The Société Anonyme label
A mecca for all that is new and directional in fashion and design, located in the fairy-tale surroundings of Florence, nothing brings together all the elements of
Société Anonyme quite like the concept store’s own, in-house label.
Since 1988, owner Massimiliano Gianelli has been carefully curating a mix of experimental and edgy, cult brands, with an emphasis on the more alternative aesthetics of Japan, Belgium and Scandinavia than the traditional luxury of Italian fashion.
In 1999, Gianelli decided to extend that idea into his own label, extending the Société Anonyme brand into clothes and accessories, rather than just being a place to buy them. However Gianelli was keen that the collection would reflect and fit in with those already in store, ‘I got the inspiration from an area of Japanese countryside close to sea’ he explains. ‘Minimal shapes, good natural fabrics, stripes, cocoon coats and colours of the earth and the water.’
They’re all attributes that could be applied to the likes of
Studiopretzel, Jimi Roos and
Comme des Garçons Play, some of the key labels in the boutique.
Gianelli describes the label as ‘a minimal-country-folk-marine concept’, but whilst the pieces fit this carefully thought out aesthetic, it’s another factor that makes them so appealing – that of functionality, fashion garments they might be, but there are
coats that will actually keep you warm,
dresses that are easy to move in,
trousers that need little looking after.
They are pieces for real life, as Gianelli attests when describing his favourite place to show off his latest buys ‘On a sunny Sunday morning,having coffee in a Marais brasserie with my wife and my daughters.’
And his favourite piece from the latest collection, which is just about to land at farfetch.com? ‘The Man double-breasted coat’. Neat, simple with a touch of quirky charm. Just like the boutique itself.
