Maurizio Marinella

A PASSION FOR TIES. Maurizio Marinella is the grandson of Eugenio Marinella, who founded the Italian necktie company E. Marinella in 1914 in a small shop of 20 square metres on Piazza Vittoria along Riviera di Chiaia in Naples. It has become a symbol of Naples, and today the company also has stores elsewhere in Italy and internationally.

Maurizio Marinella, what does it mean to be Marinella?

Being Marinella means ‘transmitting a miracle’. A miracle because this year we are celebrating 111 years; a miracle because everything was born in those 20 square metres; a miracle because we are now in the 4th generation, because after me there is my son Alessandro; a miracle because we open every day of the year from 6:30 in the morning until 8:00 at night. But mainly it’s a miracle because we sell ties and we are one of those shops that continues to do well. There is great interest in us, many people want to buy us. After 111 years, Marinella is a beautiful story that has not lost its intensity and emotion.

Why did your grandfather decide to open his little shop?

In those days the elegant man dressed in the English way and the elegant woman dressed in the French way. My grandfather went to England by ship and started importing brands that later became very important. We were the first in Italy to have Acquascutum, Floris, Penhaligon‘s, the first to have Lock’s hats and Brigg‘s umbrellas. Alongside this we created two workshops, one for shirts and one for ties, because Naples had a great tradition of craftsmanship that we carried on and supported. The English project, which also included fabrics for ties, continued until the Second World War, when due to economic sanctions products could no longer be imported from abroad. The motto of the Italian government was produce Italian and consume Italian. At that time the shop remained completely empty so as not to betray our English project, but at the end of the war there was an explosion of the Marinella brand, an explosion of activity and events. From that moment on it has been a race to the present day.

However, you stopped making shirts?

Yes, we stopped around the 1990s. We concentrated on ties, because the big problem is finding staff who want to dedicate themselves to the old crafts, and our workshop is thriving with new forces to give the company a future.

Her Majesty Queen Camilla on a visit to  E.Marinella

Maurizio Marinella, throughout its history, Marinella has had famous customers: from the Kennedys to Onassis to King Charles III of England?

Yes, we have made ties for Gorbachev, for Chirac, for Mitterrand and Sarkozy. Lately we have made ties for the 700th anniversary of the Grimaldi family. We have made ties for all the Presidents of the Italian Republic, from the first President De Nicola to the current President Mattarella. We have made ties for great political figures: Andreotti, Craxi, Fini. Berlusconi was our most important customer; during the period in which he was Prime Minister he would order 300 to 400 ties a month. Then there are the show business personalities, from Luchino Visconti to Marcello Mastroianni to Vittorio de Sica. Totò came to the shop to learn how to tie a bow tie, because in those days there was no such thing as an already knotted bow tie. In short, great characters. Onassis only wanted black ties. For Alberto Moravia we only made them red, with his initials on the inside.

Why are your labels very small?

We have never strongly emphasised our brand. We want to be present, but always in a very discreet way.

Little by little it seems people today no longer wear ties, so have your sales declined?

The attitude towards the tie has changed somewhat. Before, you had to wear it compulsorily. Today it represents a moment of pleasure, you wear it when you want to. We see the tie as a sign of respect towards the people you meet, but also towards the places you go. Not long ago I went to see an opera at the San Carlo Theatre, where there were a lot of guys in t-shirts and torn jeans and this strikes me as offensive, because I believe that in certain places and on certain occasions one should dress more respectfully.

And yet you have expanded internationally?

I have to say that for us Covid was also a great opportunity, because at that time we decided to relaunch. We took a space of over 2000 square metres, we hired about 15 very young people and we started to create an e-commerce platform. This has allowed us to cover other markets that were previously absolutely uncovered and now we are able to respond to all the requests that come in. Last week we made ties for Malaysia and Cameroon. A world has opened up that is very attentive to the Marinella brand. We are also having fun because we get unusual requests.

The tie is less in use here, while in other countries there is an increase in demand?

Exactly. A world has opened up: with different tastes, different needs, different colours. These young people have created another Marinella, which is beautiful, because it is very attentive to sustainability. With them, a tie was created from the waste of orange peels, from which, by extracting a fibre, we create a fabric with which we make ties.

Do these eco-friendly ties cost more?

They cost a little more, but have never gone on sale, apart from a few this year. This was because the Ministry of the Environment was so excited by this project in its first years that they bought every tie we made to give as a gift on institutional trips, telling people about its birth. Now four years since the first one was created, this year we are able to have a few on the market, so it is a great success.

Do you use many types of fabric?

Yes, but we always try to take very beautiful, high-quality fabrics. We have the strength and the ability to propose, every fortnight or so, a new sample book with new patterns and with new fabrics.

Your ties are predominantly made of silk?

Yes, they are mostly in silk. In the winter they are also in wool and cashmere, in the summer in linen or cotton, and now this new absolutely green, absolutely eco-friendly fabric has been added, which is giving us a lot of fun.

What does it mean that the tie fabrics are folded seven times?

Ties with five and seven pleats are in fashion today. It means that a whole fabric is used, i.e. twice as much as that of a normal tie, so the consistency of the tie is no longer given by internal padding but by the folds of the tie itself. The silk of the tie itself makes it consistent.

Maurizio Marinella, you have shops in Naples, Milan, Turin, Rome, London, Tokyo and others; in New York you are inside Bergdorf Goodman.

We are also in fifteen corners in the world: Barcelona, Zurich, Boston, Chicago, Paris, Madrid… In short, quite a few places.  In London we finally found the right space, but mainly the right people. Before we were on Maddox Street, now we have found a microscopic shop inside the Burlington Arcade. It’s a four-storey shop, but it’s like a Russian doll: it’s even smaller upstairs than downstairs, but there’s a lot of footfall and our contact person, Ben, is a very strong character who’s doing big numbers.

People ultimately want to come to the 20 m2 shop in Naples?

Yes. There is always an emotion in Naples.

What does a Marinella tie cost?

Around 150 or 200 Euros.

How many people work for you?

There are just under seventy of us in the world.

How is business?

Now we are having a surge, also because we are having so many requests for women’s ties. Even in the latest collections of the big brands like Valentino, Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent, women were wearing ties.

Are women’s ties different?

They are a bit narrower and sized for women’s sizes. Lately we have also proposed a kind of women’s suspender with two ties that cross each other and it has been very popular. So now the female world is also very attentive to ties. Predominantly a men’s shop, we sell on average about fifteen women’s scarves per day, which is a big number. so there is a lot of attention paid to the female point of view.

Do you also offer other things in your shops, watches, bags, wallets…?

Yes, also knitwear, shoes, leather goods, shirts. We have always had everything, but over the years the tie has somewhat ‘cannibalised’ the other products.

Are all these products made by you?

We do the whole world of silk, from ties to scarves to clutches. We buy the silk partly in England and partly in Italy.

Can you explain why you open at 6:30 in the morning?

When we opened in 1914, aristocratic families would come for an early morning walk, around 06:30 – 07:00, in the Villa Comunale park in front of the shop, and after the walk they would come and rest at our shop. We would welcome customers and pamper them. Matilde Serao, the famous writer and journalist who founded Il Mattino, wrote in one of her newspaper articles that a small, typically English shop had opened in Naples, but that it looked more like a village pharmacy than a shop. Because once upon a time, the village pharmacy was a bit of an enchanted place where the marshal of the carabinieri, the pharmacist, and the mayor would gather and where the fate of the city was decided. Opening at 06:30, we experience two types of commerce: a ‘village pharmacy’ commerce until 08:00 in the morning, where people come and it is not the purchase that is important, but the group moment; then from 08:00 a.m. a lot of people come who are in a hurry and you experience a different commerce

Do you go to your shop early in the morning?

I set off every day around 05:45, 05:50. I live quite nearby but at that hour, even living far away, you still arrive early. For Neapolitans coming from further afield it is better to come early in the morning to shop so as not to get stuck in the traffic that is routine in Naples from 09:00 onwards.

Does your son Alexander, the future successor, travel the world?

Alessandro travels quite a bit. At the moment he is in Turin. I am more of a counter animal, he is more of a communication animal. Alessandro also looks inside the company to see what improvements can be made, including in terms of purchasing. I am more sentimental.

Do you choose to be behind the counter because you like to sell?

It is because I like meeting customers, getting to know them, pampering them. I’m always there, in the 20 sqm shop. Upstairs, where we have a showroom, I don’t feel as comfortable, perhaps because my father and grandfather still hover in the shop, putting a hand on my shoulder. I must say that every day there is always a great feeling.

Is there always one Marinella at a time?

Yes, also because we have a strange situation. My grandfather only had one son, Luigi, and Maurizio only had one son, Alessandro.

Tools of the trade

The small E.Marinella label discreetly represents the brand.

Alessandro Marinella and Maurizio Marinella

Maurizio Marinella, what does the tie represent?

The tie is first and foremost the only accessory a man can wear. My grandfather used to tell me that if you always wear the same grey suit but you change your shirt and tie, the suit will always look different. The tie represents personality, standing out or not standing out; it conveys a state of mind and represents status.

Is it true that the tie is only for older people or only for people of a certain prestige?

Absolutely not. There is a revival of the tie. On the contrary, there is a great desire for colour and to play down the difficult times we have all experienced. It is an important accessory to convey some emotion and passion in a world that is falling asleep.

Can you give a tie as a gift or do you have to choose it yourself?

It is always better to choose it yourself, but if you want to give it as a gift, you can get advice from someone in the sales team who has a little more experience.

Is it possible to change it?

Absolutely. People must have the peace of mind that they can change.

What is the most famous tie knot?

The easiest is the simple knot. There is also the half-Windsor or the Windsor. But the knot also depends on the shirt and the consistency of the tie. The knots arise from the needs of the customers.

Do soldiers who wear ties also wear yours?

Absolutely. We do a lot of them for the military, but also for clubs or associations that need a particular tie with a certain colour, pattern or weave.

Do ties change?

Now fortunately they are more downsized, they are about 8 or 8.5 centimetres and you can wear them all the time. A few years ago people wore ties of 10 or even 11 centimetres with large knots.

How does Maurizio Marinella dress?

Mostly with a grey or dark blue suit, shirts mainly striped in white and light blue with small blue or burgundy patterns. I am not very daring, although I like to be daring with clients. My favourite tie is with a blue background. Today I’m wearing a blue tie with a small red pattern, something graceful.

You don’t wear solid colours?

I wear them but they don’t really represent Marinella. When someone wants to give a gift and asks me for a plain colour, I advise them to get a small pattern because our DNA is more in these ties. We do have plain ties and the wool ones are very nice. We sell a lot of them because the wool tie is never uniform, it’s a bit of a mélange and has some nice textures, so even if it’s plain, it’s particular. We also make them unlined, so even though it is a wool tie, it remains very soft. It’s not a theatre or wedding tie; it’s more daytime and very nice with a sportier suit.

When people come to Naples they visit beautiful museums and eat in good restaurants. Do they also go to Marinella?

Yes, everyone who comes into the shop says this phrase, which is always very emotional for me: ‘When I said I was coming to Naples, they asked me to wear a Marinella tie.’ Without stating the colour or pattern, as long as it is a Marinella tie. So it is becoming something characteristic of our city.

Is it true that the great Italian tailors are from the region of Abruzzo?

It is true. I was in Canada recently and I found a lot of tailors from Abruzzi who, I must say, made exceptional products.There is a return to craftsmanship, because it is in the DNA of Italy as a whole. Italy is rich in so many traditions and important handicrafts, and we should try to enhance them more, otherwise they are destined to end. The work of the hands is a strength that only we Italians have, but it is difficult to get young people to approach these ancient crafts. We need to have internal schools and courses to bring this beautiful work of skilled manual creation of unique pieces to life. These are jobs that are emblematic of the company, but also of Italy itself.

Naples is a city of superstitions. Does this also apply to ties?

This is how it is, even for great professionals. Lately Urbano Cairo, the editor of the Corriere della Sera and President of Torino (Football Club), came in wearing a frayed and worn tie, and he told us that it is a tie that brings him luck every time he wears it. I made him take it off because they were going to play Napoli-Torino and in fact Napoli won (laughs).

What is Marinella‘s slogan for the coming years?

It is what has always accompanied us. We are proud to have started from Naples, we are doing good things, but mainly we have stayed in Naples.

Was Italian elegance born in Naples?

There is a strong bridge between Naples and London, they have always been the two capitals of Italian and English fashion. But I find that Turin is also a very elegant city, as is Palermo, where you can still find very good tailors with exceptional craftsmanship. Of course there is also Milan…

Is Naples a special city?

It is a crazy city, because it has been a mix of cultures, from Spanish to Greek and Latin, and it transmits them all. Naples is a life apart. A few days ago I went to the cinema to see the film on the 10th anniversary of the singer Pino Daniele’s death. In his songs he sang the feeling, the passion, the suffering that Naples conveys. You leave the cinema proud. Naples is the ultimate concentration of culture, history, art, genius. What Naples manages to convey is difficult to find elsewhere. I feel like a son of this city, proud to be Neapolitan and to carry on the brand that conveys a beautiful Naples, a Naples that works.

Recently I had dinner in a restaurant in London and there was a waiter with an accent. I asked if he was Italian and he said: ‘No, I am Neapolitan.’ Is the Marinella tie Neapolitan? 

Ours is the Neapolitan version of the tie, a different version with more warmth, more emotion and more passion.

Thank you.

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