Carlo Manzi

I went to London this weekend to visit Carlo Manzi in his studio.

He has been collecting clothes for 30 years from thrift stores to high end designer shops.

With the suits he started collecting, he opened up a stall in Kings Road selling suits. At the time there were no other stalls like it as the main thing being sold at the time was denim so he did really well with it and pursued his collecting hobby.

Now he supplies for such things as costume for commercials and films. His studio is huuuge and was completely jam-packed, so much so that he needs to move to a bigger place, which I will hopefully be helping him out with.

It was amazing, filled with inspiration and I can't wait to go back when i have more of a focussed idea of what i'm looking for.Here are some pictures from the day.

From hats...

To shirts...

And belts..

To jumpers...

And gilets...

And jackets...

And shoes..

I was particularly interested to find some capes to see the traditional workmanship that went into them and what sort of details are worked in to them. There wasn't a huge range of capes as they are not very popular but the ones Carlo found for me were beautiful.

The arm pokes out this vent in the elbow in this cape leaving a long trail of fabirc falling down below the arm.

I love the chain fastening detail on this long smart cape.

The jackets below are all made out of lovely thick heavy weight fabric and the colours and use of constrasting fabric is very eye catching and something I am thinking of bringing forward into my initial design ideas.
This one has exceptionally nice elbow patches!

Rib-cord is one of the fabrics I am thinking of working with as I think it suits my style and theme very nicely. I like the wide rib.

Detail of a tweed jacket lapel with button hole.

My favourite garment of the day! This fabulous cape.
The picture doesn't quite capture the texture of the material and the richness of the colour. It felt almost spongey and really light to touch. The details in this cape are amazing. The difference of the proportions of the pockets, to the lining and the smart button across detail that goes under the chin when the collar is facing upwards. I loved it!