Did you know Barena has a grown-up brother called CINI Venezia? Neither did I until I stumbled across the CINI stand at the January 2020 Pitti Uomo, and because CINI has Venezia - Venice - in its logo, I said the only other Venetian menswear label I knew was Barena, I’m a big fan, and they told me this was part of the same company and was their more premium offering. (Barena has built up a loyal following for its quality, well priced and thoughtfully stylish Italian menswear amongst a certain group of discerning men.)
Left - Cini Venezia - Coat Burchione Piave Black - €730
The original mill, Lanificio CINI, was founded in the 1830 by Augusto and Giacomo Cini as a humble workshop producing cloth and coarse blankets.
This is still the foundation of the collection of Italian-made outerwear. Barena founder Sandro Zara - he also owns the Venetian cloak maker Il Tabarro - bought the Lanificio CINI woollen mill, which was formerly based in Vittorio Veneto, after using it as a supplier for many years. It came complete with an incredible archive which the CINI family maintained. From fabric swatches, to astute weaving dimensions, patterns and cloth experiments, everything was kept meticulously in its original state.
CINI Venezia, the brand, first appeared in 2012 and references historical Italian menswear styles in a darker and more conservative palette than Barena's. Prices reflect the quality of the cloth.
Right - Cini Venezia - Coat Duemezzo Piave Navy - €1150
BUY TheChicGeek's new book - FASHIONWANKERS - HERE
Original Madras Trading Company was founded by current owner Prasan Shah’s grandfather in the early 1970s when he arrived in New York from Madras with a trunk full of checks and other woven Indian textiles. He established an office on 38th Street in the New York garment district, and where they still trade from today.
While they continue to supply fabrics and garments to well-known other brands, this is the first season with their own eponymous range.
A little history lesson. The weaving of cotton cloth in South India was renowned for centuries prior to the British building a harbour in Madras - now called Chennai - in the 18th century, but it was this port and the British East India Company that led to textiles from Madras being traded throughout the modern world. That is the origin of the Madras check.
Originally and to this day the best Madras is woven by hand. This is a process that takes each individual weaver several hours per metre and results in no two lengths of cloth being identical. OMTC is a 3rd generation family business who have been weaving and producing Madras for 50 years in factories owned and operated by the family.
TheChicGeek says, "Who doesn't like checks? These feel distinctively authentic and I particularly like the Indian influence in the styles, like the longer shirt lengths and hooded kaftan styles. For AW20, which I saw at January's Pitti Uomo, OMTC have the cutest checked quilted trousers. The brand is currently available at Trunk Clothiers in London."
Left - Original Madras Trading Company Cotton Madras Button Down Shirt - £125 from Trunk Clothiers
BUY TheChicGeek's new book - FASHIONWANKERS - HERE
Rock ’n’ roll style never goes out of fashion and is continually ripe for reinvention. From Bowie to Styles, the male rock star and his snake hips go together with sexy fashion like groupies and backstage.
One designer making waves is Barcelona born knitwear designer Archie Alled-Martínez. A graduate of Central Saint Martins in 2018, he was awarded with the LVMH Graduate Prize the same year.
Fulfilling all our 1970s disco fantasies his latest AW20 collection, showcased at 080 Barcelona fashion week, was an homage to the deceased Sterling St. Jacques, who was said to be the world’s first black male supermodel.
The Alled-Martinez man is a decadent dandy who mixes the elegant decadence of the 30s with the energetic night-life of the late 70s and early 80s. Think lots of sparkly jumpsuits and elegant long jackets for the contemporary lounge lizard. This shit never gets old.
Left & Below - AW20 Presented at 080 Barcelona fashion week
Right - Harry Styles on stage
BUY TheChicGeek's new book - FASHIONWANKERS - HERE
A French term for a place you'd grow elm trees, now sadly long gone due to Dutch elm disease, 'Ormaie' is a mother and son - Marie-Lise Jonak and Baptiste Bouygues - team producing completely natural and vegan fragrances. Seven in total, all featuring striking and sculptural wooden stoppers, they are produced and formulated alongside renowned raw natural ingredient specialists, Robertet. The glass bottle is by Saverglass, the only French glassmaker to recycle their own glass magma.
Fragrances include '28°', said to be Bouygues' perfect temperature, 'Yvonne' named after the grandmother and 'Le Passant' meaning the passing man, and deemed the most masculine fragrance.
TheChicGeek says, "Of the seven, I liked 'Les Brumes' (The Mists) the most. It is a citrus inspired by morning mist on the fruit trees. Ingredients include lemon, mandarin, bergamot, ginger and sandalwood."
Left - Ormaie - 100ml - £180 Exclusive to Harvey Nichols
BUY TheChicGeek's new book - FASHIONWANKERS - HERE
GROUNDTRUTH is a new premium bag brand made from a bespoke PET fabric which was developed using post-consumer plastic extracted from the environment. Even the thread is recycled.
Left - RIKR RANGE 24L BACKPACK - £ 256
GROUNDTRUTH was founded by Sophia, Georgia and Nina Scott, three sisters who have experienced a lifetime of intercontinental, and sometimes extreme, travel. Together, Georgia and Sophia have spent over a decade working and living in communities around the world while filming documentaries for their company, Groundtruth Productions, while Nina has spent her career in product development and artisan textiles, pioneering sustainable products and innovative fabrics.
In addition to reducing plastic pollution, GROUNDTRUTH prioritises ethical production methods by partnering with manufacturers who are approved by bluesignâ, an organisation which provides safer and more sustainable working conditions to change the environmental impact of the textile and fashion industries.
The brand’s first range is called ‘RIKR’, with a backpack being the hero product. Made from 120 plastic bottles, it provides the reliability any traveller might need without sacrificing the wellbeing of the environment for its production. It is 100% recycled.
Right - Founders, Sophia, Georgia and Nina Scott
To celebrate their launch there is a pop-up shop at Protein Studios, Shoreditch until Wednesday 11th September.
TheChicGeek says, "I'm banning the word 'sustainable' until further notice, but this bag is really making advances by being 100% recycled. I do wonder what we're going to do when we run out of plastic bottles?! The reason the bag is black is because this is the easiest colour with the least processes, and there has been a lot of thought and care gone into this new brand and product."
September is a month when you want to squeeze out the last rays of sunshine. Whether that’s a late holiday, or the hope of an Indian Summer, we’re not quite ready yet to pack away all our warm weather gear.
Left - Marrakshi Life - Pinstriped Cotton-Blend Shirt - £260 from matchesfashion.com
One brand which specialises in a floaty, 40 degree fantasy of Summer is Marrakshi Life. They were invited to the recent Barcelona Fashion Week and the use of colour and oversized shapes piqued my interest.
Launched in 2013 by New York photographer Randall Bachner, Marrakshi Life uses the local skills of Moroccans to give us that romantic Getty fantasy of North Africa.
The brand says they are “using the skill of traditional Morrocan weaving practices and a desire to take this sartorial heritage forward, Marrakshi Life uses ancient techniques to create clothing that is authentic yet with a fashion-forward urban twist.”
Bachner is committed to supporting responsible manufacturing via sustainable, low impact production methods. He describes his atelier in Marrakech as a community rather than a factory. Visitors to Marrakshi Life can experience the family feel whilst viewing the whole process from textile creation to finished design.
Right - Marrakshi Life - French X-Long Cuff Shirt - $323
Always wanted to visit Marrakech? See what happened when TheChicGeek visited the YSL museum there - here
Good knitwear is catnip to any stylish man and quality, fine knitwear is the most versatile in your wardrobe: taking you from winter through to the beginning of summer and back again.
A new brand on TheChicGeek’s radar is MG Rivers. Set up by Juliette Sherwood, who has a background in design and fashion, her mission was to shake-up men's knitwear. She pulled in her good friend Natasha Whitelock, who has a background in events and fashion wholesale and previously worked at Holland Cooper, to launch this new men's brand. The brand name is a conflation of names and initials important to them and was chosen because it conjures up a vision of a traditional British man.
The brand has launched with a selection of brightly hued extrafine merino and silk blend V-necks inspired by the classic cricket jumper. Cuffs, necks and waistbands are embellished with distinctive signature merino and silk ribbon trims, inspired by the ribbons of military decorations and each mixing one bright tone with two heritage colours to distinctive effect. The jumpers are made from the very highest quality Italian yarn and made in Europe.
Tank-tops and bomber-jacket style cardigans are in the pipeline from the brand.
Above & Right - MG Rivers - Extrafine Merino V Neck Jumpers - £185 -www.mgrivers.com