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Caruso's Umberto Angeloni: The versatile jacket
The Italian brand's chief executive on how the jacket can solve that tricky ‘smart/casual’ conundrum
We have narrowed down and focused the SS18 collection under the conceptual umbrella of ‘Good Italianism’ and therefore nothing here is wildly experimental or limited to one season.
We tried to show things that have a place in the world of an Italian. The world of an Italian is not a seasonal one, meaning that it’s not fashionable or trendy. So, we’re trying to add to that vocabulary of a more timeless style, and we’re doing this especially in the jacket section.
If you think about it, the suit is eternal and untouchable. But on the other hand you have the casual and the informal, where the jacket is not an item. You may have a blouson, a bomber, but never a jacket. There’s a territory in between that, for decades, has only been inhabited by one item – the blazer.
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The traditional blazer, depending on the fabric or the way you treat the pockets, could be more formal or informal. But it’s not enough for men to have only one jacket to bridge the gap. So Caruso has been specialising in filling that space.
Many of our jackets are supposed to do just that, and depending on how you accessorise them, they could be informal or formal. They work for the occasion. You could wear one on an occasion in which no formality exists but yet you want to dress up. So it’s for dressing in the grey area between classic suit and total informality, which is good news for men because for years we have been invited to things where it says ‘smart casual’, or ‘semi-formal’.
All our jackets have the name of an opera, for example, Rigoletto, which could come with buttons, a zip, or it could have a hood. With a button it looks slightly more formal. Then some are made for travel – unlined, but still a jacket, it’s tailor-made and the fabric is one that you would use on a normal jacket or even a suit.
And one I like in particular is Tosca, which is available in linen and cotton and features slanted side pockets, suggesting a sporty attitude. Yet it has a small peak lapel that suggests formality, because the peak lapel is typical of a double-breasted style, yet the buttoning can go all the way up so it becomes a Nehru jacket. Depending on how you accessorise, this could serve as a very nice blazer or even a blouson, but it's a jacket.
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This is what we’re good at and it's what makes us special: filling the void between formal and totally casual.
