Promoting naive fashion: interview with the founders of Clothes Agency

One of the features that makes Clothes Agency different from the rest is the deep respect dedicated to all brands represented, a list now including renowned and emerging names in fashion such as Lemaire, Cormio, Courrèges, David Koma, Panconesi, Wales Bonner, Séfr, and Louisa Ballou. A project launched in 2019 by Luca Fortugna and Carlo Zollo, two former commercial sales professionals, Clothes Agency now rests on the three cardinal points of European fashion: London, Milan, and Paris, where this weekend marks the inauguration of the first showroom, Clothes Showroom. Despite the challenge of expanding their business in a cultural hub like Paris, not a small feat in a city hosting luxury industry giants, what led founders Carlo Zollo and Luca Fortugna to believe in Clothes Agency was precisely the level of difficulty it required. After all, to be able to change the game takes a great deal of courage. We met the founders of the agency a few days before the new opening to learn more about their project.

 

As the founders recall, Clothes Agency was born almost by chance. Long-time experts in the commercial sales sector, Zollo and Fortugna started brainstorming ideas over a pint in a London pub, after discovering they were neighbours. Both tired of the fashion industry and its structure, they created a countercurrent agency, one that would go in the opposite direction of the luxury streetwear wave that was dominating the scene at the time. Going against what Fortugna calls a «lazy approach» to showroom work, Clothes Agency was founded to offer customised strategies to brands. They both felt there could be an opportunity to ride the way of a pending counter trend wave. Which proved correct in hindsight «as we find ourselves today in the midst of quiet luxury,» says Zollo. Thanks to the extensive knowledge gathered in their previous roles, the founders focused on three key qualities, «reputation, credibility, and networking.» To these, as stated in their mission statement, they add an essential term: naive.

 

«I've never liked anything one hundred percent polished,» says Zollo, emphasising the importance of the word "naive" in their vocabulary. A term that encapsulates the entire philosophy of the project, it indicates the tailored approach with which they work with brands, the first of these being Lemaire, the debut brand for Clothes Agency in the Italian distribution. «We decided very early on to focus on the Italian market,» says Zollo. «We had just signed Lemaire for Italy, and through word of mouth, opportunities presented themselves. It wasn't an easy path, but our agency grew, and we were happy to work and enjoy solid collaborations with brands we were proud to represent.» Accepting to support a brand is a decision that Zollo and Fortugna take unanimously, according to fixed prerequisites. «We never rush into a business relationship because we like to evaluate the brand and fully appreciate what we deal with, especially if the goal is a long-term collaboration,» says Fortugna. «We don't chase hype. Even though it would be unreasonable to ask an emerging brand to be perfect, it is possible to understand if there is motivation, if their storytelling is authentic.»

 

The real strength of Clothes Agency lies precisely in the independent nature of the project, a trait that allows Zollo and Fortugna to put themselves in the shoes of emerging brands to establish a partnership with them, rather than a client relationship. «Clothes Agency is a big supporter of emerging brands,» says Zollo. «While luxury houses monopolize the market by keeping all the cards to themselves, emerging brands have showrooms as a gateway to the customer, and as an agency, we are very proactive in how we interact with them.» A great aid in the climb to success, Clothes Agency impacts the communication of emerging brands - provided that their vision is noteworthy. For the two founders, to compete with luxury giants a brand needs to be ahead of the game. «If you want to be an independent designer, you have to have twenty seasons ready, not just three,» says Zollo. «How you navigate the industry to achieve your goals is a completely unique journey , and it depends on the cards you’ve been dealt with.» As Fortugna adds, their agency can help alleviate the challenges that emerging brands face by creating a space where they can strengthen their fanbase and find new customers. By providing networking opportunities between brands and potential buyers, Clothes Agency acts as a bridge to restore a now compromised system, putting its independence at the service of others. For the founders, oftentimes emerging brands are more « relevant in terms of content compared to those of luxury and much more contemporary in terms of values,» even though «the frenzy fueled by the online and parallel market has unfortunately flattened the market, penalising many emerging brands.» 

 

 

With the growth of the company, there was an increasingly felt urgency to give way for a physical space to be built in Paris, and so Clothes Showroom was born in 2023 as an extension of the agency. This weekend, Zollo and Fortugna will unveil the AW24 selection inside the new space, showcasing brands Panconesi, Cormio and two debut collections from Ottange and GASM, OR? «The idea was to create something personal that had greater significance than just business terms,» Zollo tells us about the showroom, a project tasked with carrying forward all the values promoted by Clothes Agency, even more radically. «There is a growing alignment between our agency, the brands we represent, and the collaborations we could explore,» adds Fortugna in view of the agency's upcoming commitments. «A shift is crucial for continuing to sell fashion in a changing landscape. We hope this can become a collective change, spurred on by the perspectives of the new generations. Rest assured, we are committed to playing our part in this transition.»