensure your offering is addressed to the right consumer, no matter how old they are. Let me rephrase it: Everybody tends to talk about age brackets and tends to highlight the importance of getting younger consumers. On one hand, I believe in the importance of nurturing people who might become your customers in the following years. On the other hand, you must keep in mind that your current consumers are of paramount importance. In addition, sometimes it is more about the consumer’s act than the consumer’s age.

When we first proposed the Double Suit a couple of years ago, we did expect that proposal would be appreciated by a very young consumer, and as a matter of fact, we did have a twenty-something consumer buying that suit in our store in our Madison Avenue store in New York City and two days later, a sixty-something consumer purchased the same suit. The lesson we learned is that today, more than ever, it's more about consumer’s act no matter their age.    

ELLE: Canali unveiled their exclusive 90th Anniversary Capsule Collection in Milan earlier this year alongside their F/W'24 Presentation. How was the process of conceptualising it, considering it is such a pivotal moment in the brand's history? What sublimated the mood board?

(SC): With the 90th Anniversary Capsule collection, we want to summarise what Canali was all about. For instance, we used the green Brianza, which is our colour, in every single piece of the capsule collection. We also used the same silk cashmere wool to craft the wonderful suits, shoes, and sneakers. We had the same fabric leveraged in different categories. Canali reinterpreted the brand’s original logo of a swan holding a trench coat in its beak, which was intended to speak to the water resistance of the company’s first product, a raincoat.

ELLE: Canali also announced a special three-year-long association with Inter Milan FC as their official dressing partner. How's the partnership so far?

(SC): We (Canali and Milan FC) are both from Milan and given that our combined heritage is beyond 100 years (we just turned 90, while they are 120-something years old), we both share the same values. Milan FC was linked to the opportunity for us to amplify the awareness of Canali with supporters who are different as far as Asia is concerned. We received many good comments from different parts of the world. We have interesting plans to further amplify this collaboration with players. They look great in our pieces. One of the most interesting comments we received from both players and the management team was about the quality, comfort, and style of the uniforms that we provided them. 

ELLE: In the last few years, we have seen some major evolutions in the interpretation of menswear. How does a legacy brand like Canali stay relevant?

(SC): We stay relevant by reinventing ourselves while staying true to ourselves. For such a legacy brand, it is important to ensure that our offering is up-to-date and consistent with the consumer’s needs and evolution. The brand’s offerings must evolve while staying consistent and true to the brand’s DNA. If Canali is renowned for high-quality craftsmanship and values of ‘Made in Italy,’ these values must be infused in whatever Canali decides to propose in the coming years.

We started to embrace a very Italian lifestyle approach as far as the products of our collection are concerned, and we made sure the whole offering could be mixed and matched by any consumer – no matter how old or young the consumer is. It’s not about attracting Gen Z consumers but about attracting the right consumers for Canali.

ELLE: Quiet Luxury is having a moment. Do you see the ever-growing love for classics (given the popularity of series like ‘Succession’)?

(SC): I believe that people have always been in love with something qualitative and well-crafted in luxurious fabrics with a fashion twist and with an updated silhouette. That’s the reason why Quiet Luxury has been successful. Fashion is more volatile. We are going back to the importance of consistency.

ELLE: Talking about the 90th-anniversary collection, it centred around a jacket - ranging from traditional to Saharian. Also, Nuvola (meaning cloud in Italian) leather construction and knits like punto stoffa, honeycomb, and intarsia stood out. How was the process of going back to the archive and making the classics contemporary?

(SC): The archives are important for a heritage brand like Canali as they allow you to give an up-to-date interpretation of something that was already successful in the past. An old company like Canali needs to ensure that quality never changes while the shapes, construction of the fabric choice, and the results might be quite different.

When someone refers to formal wear, one tends to believe that formal wear is about power suits worn by a lawyer, a CEO, a banker, or a member of a board of directors. While some of these people still wear it, a majority of everyone buying a suit or a jacket today has different needs – there’s no need for that kind of construction anymore.