For an Italian brand that started out manufacturing lines for big-name fashion
houses, Lardini’s
own house style is remarkably unassuming. You’ll find no trend-led design or high-fashion drama; Lardini’s clothes
wouldn’t make any sense on a catwalk – they aren’t made to be modelled, they’re made to be worn over and over,
cherished and loved and cared for.
This sense of responsibility is no doubt infused by Lardini’s family values. Run by
four siblings, Luigi, Andrea, Lorena and Annarita, there’s a sense that the clothes grew up with them, and that this
evolution influences the collections: the mix-and-matchability, the borrowing and swapping of details; the strength
of identity in every garment.
Despite 2020 being one of the most difficult years for menswear and retail – in
particular those based in Italy – Lardini has stayed on top of its game. From a spring/summer collection that
transported us to tropical Havana with innovative fabrics such as Tencel and bamboo, to an exclusive collaboration
with White Mountaineering’s Yosuke Aizawa that launched earlier this month and delivered a sharp, fresh take on
technical outerwear, Lardini’s put the legwork in.
And with every new season, it shows. As their position in the market expands, as does
their creativity. For autumn/winter 2020, their leading campaign video celebrates the glamour and cinematic mystery
of locomotive travel, taking us along for a ride on the Trans-Siberian express. The anticipation of Siberian
landscapes, Nordic territories and permafrost on the journey is offset with a sense of fantasy, movement and beauty
in Lardini’s designs. Whilst air travel may be off the cards for some time, we’re returning over and over to the
romance of railway travel, and Lardini’s looks are a wistful study in cold-weather wearability.
