Stefano Canali on why India matters to Italian luxury, bandhgalas, and smartorial style

Stefano Canali wears his legacy as easily as the casual rust jacket he’s wearing for a breakfast meeting. “It’s easy, of course, flows around with my body uninhibited. I can push up my sleeves, throw it around, just fold it during travels and yet there will be no crease. It may not have the lining or the traditional notched lapel or shoulder pads but it still sits perfectly and is well-cut. That’s the effortless Canali skill that makes our jacket different from others,” says the third generation scion of the Italian luxury brand, which has been around for 91 years. Its invisible meticulousness is the true luxury.

In India to mark over two decades of the brand’s presence and launch the fall-winter collection, Stefano embodies why his family has been able to use the strength of their tailoring expertise and adapt themselves to every kind of material, not just wools and silks. After World War II, the second generation Canalis specialised in raincoats, using innovative waterproof fabrics, going as plebeian as they could. And then they switched back to high quality menswear, becoming the first Italian brand in the 1970s to introduce automated cutting systems. In fact, as Canali spread to international markets, it became one of the first fashion houses to introduce online sales and use athletes in ad campaigns. Culturally, it also went local as evidenced by the Canali bandhgala, which was the entry point to India.

While he has been loyal to every tandoori dish at ITC Bukhara in Delhi, Stefano has built friendships and a constituency of loyalists in India, courtesy the bandhgala. “India has a huge artisanal heritage that it respects. Any kind of luxury craftsmanship saves artisans because it is bespoke. This is something that makes you stand out in a globalised world. In that sense, Italy is similar to India. The fact that Canali has been around for 91 years means we have been pretty good, too, at making sure that our skills and knowledge are transferred from one generation to the other effectively. You can adapt only when you have mastered the fundamentals,” he says.

The first Canali store opened at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai in the early 2000s. “Now these 25 years have also been very transformational for India when it comes to fashion and luxury. But even back then, our Indian consumers were very knowledgeable about luxury and most importantly craftsmanship. They lived their heritage daily. That’s why we chose the bandhgala jacket. We created our own version with a distinct stand-up (mandarin) collar, a fitted silhouette and a hip-length cut, akin to a tuxedo. We did this with the finest mohair, wool, silk and linen and called it Nawab. Since people appreciated the new version of ours, we introduced coats in different fabrics like blends of silk and linen. We introduced a sleeveless version and everything became an instant success back then,” says Stefano, who is bullish about India. The company has grown steadily over time and among foreign luxury brands, has one of the largest retail footprints in India with six stores.

Stefano has been instrumental in not only streamlining processes to prioritise sustainability but also pushing the “smartorial” concept, a template followed by many other brands. Shifting its focus from traditional suits in the 1990s, Canali blended formal sophistication with the ease and comfort of leisurewear. It delved into luxurious knitwear, denim, track pants, even shorts and sneakers. “As our lives got busier socially, we needed that one garment that can seamlessly transition between different occasions. Casualisation is the future of fashion but our design discipline is elegant, structured and non-negotiable. I must specify that casualisation also means that luxury brands must invest in a lifestyle collection. One that is designed to meet the needs of people throughout their whole week, throughout the whole year. A brand succeeds when it is in every moment of the consumer’s life. And this is exactly the approach we infused in our collection right after the pandemic. Indians love this new approach of ours because they want to be properly dressed and feel at ease with one single brand throughout the whole week,” says Stefano.

The fall-winter lookbook from Canali (Photo by Canali)

Casualisation, believes Stefano, is age-agnostic. Rather, it embodies an attitude that flows from one generation to another. “When we first introduced a collection at our store in New York’s Madison Avenue three years ago, we sold the same piece one day to a 60-something and the following day to a 20-something. Nobody needs to please a certain generation for the sake of it. We keep on delivering the right and consistent message over time and, contrary to what we think, that resonates with the younger generations who are as conscious about price points as they are about authenticity and credibility. That’s why we respect our DNA. We keep on evolving in a credible way,” says Stefano.

Pointing to his jacket, he says that he wore it because he felt he should don a “safe, conservative” image in the morning. “I’m dressed this way simply because I felt like this way today. That’s why our fall-winter collection has a range of palette and textures that you can choose from,” he says.

The South and Southeast Asian markets account for 20 per cent of Canali’s revenue, almost half of which comes from China. Sensing a porous market, Canali attempted co-branding experiments there, opening dining establishments like Caffè Canali in Beijing and Locanda Canali in Hong Kong, which serve Italian cuisine. “It was an opportunity for us to leverage the convergence of different needs of our buyers. The philosophy that pervades these restaurants is exactly the same philosophy that pervades the Canali store next door. Diversification is instrumental in ensuring that consumers have enhanced experiences within the same brand. How can you reach that goal? By making sure that your customers live an extended version of the brand itself,” argues Stefano, who has pushed the brand’s collaboration with the football team Inter Milan as its official formal wear partner. “Both are icons of Milanese heritage and the bonding refreshes that idea of the best that Italy has to offer ,” he adds.

Stefano bets on luxury fashion being in tandem with sustainability, which is very much linked to durability. “We did a life cycle assessment methodology that measures your environmental footprint according to 16 indicators. We found that quality craftsmanship and fabrics mean that you are durable. And durability means that your environmental footprint is divided by the number of years. So, if you buy less, you buy better because they are deemed to last longer,” reasons Stefano. What of jackets for women, considering many of Canali’s women executives wear the men’s tailored jackets to make an impression? “Perfection takes time and Canali needs to perfect that art of clothing women before we commit to anything,” says Stefano, who believes that originality will always win, particularly in times of homogenising AI.

“AI is both an opportunity and a threat. It is a tool, not a substitute for human sensitivity. Creativity is not known to AI, no matter how well trained it might be. It is not a human being with brain, personality and emotionality. So let’s be assured about that. Of course, AI will be very useful in doing some tasks in a faster, more efficient way. But we’re talking about basic tasks, nothing really complicated, nothing creatively-driven. Your heritage is a foundation upon which you’re supposed to keep on building the skyscraper. Technology cannot give you heritage or responsibility,” says Canali, who puts his cellphone away when he meets people and wants good conversations.