Giotto Calendoli on Second Chances in Fashion, Life – WWD

MILAN — The word “create” stands out on Giotto Calendoli’s right hand among the many tattoos covering his body, speaking volumes about his persona and the artistic urge that drives his actions.

Eloquent in both his words and hand gestures, the Italian social media personality has gained attention — and followers — for several years thanks to his sense of style and high-profile endorsements — see Louis Vuitton, Dior and Acne — before he decided to channel his creative impulse into craftsmanship.

Eight years ago he began to toy with hat designs, gradually adding other categories. He bolstered the project with further experiments with materials, textures and techniques under the apparel and accessories brand Handle With Freedom, which he officially launched in 2019 and retooled last year during the pandemic.

“It all started from my own need to find garments that could really represent me,” said Calendoli. “I wasn’t looking for a trend but rather for a soul. Fashion is already saturated, nobody is inventing anything new. I used to go to my grandmother’s and fish items from my grandfather’s wardrobe. Each time I took a piece, my grandma told me to handle it with care, but for me that also translated into freedom.”

One of the purposes of Calendoli’s label is to breathe a second life into pre-used garments and deadstock textiles, elevating the unisex pieces with washing techniques, colorful embroideries and patches, with the goal of sparking a more conscious approach to fashion.

Apparel items range from repurposed parkas, reversible bomber jackets and quilted options — all revamped with illustrations, patches in contrasting fabrics and bold stitches — to vests crafted from old parachutes as well as deconstructed suits, sweaters and shirts featuring ironic quotes rendered in the brand’s signature block letters, which are reminiscent of a child’s handwriting.

This playful style, which informs all graphics, helped Calendoli deliver his message and also make his designs recognizable.

Not coincidentally, “the most complicated skill is to be simple,” which serves not only as a mantra for the founder but also as one of the quotes on a series of white T-shirts grouped under the collection “Mom’s Drop,” as Calendoli’s mother embroiders them herself.

As for Calendoli, he is still hands-on in the creation of hats, which remain a big part of his brand’s offering. Encompassing fedora styles, bucket hats, beanies and baseball caps, the pieces hail from Italy’s Marche region — which specializes in the sector — before being finished off with recovered materials collected during Calendoli’s trips around the world, as well as stitched by the founder in his Milanese atelier, a tiny greenhouse nestled in the courtyard of an Italian palazzo. Calendoli also puts his personal touch on the packaging by hand-painting the hat boxes.

“I’m not a designer nor an artist, I just have some ideas and I want to realize them,” Calendoli said, underscoring that he sees the brand more as a box containing multiple creative expressions and experiments.

For one, he started to work with ceramics and during the special edition of Milan Design Week last September, he launched a home collection that includes cups, pillows and blankets displaying the playful codes of the brand.

With prices ranging from 50 euros to 400 euros for hats; 70 euros for T-shirts, and up to around 600 euros for jackets, the brand is available at select stores in Italy, such as Biffi and Been, as well as in France, Japan and Mexico.

Earlier this year the label hosted a trunk show in Mexico in partnership with the Kabe concept store in Tulum, displaying a special capsule collection of hand-embroidered separates and straw hats developed with local artisans.

“We temporarily moved there for a month and it was an interesting experience to research fabrics, raw materials as well as new techniques,” recalled Calendoli, who is planning to replicate the project in Japan, which is among the brand’s best markets.

“Especially through our own e-commerce, we receive orders mainly from New Zealand, the U.S. and Japan,” said Calendoli, underscoring that the brand and its concept resonate more with an international audience. “Usually Italians are more bounded by labels and logos, while customers abroad are driven by their own personality and taste.”

Calendoli’s mainly international fan base, gained during his blogging heyday, might have played a role, too, but the founder is resolute about maintaining Handle With Freedom’s separate identity. As a result, and conversely to fellow influencers on a similar journey of launching their own brands, he didn’t want to put his name on the label and bank on his fame, but rather opt for “something everyone can identify with.”

The X-shaped red stitching that marks all pieces in the collection further reinforces this. “It’s like a signature, but I wanted it to be a solid, timeless symbol rather than a name. In this way, there can be anyone behind it,” he said.

Calendoli delved into allegories and geometric signs when explaining the ultimate mission he has for the brand. In referencing the renowned Florentine painter and architect Giotto, he said that his goal is “to design my own perfect circle, one that connects people. That’s my idea for the future.”

To be sure, human connection and community-building influence different aspects of his business. For one, when Calendoli first scouted the space for his atelier, he launched a contest on Instagram to encourage talents to send ideas to revamp the location. As result, he collaborated with architect Alfredo Di Mauro and plant artist Satoshi Kawamoto, promoting their work on his social media channels.

While similar calls to action are seasonally launched on both the brand’s account and his personal Instagram profile — which counts more than 130,000 followers — Calendoli also hosts workshops in his atelier for young talents to improve their skills, since “in a city like Milan there are no places where people can meet spontaneously to share a creative experience.”

Most recently, he upped the ante to his social commitment with a project involving seven inmates of the female prison of Pozzuoli, an hour’s drive from his hometown Naples.

For that project, he handed a blank piece of paper to the women and asked them to express what freedom meant to them. The words and drawings they shared were then turned into decorative motifs for a capsule collection of bandanas and shopping bags crafted with deadstock textiles hailing from the prison. All proceeds from the online sale of the pieces, which retail between 30 euros to 55 euros, will be destined for the inmates.

“Everyone thought that the pandemic would make us better but it was quite the opposite, individualism prevailed. Yet I still strongly believe in working together, as well as in second chances,” concluded Calendoli, emphasizing that the experience enabled inmates to learn new skills, earn benefits for good conduct as well as start a journey for future reintegration into society.