De Matteis: 'For Kiton, luxury is quality and attention. We invest in new shops and manufacturing"

Initially reserving it for the US market, you have also launched a jewellery collection, a category that is doing very well.
"We certainly want to grow it and from March we will also make it available in other markets. We are planning many events reserved for our top clients in single-brand boutiques and prestigious hotels".

Passaggio di competenze nella Scuola di Alta Sartoria Kiton, fondata da Ciro Paone nel 2000

The heart of your production, however, is still the Arzano factory, where 25 years ago you also opened the Scuola di Alta Sartoria.
"It was the best investment we could have made. There is too much talk about training and still too little of it. I invite all entrepreneurs to open up training spaces. Thanks to the school, today the average age of our craftsmen is 36 and over time we have absorbed 80% of the students. The others work in local companies or have opened their own. A 100% placement rate is by no means taken for granted in an area like ours. But young people must be paid and rewarded: this is the only way to nurture their passion for work

You are also investing in the women's collection, designed by your cousin Maria Giovanna Paone, who is the president of the company.
"Today it generates more than 20% of turnover. We have bought a 15 thousand square metre piece of land right in front of our headquarters in Arzano, where we will build a factory dedicated exclusively to the women's collection. And in Milan we will reserve our current shop in Via Sant'Andrea for women's wear

Un look della collezione Kiton donna AI 25-26

In 2026 you will celebrate your first 40 years at Kiton. How has the company and the fashion industry in general changed since then?
"At the time we only made outerwear, then everything changed, including the markets: in 1986 half of the turnover came from Germany, today it is a very difficult area. Distribution has also changed: as I said, wholesale is in difficulty, but I'm sure it won't disappear. Maybe it will evolve in the sense of specialty stores, spaces where the relationship with the customers is very careful. The basis of everything is to understand what the end customer wants. Surely they want service, assortment, quality. In recent years, unfortunately, luxury has lost itself, forcing customers to stand in long queues outside the shops, for example. This will never happen with us. My uncle, Ciro Paone, used to say that 'the customer forgets the price and remembers the quality'. The secret to doing well is all here'.