Luca Rubinacci, Rubinacci
Milano, Italy
Mr Luca Rubinacci is a dandified dresser, whose personal style combines ‘flair with practicality’. Heir to his grandfather’s tailoring dynasty, the designer creates luxurious pieces using premium materials and construction methods.
The Rubinacci family, with its longstanding tradition dating back three generations, has been able to transform and incorporate all the theories and models of elegance into an unique style that is unparalleled and distinctive.
Rubinacci, known also as London House by its original name, is the most prestigious classical tailoring house in Italy. While Rubinacci was founded in Naples, it has spread its empire to Rome, London, New York, Tokyo and Milan, as well. The unmistakable trademark of Rubinacci, the original soft tailored, incredibly comfortable Neapolitan suit, is loved and admired throughout the world. Such a suit, especially in its bespoke form, is considered as a most desirable item to be added to the wardrobe by many aficionados of Italian style.
What business aspects have led to the success of Rubinacci?
Our hallmark is our bespoke level of service. We are highly attentive to our clients’ needs and truly offer a service we can proudly brag about. Along with this, our garments are backed by our lifetime guarantee. We truly want our clients to feel special when wearing their commissioned pieces, and make sure they are happy with it for the life of the garment. What also helps is that we keep a healthy stock of fabric that allows us to mend damaged or well-worn pieces, breathing new life into them.
Another major part of our success has been the surge of digital activity on the world wide web, and social media. Rubinacci has been exposed to a significant audience through these channels, and we’re proud to showcase our offering for the world to see.
Our bespoke offering is handled directly with either myself, my father, or my sister – through our various storefronts or trunk shows. This means we play a direct part in advising our clients on their wardrobes, and build a very personal relationship with them. This level of service really sets Rubinacci apart, throughout Italy and among our competition.
What do you think is the future of tailoring? Do you see technology replacing the essential art of tailoring for instance, cutting, measuring or producing bespoke suits?
I personally don’t see technology replacing the essential art of tailoring. The human element is vital in producing a well-made suit, especially bespoke – where almost all the work is done by hand. Our operation is extremely hands-on, especially on the measuring side where we precisely measure areas that will lead to a superior bespoke product.
That being said, we constantly explore innovation in our tailoring house and try to utilize ways where we can fit technology into our operations. We work with a number of clients through modern video conferencing solutions to discuss their commissions, and answer their questions regarding fit or improvements. We are always analyzing digital photos to ensure we translate the essence of our product for the client’s lifestyle. Essentially, we are not devoid of technology and would happily integrate it in the best way possible for the brand.
What is Rubinacci’s unique value proposition and how do you acquire your customers?
Service. Hands down, this is our most important value proposition. Our clients sing our praises, and we have a significant amount of referral traffic because of this. Not to take away from our product though, as that is also what we have perfected but we’ve clubbed it together with our service to bring a unique approach.
We develop intimate relationships with our clients, and want them to keep returning back to us for all their subsequent commissions. This is why we strive for perfection in everything that we do.
Our house cut is also very recognizable, with unique details that set it apart. Beyond that, we’ve developed a unique car jacket that you can wear like a second skin, and throw it around without worrying about ruining it. Product development is key for us, as we want to differentiate ourselves from the competition with these types of items.
As a tailoring house, we are the biggest collector of vintage fabrics in Italy, having roughly 60,000 meters – something that has been 80 years in the making. Any other business could easily have gone bankrupt because of this, but we wanted heritage to be a big part of our brand philosophy.
We are the first Italian tailoring house to do trunk shows. We essentially built up the competitors, and having competition is a good thing. It keeps us on our toes! I travel quite often during the year for these shows, visiting the United States (NYC, LA, Miami), Japan, Kazakhstan, and South Korea. Our international clients really enjoy our offering, and we are happy to service them in their native lands – part of our devotion to putting service as a priority.
We are also devoting a lot of attention to womenswear. Currently, we offer a bespoke service for women and we are continually refining our product offering. We also have a ready-to-wear line of unique product, which continuously evolves from season to season.
Photo credits: Jai Sachdev, Chief Operating Officer