Tell us a bit more about your background and your current work. 

We are third generation denim makers. Our grandfather was the first to import denim from the US to Italy. Letizia graduated in fashion design at Politecnico di Milano and worked for a denim company in New York, while Lorenzo graduated in Management at Bocconi University; he has multiple job experiences in big companies in China, France, and Italy. Now we sell Shaft jeans in more than 30 countries all over the world. 

Where do you draw inspiration from for your styles? 

We always mix our 70s mood with the newest technologies in denim. We are obsessed with 70s culture, movies, and design and we draw inspirations from there.

Why did you choose to stay in Italy?

Italy is fundamental for our work. Our denim is all made in Italy and the relationships with all the artisans and suppliers brings a continuous innovation in our everyday experience

What do you see for the future of the fashion industry in Italy?

The Made in Italy is a kind of religion; we have faith in it, and we truly believe that this makes our product special in terms of creativity and quality. We need new generations of artisans and creative people, and we need more schools for young generations in order to learn how to create the new fashion era. Our idea for the future is to create a denim school in Italy where we can teach different jobs related to the denim industry.

What are the greatest obstacles and satisfactions that you face working in this country? 

One of the main problems is that there is a big contrast between the beauty of craftsmanship and the lack of digitalization. We work a lot with international markets, and sometimes the Italian bureaucracy slows down our business process. For example, starting an internship in Italy takes more than 20 days, or sometimes, in order to export (for example in Turkey), we need special papers that we can get only in person with two different offices and not online.

We had a lot of satisfactions during these years, like dressing Måneskin during Eurovision or having the main window in Rinascente Milano because we were considered the best denim in Italy. But, at the end of the day, our biggest achievement is meeting real people in Milan, Florence, or any city dressed in our jeans and seeing them feeling good and cool.