Luxury Italian brand Giuliva Heritage is renowned for their flawless tailoring. Their choice of fabrics, finishing and silhouettes means that all of the garments are built and designed to last generations. The family-owned Giuliva Heritage take classic menswear and reimagines it for women. Margherita Cardelli and husband Gerardo Cavaliere, Giuliva Heritage’s founders, are passionate about long-lasting fashion in great fabrics. Together with H&M, the couple created a modern take on Italian heritage with a collection made from materials from more sustainable sources and in line with both brands’ journey to circularity, recycled fabrics have been used throughout. 

In the beginnings of Giuliva Heritage, Margherita often used to borrow from Gerardo’s wardrobe, regularly dressing in his clothes. In keeping with this ethos, Giuliva Heritage x H&M features traditional shirting, strong tailored blazers and contemporary trench coats in recycled wools, recycled polyester, and organic cottons. Accompanied by flowing blouses, dresses and wearable coordinating separates, these looks offer a concise, classic wardrobe. Time-honored tones of beige, navy, dusky blue, and burgundy feature alongside pinstripe and glen plaid, and added details include cowl-necklines, bishop sleeves, and high waists.

“It was wonderful to work with H&M on this collection. Together, we created easy transitional pieces with designs that stand the test of time. We were especially delighted to use recycled materials with every look. We have always been passionate about authentic, meaningful fashion that lasts and this collection undoubtedly captures that.” says Gerardo Cavaliere and Margherita Cardelli Cavaliere.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with fine tailoring experts Giuliva Heritage. Inspired by classic menswear designs, both our teams were excited to create accessible and timeless pieces for the modern woman. With H&M’s conscious fabrications and Giuliva Heritage’s enduring designs, we’ve created long lasting pieces that we hope our customers will pass down from generation to generation.” says Maria Östblom, Head of Design Womenswear at H&M. 

We asked Margherita Cardelli, Gerardo Cavaliere and Maria Östblom to tell us more about the process, collection and the collaboration:

Why is timeless design so important to you? Where does your passion for clothes that stand the test of time come from? 

Gerardo and Margherita: When we decided to launch our brand Giuliva Heritage, that takes inspiration from Gerardo’s Neapolitan tailoring and made to measure business Sartoria Giuliva, our main mission was and always will be “to create lifelong garments that can be passed down to generations. Classic statement pieces that can stay in your wardrobe forever and that don’t exist only because of a 6 months trend. This is what tailoring is about and we always wanted, since the start, to achieve the goal of creating timeless pieces both in terms of design and craftsmanship. 

Margherita, what is it about menswear design that you find so captivating? How did this motivate you and Gerardo to create Giuliva Heritage? 

Margherita: I always loved wearing pieces of my father and my grandfather so when I met Gerardo and I had my first chance to walk into his closet I felt I found heaven. Menswear design suits my personality and make me feel at ease. We decided to launch the brand because of the made to measure business for men, Sartoria Giuliva, that Gerardo was running since 2012. The main inspiration is the men’s tailoring design, we didn’t need any motivation, we just knew it was it. 

Who is the Giuliva Heritage x H&M woman?  

Gerardo: absolutely the same woman that I design for Giuliva Heritage. Women that are fully in control of their character and personality. Women that feel at ease with their own vision and fully trust their choices. Women aware of their charm that don’t need to flaunt it; from my point of view, therefore they become naturally desirables. 

How did the collaboration come about? 

Maria: We are always looking for interesting and exciting collabs to surprise our customers. Giuliva Heritage got our attention with statement classics from Italian tailoring tradition in a really flattering fit, gaining power trough wearability and represent a well-balanced wardrobe that we love and will be kept forever. 

What was it like collaborating with H&M? Can you tell us more about the experience?

Gerardo and Margherita: It has been super exciting and surprising. We think we both had a journey where we shared experiences, skills and insights, achieving a result that perfectly speak for both Giuliva Heritage and H&M. The fact that H&M asked us to collaborate on a tailoring collection, reinforced our purpose and we feel absolutely honored to have been chosen for this task.

Maria: It`s been a pleasure to collaborate with Margherita, Gerardo & their team together with our design team. We share their passion for tailoring, fashion classics, and long-lasting design. Wardrobe favorites that make life easier with fewer choices but still, beautiful and well designed – modern pieces you keep for a long time. Both brands contributed to the sustainability aspect, Giuliva Heritage with their long-lasting timeless design and H&M with innovation and fabrics – we think this combination is something our customers will really appreciate. 

What are some of your favorite pieces from the collection? How would you style them? 

Gerardo and Margherita: The white double-breasted suit and the long coat. Once on, they immediately stand out and tell the story of Giuliva Heritage and our personal tailoring know how. We would style them with high neck knits and lots of vintage jewelry. 

Maria: So many beautiful, useful, and flattering pieces to use and share with my 21 years old daughter. Hard to select but the off- white double-breasted relax blazer & wide high-waist trousers together with the cool midnight blue sleeveless coat with belt it’s a must-have for me.

Could you tell us more about the sustainable sources used to create the collection?

Maria: We used most recycled wool, polyester, and organic cotton. We share Giuliva Heritage’s love for timeless design and tailoring and together with our long-term experience and progressive sustainable goals, this is in line with what we want to achieve to create a sustainable fashion future.

The collection will be sold with prices starting from KD 7.990 at H&M in Marina Mall, Salmiya High Street, Al Kout Mall, First Avenue – The Avenues, Grand Avenue – The Avenues, The Forum – The Avenues, and on kw.hm.com, from the 3rd of September.