Canali CEO Stefano Canali on 90 years of luxury menswear

New York is nothing without its Italian craftsmanship. To wit, the bronze works at Rockefeller Center; sculptures at the Bronx Zoo; Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House and Washington Arch; the myriad of terrazzo and marble mosaic work; and the public works such as bridges and subway tunnels are mainly due to an Italian artisanal workforce.

New York style also owes a lot to highly crafted Italian tailoring. It’s one of the reasons Canali, led by CEO Stefano Canali, chose New York as a stop on its global celebration to celebrate 90 years of the brand that was founded by his grandfather Giovanni Canali in 1934.

Highlighting the brand’s legacy is a special exhibition and capsule collection unveiled at Bryant Park’s Glass House to share in the milestone with clients, press, and friends of the house, such as Rupert Friend, Chris Meloni and Zachary Quinto. FashionNetwork.com spoke to Canali about the family brand he is leading into its future.

“We are not used to celebrating ourselves, but we want to share some of our history in photos and videos and showcase what the future holds for Canali. We want to show what we are and what is important to the brand; this is necessary to decipher the initiatives of a business. Our founding values are still a part of the strategy and collection,” said the CEO.

A feature of the event was a collaboration with the Italian art school NABA, or Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, that yielded student-created sculptural installations made from Canali fabrics and a digital AI-generated video narrative titled ‘Canali Horizons: A Journey from Heritage to Tomorrow’.

The third-generation executive further explained that the exhibit was part of a brand evolution to bring 360 degrees of brand awareness, focusing on its ‘Inner Beauty’ campaign and the brand’s Care project, which defines its sustainability stance.

“This isn’t a marketing project, but it’s a statement by Canali that stretches back to our beginnings in the 1930s. We wanted to propose something sartorial that lasts, combining high quality with craftsmanship well before sustainability was a topic. What people wanted was value for money,” he continued.

While styles have changed over the decades, the product is long-wearing. The executive recalled a recent story of a customer showing him a jacket from ten years ago.

“The Canali man is interested in high quality and with a twist on style since we embrace the lifestyle approach, the service we offer, and appreciate that we are a trustworthy brand,” he noted.

Despite its penchant for knocking down historical buildings, New Yorkers appreciate long-lasting Made-in-Italy quality. This is evidenced by the success of the recent Madison Avenue store relocation.

“We didn’t move that far physically, but there is a combination of factors besides the location: the new store concept [it’s rooted in Milanese design], the lifestyle collection brand direction, and marketing strategy that have helped us to have wonderful results. The company grew 10 percent and reached 207 million euros in 2023. The Americas region is growing double digits, and customer feedback here is encouraging,” Canali said.

Canali doubles down on the assertion of the necessity of brick-and-mortar to get up close and personal with Canali’s luxury offerings. While the New York store has a VIP lounge and cocktail bar to entertain customers in a comfortable space, the recently opened Milan Verri Canali flagship offers that and a private garden.

“We believe these spaces and experiences are instrumental in elevating brand perception,” he said.

Thus, he plans to look for more opportunities to expand brand awareness in the U.S. and Canada, whether in whole or other POS distribution such as shop-in-shop and more Canali stores.

Celebrating in New York, where the brand first opened a store in 2009, was a necessary stop for the 90th-anniversary celebration that followed the inaugural unveiling during Men’s Milan Fashion Week in June. It will also include stops in Beijing and Mumbai. Canali recalled an event that celebrated the milestone with its closest collaborators, suppliers, and colleagues, held in the coastal town of Cervia.

“This was extra special to celebrate with 800 people in our Italian community, and we were lucky that recent flooding didn’t affect the event,” he said proudly.

He also beams that like another 90-year-old Italian Giorgio Armani, who is opening a behemoth of a residence, restaurant, and store just a few blocks up the street.

Canali signed a partnership with the FC Inter Milan in July 2024 to be the official formal wear dresser for the team and managers. Canali also joins brands like Loro Piana, who sponsors FC Juventus, and Fendi with FC Roma.

After his father Eugenio, who passed in 2023, retired, Stefano Canali became the brand’s third CEO in a direct succession line, something he said wasn’t planned.

“I became the general manager in 2008 and CEO in 2019. It’s a joke at the company that each time I come into a position, something bad happens,” he chuckled, referring to the global financial crisis and the pandemic. The aforementioned results tell a different story.

It’s also crucial that the brand remains independent, though he concedes there are pros and cons. On the upshot, the Canali’s continue to chart their course, not beholden to shareholders and outside corporate predators, and are free to keep financials within the company. During a time like the pandemic, though, it could spell disaster not having outside funding, but even that crisis was averted thanks to healthy cash reserves.

“In 2020, clients stopped paying the receivables, but we kept billing payables and guaranteed our employees’ salaries. Even with this significant liquidation of funds, we managed to overcome the pandemic,” he beamed.

With just over five years on the job, the next successor isn’t something he concerns himself with, but he assures it won’t be his daughter who chose a career in medicine.

“It’s a bit like the strategy of sticking to the DNA and heritage the brand is known for without standing still, an evolution and not a revolution,” he said.

Just like they have done for the past 90 years.