Well, Adrian, let's start easy… what's your background?

I was born in Switzerland, to a family with both Italian and Albanian backgrounds. Inspired by my family's history and their tailoring heritage, I decided to study fashion in Milan and London. After a couple of years in the fashion industry, the beauty and roughness of Milan inspired me to follow up on my dream and create my vision.

Explain the brand name: “AP Milan”

It’s the initials of my Grandfathers, my Farther and mine. Starting with AP inspired me, it’s a tribute to all things that marked my life positively. 

In this current landscape of overnight brands, how do you find it navigating through a saturated market?

In my opinion, the market is always saturated. There is never a perfect time to launch something - we launched AP Milan during a worldwide pandemic. But you have to be true to yourself and your vision. Know where you want to be and do it step-by-step. I'm sure that we will tell a lot of great stories with our collections in the years to come.

 
To what scale do you envision your brand being at, do you think a fashion show is within reach?

For me, the timing has to be right. We fully respect the covid situation, but at the same time, we are convinced that the world will be back to normal soon. At that moment we will create a show that we can invite as many people as possible to, and we will do it.  It will be great to just have people around, show our vision and have the biggest party ever.

Being that you are a new brand, what’s the production process like for you?

We work very closely with our manufacturing partners in Italy and Turkey. They believe in the project, and we don't want to just sell as much as we can. We want to position us in the right places using the right amount. 

 
Financially, does it require a hefty sum of investment to get started?

The start of every business needs some investment. The right infrastructure and the right people in the team are needed. In the beginning, it was just me, the support of my family and my cousin, BP. I designed the collection, watched YouTube videos on how to code a website, searched for manufacturers etc and tried to keep the cost as low as possible. 

Since then, the team has grown of course - and we’re very happy with the direction it is going in.

In an ideal world, which stores would you like to be stocked in?

My sales team and I are focusing on small independent stores. We feel that they have a more family atmosphere to them, like the old tailoring shop of my grandfather. So, you can still take your time for the customer and tell the story of the brand. 

What are the 2 key pieces of information which consumers should take away from this interview?

1.  That AP Milan reflects the contradiction between nostalgic and contemporary design. 

2. I do not design for the people that buy matching pockets and ties. I design for people that have the courage to wear a mohair suit in an underground club at 7 am. Those who are happy to lose their jacket at the end of the night, in return for a lot of good memories. 

Have you experienced any brand milestones yet?

A milestone for me was to see that an idea that you have as a student in Milan can come to life after so much work. Also, to have so much interest already from those I admire.

What other products can we expect to see from you all soon?

For the new FW22 collection we will introduce the signature AP Milan suit and around 20 new looks. However, I'm most excited about the new shoewear that we are developing in Italy. 

What's been the biggest challenge for you so far?

Like most others, Covid-19 has been the biggest challenge so far. Everything takes more time, and you have to schedule everything correctly. Furthermore, you never know how the upcoming restrictions will impact on your work.

What're your favourite pieces from the new collection? 

I love the handknitted vest and the silk shirts, I personally can't stop wearing them.  

How do you come up with the inspiration and ideas for your products?

Mostly they come from memories of my grandparents, remembering how they dressed and taking inspiration from there. This, combined with a ‘gangster’ esque style, I like how you can identify people through certain ‘stereotypical’ dress codes because you can then play on that and confuse people.  

Post covid-19, what are your plans?

First, we will celebrate for 3 straight days straight with everyone involved. Then we go onto to our tight schedule for developing the next collection. 

Can you give us a little taster of what's to come?  

For the next collection, we want to tell the story of a hooligan from the ’70s and how he gets beaten up because of how he looks, but still dresses the way he wants to, despite what people think.

Can we expect a collaboration with another brand in the near future?

If the connection is right, we wouldn’t rule it out. One of my dreams would be to work with Converse and redesign the Chucks. Since I was 10 years old, the only pair of sneakers I’ve ever owned, and still own, is a pair of Converse Chuck Taylors.


Take a look at AP Senior + a tailoring campaign set to release later this month:

written by JH for nclgallery