Isaia—the Neapolitan tailoring luxury brand founded by Enrico Isaia in Naples in 1920—has finally opened on Worth Avenue, to much enthusiasm from Palm Beachers who travel to Italy each summer to visit the atelier. Recognized by its tiny red coral logo (a good-luck charm in Naples), CEO Gianluca Isaia, pictured center, above, describes his clientele as “passionate, sophisticated, irreverent, eclectic, and elegant.” After opening stores all over the world, including Bal Harbour, PALMER sat down with him to find out why the time was finally right for Palm Beach.

 

Have you been to Palm Beach before?
[About] 15 years ago when we were working with Saks. So yes, I’ve been around.

Have you seen many changes?
Yes, a lot of changes. I came a few months ago to see the location and the changes at that time. From my impression, it was too quiet—not anything against the old people, but the average age was higher than now. Now is fantastic, because you have a different energy. I’m very proud, and very happy to be here with our store.

The boutique has a new women’s section. What inspired you to delve into womenswear?
It’s the second season [of our women’s collection]. We did some womenswear in the ’90s, it was just pleasure at the time. What brings me to women now is that a lot of wives and girlfriends of our customers are always [looking] for something. At one point I said, “Okay, I think we are ready.” Also, during COVID, we decided to internalize almost all the categories. [At] this time we were making just suits, ties, and shirts. We had a lot of people that didn’t know what to do, because selling jackets and suits during [COVID] was impossible. Instead of firing them or reducing the personnel, we decided to internalize the denim, jersey, outerwear—all these categories. At that point, I thought we were ready to start a new adventure.

What percentage of your business is custom?
It’s a good percentage. I’d say around 20–25%.

Why Palm Beach now?
Florida is much strong after COVID and Miami has been very successful. So when Palm Beach came up with the opportunity of this beautiful space, we didn’t think twice.

Are you bringing any trends to Palm Beach?
In terms of the people, they want to be elegant as always, but they want to feel more comfortable. For example, for men I’m always wearing the drawstring pant that is very comfortable. Even for a suit, when you have your jacket closed, you don’t see the drawstring pant. If somebody doesn’t want to show it, I don’t care, I show, for sure, but I think it’s a mix. Also women, who want to feel comfortable.

How do you connect with your clients?
We want to do business in our stores. But we also want to have fun. You’ll see in all our stores we have a bar and a piano, so we play music. Sometimes our customers even dance. We try to have fun. We have customers (not yet in Palm Beach) that come to our stores just to sit and have a drink, watch a little bit of TV, and they leave. They just pop in.

What makes Napoleonic tailoring so enduring?
It’s very comfortable, and the canvas is very light. And the sleeve is quite comfortable. The arm hole is high, so you have movement. You can sleep on the plane with a child and still look good.

What are the staples of a well dressed person’s wardrobe?
I don’t think there are rules that can be applied to everybody. I have my own style, and even if you say it’s fantastic, it’s not right for another man. What we try to do is help our customers find their own style. Their [own] rules.

How would you define Palm Beach style?
I would say solare—sunny, full of positive energy. Because they try a lot of colors. The way people dress in Palm Beach, they dress with a lot of colors, and the color influences your mood. When you wake up in the morning and feel great, it’s important to keep positive. Then, of course, you have to know how to use the colors [together], because if you go in colors, you have to be right.

Are there any American or Italian icons that you love?
Gianni Agnelli, for me, was fantastic because he had his own style. He created a lot of things that many people copied. I also love Robert Downey, Jr., apart from the fact that he is one of our customers. But I love his spirit, because he also has his own style. You can see when someone has it—people say about this elegance, right? Elegance, for me, is when you feel comfortable with what you are wearing.