Text by Mark Cho, Photo by Mark Cho

Myself and our buying team are in Italy attending Pitti and seeing our suppliers. During Pitti, we do some of our buying and product development as well as catch up on what our colleagues in the industry are up to. It is quite an efficient trip for our business because of the concentration of people we can meet and work with in a short period of time.

Originally I wanted to photograph my colleagues; Alan See or Alex Pirounis, but right after I finished their portraits while we were at Pitti, I bumped into one of my best friends, Gianluca Migliarotti, and so I photographed him as well.. As I only see him a few times a year, I decided to feature his portrait instead.

Gianluca is a film director who specializes in documentaries. Among his other work, he has made a few important films about fashion, such as O'Mast, I Colori Di Antonio and E Poi Ce Napoli. I met him very early on, during the first year of The Armoury. I am a big fan of his personal style, which I think comes through in his work. He is from Naples and I think of him as the modern Neapolitan gentleman. His personality is passionate but also very easy to engage with. When I watch his documentaries, I always notice his ability to connect with his subject in a very natural way. In his clothing, he wears suits when the occasion calls for it, but he will typically wear sport jackets and trousers in a way that is elegant and natural, without being too casual or showy either. Much of his clothing is bespoke, with some of his father's old bespoke mixed in. I am quite proud to say he also buys some pieces from The Armoury, like our denim jeans, as well as bespoke shirts from our favourite shirtmaker in Hong Kong, Ascot Chang.

The Armoury denim
http://shop.thearmoury.com/categories/denim

Ascot Chang
http://www.ascotchang.com/en/home

Carmina string loafers
http://shop.thearmoury.com/categories/footwear/carmina-uetam-80285-loafer-suede-brown