GCDS
GCDS is an Italian brand, founded in 2015 by Giuliano and Giordano Calza and which mixes streetwear, irreverence and color.
The history of Calza brothers
God can’t destroy streetwear is the motto of the brand, which obtains its name by its acronym. The two founders live a story of immigration on the contrary: born in Naples from a wealthy family, the father was an engineer and the mother a psychotherapist, they grew in Rione Sanità, one of the most difficult districts of the Naples.
Significantly, they had their backs covered and they had the possibility of traveling with their family, but they attended public schools and grew up in the difficult streets of the district, where they touched different realities: a dichotomy that they transposed in their brand, which wisely combines Made in Italy quality and streetwear influences, Giordano’s managerial skills and Giuliano’s innate creativity.
Giordano, CEO of the brand, studied economics at Bocconi in Milan, while Giuliano attended the faculty of Political Sciences in Naples and continued in Milan, studying Luxury Marketing, at Bocconi, and Chinese, in Shanghai, for a year. Extremely different in aspirations and attitudes, they decided to undertake a common experience and moved to Shanghai. Here, in three years, they opened five restaurants called My Little Kitchen.
Giordano managed business, while Giuliano, after an experience in the Blumarine style office, devoted himself to all the other aspects, paying particular attention to the dress code of the waiters. From there he had the intuition to produce something own: one hundred sweatshirts produced in China and sold online were sold out in two days. The GCDS project, based in Milan, was born.
Founding and growth of GCDS
It was 2015 and GCDS proposed itself as a breath of colour in the black universe proposed by fashion. Logo sweatshirts, t-shirts and bermuda shorts, irreverent cuts and, above all, bright colours. The brand is a bridge between the quality of Made in Italy, with production located between north and south, and contaminations from the street. It soon established as a consolidated reality that has been a permanent presence on Milan catwalks since 2017.
The new and fresh spirit and the staff composed exclusively by young people in their thirties overwhelmed the world of fashion and made social media its natural habitat. Their talent is particularly appreciated by social icons such as Chiara Ferragni, Bella Hadid and Dua Lipa, who don’t miss the opportunity to be shot with GCDS items.
In the space of a few years the brand exponentially grew up, moving from a turnover of 500 thousand euros per year to 20 million in 2019 (80% obtained from wholesale). From the first single-brand store, opened in Milan in 2016, today its products are distributed in 350 stores and 7 flagship stores around the world.
GCDS style
Bizarre and at times irreverent, GCDS offers a luxury streetwear with well-defined and recognizable features, which combines pop, Kawaii aesthetics and manga universe. The three souls, of Naples, Milan and Shanghai, meet in the collections of the brand, which aims at keeping streetwear alive, regardless of possible revolutions in the fashion world.
The youth of the founders and Giuliano’s familiarity with digital world allowed the brand to outdo the new language towards their creative vision – as demonstrated by dystopian and sensorial presentation for AW 2021/2022 collection – and to be a successful presence in social medias.
The same ironic style which characterizes the brand represented its first eyewear collection, produced by Marcolin and launched in 2021.
Collaboration with Barilla
The brand had many collaborations, including the famous one with Barilla. After a capsule collection consisting of no-gender sweatshirts and pullovers with the Barilla logo, proposed during the FW 2019/2020 fashion show, a new project arrived, which saw the packaging of the famous pasta dressed in shocking pink. As a completion, an iconic spot shot in Hollywood, directed by Nadia Lee Cohen and starring the iconic Sophia Loren.
The eccentric characters that follow one another, wrapped in a technicolor allure of the ’60s, are recalled to the sound of ‘Dinner is ready’ and arrive in a Baroque residence where the Italian diva serves spaghetti. Free from any kind of prejudice, GCDS helps Barilla to renew its communication codes, combining tradition and inclusion, two values that Calza brothers want to transmit.
New perspectives
In November 2020, the Private Equity Made in Italy Found, managed by Quadrivio & Pambianco, acquired the majority of the brand, leaving a significant stake in the hands of two brothers. The operation, with the support of manager Patrizio di Marco, who collected important experiences in Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Dolce&Gabbana and Golden Goose, aims at strengthening the position in the Asian and American market, as well as developing the sector dedicated to online sales.
The stabilization of markets aimed when part of the company was sold seems to have succeeded, because in the following months GCDS opened new stores in China and Italy (in particular a pop-up store in Fashion Quadrilateral and a store in Capri).
Lastly, The GDCS brand had revenues of approximately 18 million in 2022.
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Contacts
Via Spartaco 8, 20135, Milano (MI)
To read the item in Italian click here.
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