“The Venice canals deposited me on Giorgio Armani’s doorstep. The most beautiful clothing gleamed down at me through the shop windows, but my nerves froze me to that spot. I was intimidated, a kid in Italy for the first time, I didn’t speak the language, I didn’t know what to do.
My stomach was full of butterflies, but my feet carried me through the door.
No sooner had I entered than an older gentleman greeted me with a big smile, floated over to a rack, handed me a shirt, and swept me toward the dressing room. The shirt fit perfectly. I didn’t have to change how I carried myself or how I moved my body; it fit the way I didn’t yet know clothes could. I felt like it was made for me.
I felt at ease. I felt seen.
That extraordinary experience seared my sartorial imagination. The man had sized me up in the time it took to say ciao. He put me in a garment that fit more than just my physical shape—it was a shirt for the young man I knew myself to be.
That’s all I remember from that day. I didn’t buy the shirt; I couldn’t afford it. I don’t even remember leaving the store. I guess I never really did.”
— The Raconteur
Custom garments are the words we’ll use to tell your story.
Elegance can be found anywhere, in any moment, but it’s an elusive ideal—it’s authenticity. Transparency. Nothing to prove. It’s the last quarter bottle of wine on a sky-drenched balcony with your suede loafers propped up on a stack of yellowing newspapers.
Elegance transcends definition, but we do know this: you have to feel comfortable to achieve elegance. That’s why Raconte brings the luxury of made-to-measure and bespoke tailoring out of the atelier and into your home.
At ease in your own space, you’ll get to know your Raconteur. Together you’ll collaborate on the aesthetic decisions that will bring your story to life in cloth. We design before we measure so that your unique vision drives your garment’s fit, not the other way around.
Whether you’re distilling your essence into your wardrobe or using clothing to develop a sense of yourself, we see clothes as a matter of storytelling.