Stefano Martinetto of Tomorrow – ODDA

“In that niche of consumers, we see the opportunity for a relatively small number of purpose-driven, value coherent communities built on shared interest, and people who are honest about being together.”

Stefano Martinetto

EMME PRETORIUS. Your entrance into the fashion industry was one of “humble beginnings,” as you’ve phrased it. You began as a teenager, working for your father’s company, A-L-E-X, as the designated sandwich-maker on your summer breaks. Who were some of the influential designers that you met there, making lunch-break sandwiches? Any interesting anecdotes you could share with us?

STEFANO MARTINETTO. I was very good, actually. I still make amazing tuna sandwiches! [Laughs] My father was a sales agent and he opened the first or the second showroom in Italy. It was one of those wonderful places! I remember it was a Venetian palazzo with marble everywhere–it was a different era. The way to sell clothes was organizing private fashion shows for buyers. I had the pleasure to meet Mr. Valentino and Mr. Giancarlo Giammetti, amongst many. Also, when I was about 16, I was the right fit size–so this was another humble beginning being the fitting model for tailoring and suiting. This meant standing firm for hours with an army of people pinning your shoulders, tucking your shirt in and adjusting your jacket. I remember an argument between Mr. Valentino, one of his designers and one of the product developers. They were arguing over what was probably a 0.5 cm length or width of the shoulders. Then Mr. Valentino got offended by some suggestion and he went away shouting in French! [Laughs] It was terrifying because there also wasn't much air conditioning back then so you are sweating at 35 degrees celsius. You're the stupid kid who has the role of a mannequin–but your ears are open, so you listen to the comments. It was interesting–a mix of punishment and interesting training.

E.P. You’ve mentioned that your family has been in the business of fashion since the late 1800s. Is this legacy something you seeked to continue in your professional life? Did this play a part in your decision to also delve into the industry?

S.M. To my record, I have a grand, grand, grand ancestor who was a tailor in Monaco in 1849. That played a big part in the legacy. Continuing my father's success in business and thinking about having a member of the Martinetto family being involved in the creative industry, was also a large part of the motivation–absolutely!

“We are helping amazing creatives to have a voice, to be seen.”

Stefano Martinetto

E.P. For Tomorrow, what was your main vision, your main objective in creating the company?

S.M. There is a thesis behind why Tomorrow exists. The thesis is the following: by 2030, half of the worldwide luxury fashion industry will be dominated by a consumer range–the famous Gen Z. There will be significant growth in the business of luxury fashion and a lot of this growth will be captured by the bigger companies who will dominate. However, the individuality and diversity of a young customer will prove that a portion of these consumers will almost refuse to comply. These are what we call the “early adopters,” an intersection of Gen Z and the consumer youth culture who are refusing the global domination of big brands. In that niche of consumers, we see the opportunity for a relatively small number of purpose-driven, value coherent communities to form. This relatively small number of brands will be able to fight in a very similar way, in that independent record labels will allow their artists to fight back to the majors. In a way, our idea of is far from being perfect, far from being ready and far from delivering 100% of these promises. To create this platform, it is a ”plug in and play” solution for these designers. Creative founders go from zero–because we start at zero most of the time–to 30/40/50 million in sales. If there is a market opportunity, if the dominant culture or subcultures are value based, if you need operational functions and a bit of cash to capture that opportunity, then we believe that Tomorrow is the best! It offers a decent amount of services, which is enough. Not perfect, but enough to get them started and to get them into the wider world. The mission of Tomorrow is to be that independent record label for fashion in a moment where majors are dominating.

E.P. Tomorrow supports brands in bringing beauty to the world. What is this experience like for you? Do you find pleasure in knowing that this is what the company achieves?

S.M. I would lie if I said no, of course. We are helping amazing creatives to have a voice, to be seen. The fashion industry is such an insulated world and you may end up showing or publishing in wonderful magazines or websites, but then nobody wears the product. We allow them to see the product on the streets, at parties and on the red carpet. There are a number of very influential individuals who choose deliberately to go for these kinds of products–it's a big satisfaction! It's like a bit of a David versus Goliath satisfaction.

E.P. You enjoy the merging of entrepreneurship and creativity to form, what you call, “entrepreneurial creativity.” Could you expand on what this entails?

S.M. In the creative world, you have two kinds of profiles. You have the amazing, creative person who develops ideas, concepts or design directions based on a briefing or on a heritage. They are curators, they are stewards of a legacy–these individuals are incredibly successful and amazing! They end up working with a big company, not only because it's their nature, but also because of the resources in terms of product development, craftsmanship and marketing that these companies can allow you. I respect them, but I don't think Tomorrow's mission is to support these individuals. Our mission is to support the people who want to create the next big business–big in terms of what they believe is the right size for their business and their success. They want to build their own brand, they want to employ people, they want to be the leaders–they want to be a new brand for the future legacy. These are the individuals whom we call the “creative leaders” of entrepreneurial creativity. We select our relationships, filtering through the attitudes, intentions, values and the integrity–these are the main characteristics which I try to spot.

“The mission of Tomorrow is to be that independent record label for fashion in a moment where majors are dominating.”

Stefano Martinetto

E.P. Outside of the creative sphere of the company, is there anything else that you do to stay in touch with your creativity?

S.M. First and foremost, your job is your life. I see no boundaries. I'm citing Daniel Arsham in this case, “I don't divide. I work all the time, but I have fun all the time, so there's no difference.” Obviously, by being in the business of fashion, you are exposed to music, to art, to design, interior design and architecture. A personal passion is interior design–I designed all of Tomorrow's offices myself. They are very diverse because it depends on the location and the spirit of the building and my moment in time. You’re not going to go to Milan, New York and London and find the same office. It's going to be very different and hopefully, equally interesting! I'm a passionate collector of furniture and I definitely have a sweet spot for mid-century Italian designers. I am also a small art collector of mostly my friends’ work. They are meaningful to me. I realize I tend to buy only a few pieces, but they are quite sizable and I never know where to put them–which is a lesson I have learned! [Laughs] Of course, I love and respect Sterling Ruby or Daniel Arsham or Kevin Francis Gray. I also have an unusual taste for music. I love electronic music but I also love mid century French and jazz. [Laughs] It depends on the day. I'm also a natural stylist and I receive a lot of presents from my designers–it’s amazing and I mix them with very old stuff. I'm also a collector of old Raf Simons, old Calvin Klein and old Margiela. They never grow old! I mix and match it with new stuff too–for example, Martine Rose.

E.P. You’ve mentioned how Gen Z consumers are your core consumers and that they are more oriented towards value sharing. From your perspective, what does this mean for the fashion industry?

S.M. Gen Z consumers have an understanding of values which were barely noticeable 20 or 30 years ago–it was a very different world back then! This generation can vote with their wallet and that's the biggest power they have. It will be very, very coherent in the way they spend their money and it will demonstrate with facts and their ideas. As a consequence, I believe there will be a lot of questions about customer clusters which they now call “communities.” If you see what Coperni means for the French crowd, it is very obvious why certain friends, family and wider consumers are attracted to that brand. If you think about the DNA of someone like Martine Rose or Ottolinger, you see how precise the message is. I would expect that by virtue of selecting and giving opportunity to a mix of diverse standards–everything else should, and hopefully will, follow. Inclusivity is within diversity and the diversity is between two diverse parties without judgment of who they are. If you see the brands we invested into, we could have gone down a vertical. A-Cold-Wall exploded and we could have bought or invested into five other streetwear brands. A lot of wonderful similarities–same material, same vendors… no! The next product we invested into was Colville, a luxury women's wear, upcycled, recycled and funded by two amazing women, Lucinda and Molly–certainly not new people in the industry. They have years and years of expertise! The next one was Coperni. We took a risk, of course, and there's no similarity between these brands apart from shared services. We did that because Colville is diverse from A-Cold-Wall and A-Cold-Wall is diverse from Coperni and Coperni is diverse from Martine Rose. In that way, we achieved the inclusion of a number of different individuals. By doing that, we would expect that we are including our communities into the narrative.

E.P. You work with a range of emerging designers that offer fresh perspectives not only on fashion, but also on life in general. What, would you say, has been the most inspiring thing about these designers?

S.M. They never cease to amaze me! We have a wonderful team of executives and they are all seasoned experts and that's where we come–with a bit of gray hair and 20 years plus experience! We have seen everything over the last 20-25 years and yet, every time you meet a new individual, they bring a new perspective. The way they approach life, the value systems, what they define as quality of life is so different. What they define as achievement is so different. Everyone has different nuances.

Conversation edited by MARIE MADDOCKS | Photographer Assistant KIERA SIMPSON | Fashion Assistant SETH CULLEN | Special Thanks to MANDINE BENOMAR, BLANAID KENNY, THOMAS PREES, SETH FOOTRING, GEORGIA GALEA, BERNARD BENCHEHLA and GIOVANNI DE MARCHI at TOMORROW

Back to Press