ÀLEA
words Svetlomir Tsvetanov
photography ÀLEA
Stefano Pugliese
From the streets of Italy to the stage of Paris Fashion Week 2020, Stefano Pugliese, Vincenzo Lattanzio and Tatiana Orlova have created a brand that draws inspiration from casual street look combined with the use of recycled and eco-compatible materials. Àlea stands for the next generation of rebels and hooligans (with a cause) and focuses on the message of personal style, comfort and freedom instead of directly taking on the global trends, often applicable to high-end fashion brands only.
“Àlea brings back patterns and colour palettes from the early years of the 50s, 80s and 90s and combines them boldly with the contemporary environment of a social show-off and digital narcissism.”
An image from ÀLEA Lookbook FW20
An image from ÀLEA Lookbook FW20
In their Fall/Winter 2020 collection, Àlea brings back patterns and colour palettes from the early years of the 50s, 80s and 90s and combines them boldly with the contemporary environment of a social show-off and digital narcissism. Talking directly to Millennials and Generation Z, the brand sets a dialogue that aims to contribute to their consciousness of the environment and global changes through the story of sustainable organic fabrics and garments reclaimed from deadstock. The collection includes unisex long-sleeve and hooded pieces clashing colours, patterns and materials into this selection of personified statements. While Vincenzo brings the A-game of designing the brand through thoughtful and in-depth fabric research; Tatiana focuses on the commercialization of Àlea on skills gained at the New Guard Group, and Stefano holds the leash when it comes to management, bringing academic training to the table.
Before we can talk about the production and the creativity of Àlea, we need to make sure that we understand the importance of the brand transparency to Vincenzo, Tatiana and Stefano. Stefano explains that the fundamentals of their work are based on sustainability. Nowadays, many brands talk about their way of being sustainable, but, most of the times, is greenwashing. The only means they have to prove their cause is through the transparency on the supply chain, and they do that by communicating to their suppliers and customers. In the fashion industry companies tend to hide their suppliers because of the “fear” of being copied by competitors. Àlea, on the other hand, does not care and instead uses this as a sort of “marketing campaign”.
An image from ÀLEA Lookbook FW20
An image from ÀLEA Lookbook FW20
In the foreseen future, Stefano adds, we will communicate our supply chain by using the blockchain technology. In fact, all garments will have a QR-CODE tag that will show customers all the production steps from the fabric to the finished product. Today the range includes hoodies, sweatshirts and t-shirts, upcycled trousers coming from workwear’s company deadstock. For the next season, Àlea is introducing deadstock jackets. Due to the COVID-19 global emergency, the trio will be presenting the new collection for the Paris Fashion Week in January 2021.
“Modern companies have to help handicraft because this is the only connection we have with our traditions. ”
When discussing the topic of a long-term goal, Stefano proudly states that one of their most important goals is to send a message to their target customers of being more conscious and “out of the box” in terms of what they wear. We, at Stark Magazine, were very keen to get our hands on some of those items, and it is evident that Àlea is a global brand. All the business-to-business customer relations they have built since the company foundation are international. The biggest issue the company is facing is because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which decreased the number of orders substantially, that is why it is so difficult to find any of the products on a local market. This is just another stepping stone; the team are working on a solution to let new customers find Àlea garments in the finest boutiques around the globe.
An image from ÀLEA Lookbook FW20
An image from ÀLEA Lookbook FW20
All products are 100% made in Italy with 90% of the production coming from Àlea’s birthplace - Puglia. Instead of making unrealistic claims on making a difference in the local economy (soon, perhaps?), Stefano and the team want to see their endeavours as a message to work and support local businesses. They are leaving us with a plan for a new collection as a co-branding collaboration with a small handcraft local business. Stefano believes this is essential because these micro-realities are dying out due to globalization and mass manufacturing. Modern companies have to help handicraft because this is the only connection we have with our traditions.
Care for more? Àlea’s website is www.aleaproject.com and they are also on Instagram @aleaproject_.