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MILAN – “This brand is not my thing.” The fashion entrepreneur Cristina Calori started an interview about the relaunch of the traditional Italian knitwear brand Avon Celli. It might sound awkward to hear from someone introducing a new project, but it says a lot about Calori’s approach to business.
Calori is President of WP Lavori in Corso, a group based in Bologna, Italy that manages and distributes a range of international brands. In particular, the company owns the Baracuta and BD Baggies brands and sells Barbour and Blundstone.
“We are very focused on traditional brands, but they are all in the outdoor, sportier and more casual segment,” explained Calori. “Avon Celli is a traditional brand, but it is positioned in the luxury segment and that’s why I decided to separate it from the other labels.”
Aware of the differences that separate their traditional business from luxury, Calori decided to relaunch Avon Celli to work with the Milanese showroom 247, which will start selling the label’s collections with the sales campaign in spring 2022 starting this week.
The Italian entrepreneur bought Avon Celli about a decade ago, but the project stayed on the shelf for a while. “I was too busy with other things, but when I sold Woolrich I finally had more time to do other things and off we go,” she explained.
Founded in Milan in 1922 by Pasquale Celli, Avon Celli experienced a golden moment in the 1990s when the company not only sold successful knitwear collections under the Avon Celli brand, but was also the exclusive knitwear manufacturer for various luxury labels. including Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent.
“My father used to wear beautiful Avon Celli sweaters that were known for the richness of their special seams,” said Calori, adding that the brand’s archives from the 80s were an important source of inspiration for the relaunch of the label.
While the brand has tended to focus on men’s fashion in the past, Calori decided to pay the same attention to both collections, which each include around 20 items for the spring season 2022.
Mainly made of cotton as well as cotton and silk blends, the lineup offers an all-knit total look in which tops from pullovers to polo shirts are combined with dresses, shorts and trousers. “The big focus is on textures as we are using all of the incredible stitches we can find in the archives,” said Calori, adding that the creative team mainly worked a color palette with bright tones, including red, called Avon Celli The official color was selected.
The label’s spring collection 2022, which will also be on view in the brand’s online shop in February, costs between € 400 and € 1,000.
When asked about the brand’s potential, Calori said Italy will be the most attractive market for the brand in the first phase. “However, I see great potential in the US, where the brand used to have very good business,†she added.
See also:
Inacio Ribeiro presents Clements Ribeiro Cashmere Knitwear
Sustainable knitting label James Street Co. presents its first spring collection
Fall 2021 trend: knitwear
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