Raffaele Antonelli

Sartoria Antonelli

Tailor

©Maurizio Raffaele

The poet of tailoring

Raffaele specialises in handcrafted men’s tailored suits
He started to learn his craft at the young age of 12
He believes in the importance of passing on expertise

Raffaele Antonelli started to work in 1969, at the tender age of 12, in the workshop of renowned Sartoria Fortunato Salviati. He is one of a handful of tailors who continues the prestigious tradition of Neapolitan bespoke tailoring. His father died when he was only one years old, and he had to start working early to help support his mother, who was a costume maker at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. “I started out of necessity, but I admit that in the beginning I didn't like it. The passion came later, and never left me.” He firmly believes in the transmission of knowledge to the next generation: “Woe betide those who say 'what I know I keep to myself',” he affirms. “It does no one any good, and even less so for art.”

Interview

©Maurizio Raffaele

©Maurizio Raffaele

What makes your clothes unique?: We make bespoke clothes, sewn entirely by hand, laid on linen cloths, cut individually for each customer. Our suits are unique pieces, just like fine watches and what makes them special is the idea, the cut, the fit and the work of the hand.
How can you be creative in a craft with many rules?: Cutting school gave me the technical bases, to which I have added my own creativity. When I design, I put poetry in to what I do: a pocket turned over, a sleeve slightly puffed out, a breast pocket that I alter. I transform everything with my ideas, in my heart, in my mind.
In what way is Neapolitan tailoring special?: A teacher of mine used to say that when a Neapolitan suit walks down the street, it has to say something. You notice it because of many details, from how dynamic the suit is. An elegant man must not wear a plasterboard model, but a suit that moves with him.
What makes your “touch” different from that of other tailors?: Everything in art and craft is affected by the way we are in life. A bit like a singer. Just like everyone has a different timbre of voice, we have different timbres of work. I like elegant, classic and stately things, which is reflected in my creations.

Raffaele Antonelli is a master artisan: he began his career in 1969 and he started teaching in 1997