"Luxury Brands Just Expensive? I Don't Want to Imitate Them"…18-Year Gucci Man's Honest Opinion [Interview]

The Fashion Capital Italy ... Luxury Men's Brand 'Slowear'
"Luxury Fashion Should Be Worn for a Long Time at a Reasonable Price"
"Korea's Rapidly Growing Fashion Market... We Will Pioneer the 'Slowear Look'"

"We will not repeat the mistakes of luxury brands that implement unreasonable pricing policies."

Piero Braga, CEO of Slowear, recently asserted this during an interview at a department store in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Since the value of luxury brands lies in quality rather than price, he proposes rational luxury fashion by using the best and most expensive materials.

Braga emphasized, "After this year's rebranding, we have no intention of catching up with the high price ranges of expensive brands," adding, "We will focus on showcasing Slowear's philosophy of luxury to consumers."

Pierrot Braga, CEO of Slowear. Provided by Samsung C&T Fashion.

The Fashion Capital Italy … Luxury Men's Brand 'Slowear'

Slowear is a men's luxury fashion brand based in Venice, Italy. Starting in the 1950s with military uniform manufacturing, it now operates four brands with strengths in different fashion categories: pants (Incotex), outerwear (Montedoro), knitwear (Zanone), and shirts (Glanshirt). It aims for elegant men's casual wear and is characterized by the absence of visible logos. Slowear's philosophy of "slow but sustainable fashion" was embedded in its mission after Roberto Compagno, son of founder Carlo Compagno and former CEO, successively acquired Montedoro, Glanshirt, and Zanone in 2003.

The flagship brand is Incotex, the origin of Slowear. Incotex has gained worldwide fame with its pants, emphasizing various materials, colors, designs, and comfort. It uses a range of materials such as 'moleskin,' representative of fall and winter, the sturdy-textured 'gabardine,' techno wool, royal Batavia, ice cotton, and exclusive fabrics to create refined products.

Additionally, popular chino pants feature a 'garment dyeing' technique, where the garment is dyed after production, resulting in subtle and natural colors. While men's pants are typically offered in even sizes, Slowear produces them in 1-inch increments. Considering that pants may tighten after meals, a slit technique is also applied.

Braga has been leading Slowear for three years. He joined Slowear as a professional manager in 2023 after the passing of CEO Roberto Compagno. Prior to this, he worked for over ten years at Italian luxury fashion brands Zegna and Tod's, and spent about 18 years at the global luxury brand Gucci, mainly handling wholesale and managing the Asian market.

Braga announced a major transformation for Slowear this year. Having spent time revitalizing Slowear after the setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic since his appointment as CEO, he plans to focus this year on communicating the brand's philosophy to consumers through rebranding.

Incotecs, Janone, Montedor, Glenshirts. Slowear operates with four brands until the SS season this year and will unify the brands under 'Slowear' starting from FW. Screenshot from Samsung C&T Fashion website.

The first step is unifying the names of the four vertically operated brands (Incotex, Montedoro, Zanone, Glanshirt) under 'Slowear.' Until the spring-summer season this year, pants were labeled Incotex, shirts Glanshirt, outerwear Montedoro, and casual wear Zanone, but from the fall and winter seasons onward, all will be labeled Slowear. This decision was made to firmly establish the 'Slowear' brand identity among consumers by ensuring brand consistency.

Each brand's category will also expand. Incotex recently began selling jackets in addition to pants. The jacket Braga wore during the interview was a new fall-winter item from Incotex, made of 100% wool twill fabric, worn as a set with Incotex pants. Braga explained, "We will present a richer collection than before," adding, "We will leverage the strengths of our materials by expanding exclusive fabrics used in pants (Incotex) to other categories to appeal to customers."

"Luxury Fashion Should Be Worn for a Long Time at a Reasonable Price"

Pierrot Braga, CEO of Slowear. Provided by Samsung C&T Fashion.

Slowear's strategy after rebranding is to maintain reasonable product price points. This contrasts with recent global luxury fashion brands that have continuously raised prices to position themselves as premium and luxury. These global brands have been criticized for increasing prices by more than 10% annually due to rising labor, logistics, raw material costs, and the use of top-tier materials. For example, Loro Piana raised its average product prices by 15% in January this year.

Braga stated, "The core of luxury that Slowear pursues is not to catch up with the prices of existing luxury brands but to provide consumers with the best quality clothing at reasonable prices," adding, "There is currently no brand whose product quality we aspire to emulate (given Slowear's confidence in its materials and quality)."

In terms of luxury brand pricing, Slowear is at the entry level. The retail price of Slowear's 'chino pants' is 550,000 KRW, while 'Brunello Cucinelli,' a men's luxury fashion brand, sells chino pants at 1,970,000 KRW, about four times higher. Loro Piana's prices range from 1,300,000 to 2,000,000 KRW. Slowear's prices are higher than general casual brands but more reasonable compared to luxury fashion products.

"Korea's Rapidly Growing Fashion Market... We Will Pioneer the 'Slowear Look'"

Braga returned to Korea after about two years. Korea is Slowear's highest-grossing market in Asia. Slowear's sales distribution ranks Italy, the UK, Korea, Japan, and the US, with Korea recently surpassing Japan, which previously held a larger share in Asia. About 40% of Slowear's 39 stores worldwide are concentrated in Korea. Including three outlet stores, Slowear operates a total of 15 stores domestically. In Italy, the UK, and Japan, wholesale accounts for a larger share, so there are fewer directly operated stores. However, since Korea's market is centered on department stores, expanding business requires increasing the number of operated stores. With many retail stores, it is easier to quickly and directly gauge consumer responses in the Korean market.

The Korean distribution rights for Slowear are currently managed by Samsung C&T Fashion Division. Braga explained, "Korea used to be simply a market with high fashion consumption, but recently it has grown into an opinion maker," adding, "Global fashion companies, including Slowear, release Korea-specific clothing or incorporate Korean feedback into their global collections."

Slowear's sales have steadily increased since Braga's appointment. Known as a luxury brand without visible logos, it has benefited from the 'old money' trend. In fact, Slowear's growth rate was steeper in the Korean market, where the old money look trend was strong. After recording single-digit growth in 2023 compared to the previous year, it achieved double-digit growth last year. Despite the economic downturn affecting the fashion industry, Slowear managed to grow sales.

Braga said, "Fatigue with logos created the old money trend, but this trend will not continue indefinitely," adding, "Slowear will not be limited to the old money trend but will pioneer the 'Slowear look' by presenting creative and sustainable fashion unique to Slowear."

Pierrot Braga, CEO of Slowear. Provided by Samsung C&T Fashion.