Introducing Callas Milano-A Made-in-Italy Luxury Brand With Sustainable Bona Fides

As we re-emerge from lockdowns-pending COVID surges and vaccine rollouts-it's not just how we shop that's changing. What we shop for has been impacted too. Some are splurging on coming-out clothes-the fall collections were awash with retro-glamorous sequins and party-like-it's-1999 minidresses for those so inclined. But others are be thinking hard about our fashion purchases, eager to support small, thoughtful businesses, and determined to invest in quality pieces with no imminent expiration date.

That's what Jan-Hendrick Schlottman and Marco Panzeri, fashion industry veterans and the co-founders of Callas Milano, are betting on. Schlottman is the partner of Derek Lam. The Callas Milano aesthetic shares similarities with Lam's tony American sportswear, but the New York designer isn't involved in the project. Panzeri is the CEO of Cieffe, a leading Italian manufacturer. As a young entrepreneur Panzeri installed solar panels at the company and today they produce 100% of the energy consumed by Cieffe. Their Callas Milano philosophy? To create "the fashion house of the future," one based on well-tailored clothes made from traceable, mostly natural materials upon which customers can build a modular wardrobe.

© Photo: Pablo Curto / Courtesy of Callas MilanoA menswear-inspired trouser. Photo: Pablo Curto / Courtesy of Callas Milano © Photo: Pablo Curto / Courtesy of Callas MilanoAn organic cotton peacoat. Photo: Pablo Curto / Courtesy of Callas Milano

"The biggest issue in our industry is overproduction," Schlottman told Vogue. "Our main goal is to tailor development to the actual consumption of fashion." By selling direct to consumers and via small boutiques that really know their clientele, he and Panzeri will side-step the sales cycle that forces independent brands to jack up prices and deliver new merchandise at ever-increasing intervals. These were front-and-center topics in Dries Van Noten's Forum Letter and the Business of Fashion's Rewiring Fashion initiative last spring. That Callas Milano is putting these innovations in place while much of the industry continues to operate as it did a year ago illustrates just how difficult it is to create change. But less is really more here. The company will use sales data to drive future collections; "it's not crowd-sourced fashion," Schlottman explained, but leaning into the data will help eliminate excess and waste.  

The Callas Milano hero piece is an organic cotton trench finished off with the traditional belt, as well as a removable gold chain and printed silk twill scarf illustrated with Milan landmarks including the Duomo and the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Each season-or module-Callas Milano will release another printed souvenir scarf. But it's the poplin blouses and fluid stretch crepe flared pants that are likely to be the real collectibles; they're as unobtrusively chic as they are unpretentiously priced.

But why launch a brand during a pandemic? "I truly love fashion, but like many others I believe it's time for a reset for an industry that doesn't value enough the work that goes into designing and making beautiful clothes," Schlottman said. "Soon we'll want to go out shopping again but without missing the convenience of e-commerce.  That's why Marco and I believe in the potential of this hybrid business model where stores, e-commerce, and manufacturing evolve together and build on each other. And then there is also the excitement of starting something new in a time when we have nothing to lose. It can only get better from here."

Shop the collection as callasmilano.com. 

© Photo: Pablo Curto / Courtesy of Callas MilanoThe Callas Milano souvenir scarf. Photo: Pablo Curto / Courtesy of Callas Milano © Photo: Pablo Curto / Courtesy of Callas MilanoSouvenir scarf in printed silk twill. Photo: Pablo Curto / Courtesy of Callas Milano