In conversation with Tommaso Melani, his point of view of the Florentine style & the story behind taking over Stefano Bemer
Florentine Gentleman
Among his titles, Tommaso Melani is best known as the mastermind of the prestigious shoemaker Stefano Bemer and the CEO of Florentine tailoring house Sartoria Vestrucci. Tommaso’s family business Scuola del Cuoio is well known in Florence for leather making and craftsman training. He learned the knowledge and appreciation of traditional artisanship since young through helping the family business. Following his success with Stefano Bemer, aiming to persist the legacy of Florentine style, Tommaso established tailoring company Sartoria Vestrucci in 2017 with Loris Vestrucci on board, who is one of very few remaining Florentine master tailors on a par with Antonio Liverano.
Locating in the heart of Italy, Florence is famous for being the cradle of the Renaissance, this artistically and economically fertile land nested a particular aesthetic throughout history. As a Florentine, Tommaso proudly describes the accent of Florentine craftsmanship as “balance, effortless, harmonised, and yet very understated”. Echoing its central location, the Florentine accent is more neutral with “nothing popping out” in comparison with the relaxed Neapolitan style in the south and the sharper Milanese style in the north. Tommaso believes such aesthetic, or accent, reflects the character of the city and the spirit of its citizens. He was emphatic that the excessive and flamboyant impression on Pitti Uomo is never Florence, “Florentines don’t want to be seen too much, they can be seen, they don’t want to be noticed.”
