Pocket Guide: Fortela's Alessandro Squarzi

Style icon Alessandro Squarzi, the founder and designer of menswear brand Fortela, has a passion for Italian tailoring, Japanese textiles and vintage fabrics.
Mr Squarzi photographed exclusively for The Rake at Blakes Hotel, London.

There are few men who grace the digital devices we use for a style fix more inspirational than Alessandro Squarzi. Transcending the roles of menswear designer, entrepreneur, talent scout, style icon and collector of vintage cars, motorcycles and watches, the salt-and-pepper-haired Italian has developed a cult following and has acquired an understanding of the varying modes of dress.

Whether he’s sporting bespoke Edward Green and a bespoke Fortela double-breasted jacket and waistcoat made from Vitale Barberis Canonico cloth (pictured), or a Vietnam War utility shirt with white denim jeans and checkered slip-on Vans sneakers, Squarzi consistently does justice to his adaptable style, and pairs it with a friendly smile. Unsurprisingly, this 21st-century fashion-industry polymath is constantly on the move. We shot him when he was staying at the contemporary but grand Blakes Hotel in London for meetings about his two labels: Fortela, a ready-to-wear label inspired by a blend of Italian tailoring and rich Japanese textiles, and AS65, which offers repurposed and military parkas at a high price point. It’s clear that he designs for himself, and as such is a rake ne plus ultra.

Published

June 2017

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