Costume National

Costume National is an Italian fashion house established in Milan in 1986 by designer Ennio Capasa and his brother Carlo Capasa. Ennio Capasa became the brand's creative force, while Carlo Capasa handled the company's executive and commercial direction. The label emerged from Ennio's experience in Japan, where he worked as an assistant to Yohji Yamamoto, and combined elements of Japanese minimalism with Italian construction, narrow tailoring, sensual silhouettes and a distinctly urban, rock-influenced attitude. The company presented its first women's collection in Milan in the year of its foundation. Its international profile expanded when the Woman Collection was shown in Paris in 1991. Between 1995 and 1998, Costume National opened stores in Milan, New York, Rome, Los Angeles and Paris, creating a direct retail presence in several of the principal fashion capitals. The brand's assortment subsequently expanded beyond women's ready-to-wear to include menswear, footwear, eyewear, leather goods, small accessories and fragrance. The main Costume National line has been associated with high-end ready-to-wear for women, while Costume National Homme served the men's market. The company also developed C'N'C Costume National, a more youthful and experimental street-couture line for both men and women. C'N'C extended the house's visual language into accessible ready-to-wear, shoes, bags and small accessories, with production and distribution operated through licensing and specialist partners. Costume National fragrances included lines and editions such as The Trilogy, Scent Gloss, Scent Cool Gloss, Intense, 21 and Homme. Costume National's business model has combined brand-owned retail, licensing, specialist manufacturing and selected external production. Its Thiene facility handled important stages of men's and women's ready-to-wear production, including cutting, pattern-making and quality control. Footwear development and production were associated with a facility in Fossò, while leather goods were made through selected partners and commercialized by CN Production. Leather apparel was produced under an exclusive licensing arrangement with Leather Company. In October 2008, the company introduced an online store carrying Costume National, Costume National Homme and accessory collections. The brand has used collaborations and public-facing projects to position fashion as part of a broader cultural and design environment. Notable initiatives included the Ducati Black Dogo motorcycle project and related C'N'C Costume National Ducati apparel, the 2007 21st-anniversary program, the Alfa 147 C'N'C 21 limited-edition automobile, a special Absolut Vodka bottle, and the Costume National 21 fragrance. Its presentations have included public and design-oriented events, including the C'N'C Costume National spring/summer 2010 show in Milan's Piazza Duomo and the autumn/winter 2010-11 presentation at the Teatro dell'Arte of the Triennale di Milano. Environmental and social projects have also formed part of the brand's documented activity. Ennio Capasa designed a limited-edition T-shirt supporting Al Gore's Climate Project in 2008. That year, the company worked with Planète Urgence on a tree-planting initiative. In 2009, its Solar Bag, designed with integrated solar panels and an internal battery for charging portable electronic devices, received a Chi è Chi award for an eco-friendly fashion product. The available reference material provides substantial historical information about the house's founding, collections, retail expansion, production arrangements and collaborations, but does not establish current ownership, current executives, financial performance or the precise scale of its present distribution.

Costume National was founded in Milan in 1986 by brothers Ennio Capasa and Carlo Capasa. Ennio Capasa brought experience from Japan, where he had worked as an assistant to Yohji Yamamoto, while Carlo Capasa took responsibility for the company's executive direction. Their division of roles helped shape a house that joined Japanese-influenced restraint and structural experimentation with Italian ready-to-wear production and a more overtly sensual, urban identity. The first women's collection was presented in Milan in 1986. The label strengthened its international credentials in 1991 by showing its Woman Collection in Paris. During the second half of the 1990s, it invested in direct retail, opening stores in Milan, New York, Rome, Los Angeles and Paris between 1995 and 1998. This expansion placed the brand in the commercial and cultural environments associated with the major international fashion capitals and supported its positioning as a high-end independent Italian fashion house. During the 2000s, Costume National broadened both its product range and its audience. A menswear collection was streamed online in 2000 through a collaboration with Kataweb. Over the following three years, the company added perfumes, eyewear, ready-to-wear categories, footwear and accessories, including products intended to reach younger consumers. Costume National Homme developed the men's proposition, while C'N'C Costume National operated as a more experimental street-couture label for men and women. C'N'C covered apparel as well as shoes, bags and small accessories, and its business involved a licensing arrangement with ITTIERRE. The house's production system combined internal capabilities with specialized suppliers. The Thiene factory carried out key ready-to-wear functions, including cutting, pattern-making and finished-garment quality control. Footwear was developed and produced through the CN shoe factory in Fossò. Leather bags and accessories were made by selected partners and commercialized by CN Production, while leather clothing was licensed to Leather Company, described in the reference material as an exclusive production partner. The brand maintained a network of flagship stores designed around a consistent interpretation of classical edginess and minimalism. In October 2008 it added an online retail channel for its principal collections and accessories. Costume National also developed a pattern of collaborations that connected clothing to automobiles, motorcycles, alcohol branding, publishing, product design and public performance. In 2005, Ennio Capasa created the Ducati Black Dogo motorcycle, named after the Argentine mastiff, and designed related apparel under the C'N'C Costume National Ducati label. The brand marked its twenty-first anniversary in 2007 with a photographic book titled 21, a specially dressed Absolut Vodka bottle, the Alfa 147 C'N'C 21 limited-edition car, the Costume National 21 unisex fragrance and a luxury sneaker line called Costume National Active. Design and cultural programming continued through the late 2000s. Maarten Baas presented Real Time at the C'N'C Costume National showroom during Milan Design Week in 2009. The same year, the company presented the C'N'C spring/summer 2010 collection in Piazza Duomo, opening the show to a large public audience. It also participated in the Water Project, an Amref initiative, during the 2009 Christmas period. In 2010, C'N'C showed its autumn/winter 2010-11 collection at the Teatro dell'Arte of the Triennale di Milano. Environmental activity included an Al Gore Climate Project T-shirt designed by Ennio Capasa in 2008 and a Christmas collaboration with Planète Urgence focused on planting trees. In 2009, the Solar Bag incorporated solar panels and a concealed battery intended to charge mobile phones, iPods and similar devices; the product received a Chi è Chi award for eco-friendly fashion. The supplied references do not document current ownership, later corporate transactions, current leadership, financial results or the present size of the retail network. Accordingly, those details remain unconfirmed in this dossier.

• 2010

  C'N'C autumn/winter presentation at Triennale Milano

  [1]Costume Nationalen.wikipedia.org

  C'N'C Costume National showed its autumn/winter 2010-11 collection at the Teatro dell'Arte of the Triennale di Milano.

• 2009

  Solar Bag recognized

  [1]Costume Nationalen.wikipedia.org

  The solar-powered charging bag received a Chi è Chi award for best eco-friendly fashion product.

• 2008

  Online store launch

  [1]Costume Nationalen.wikipedia.org

  Costume National launched an online store for its main collections and accessories.

• 2007

  Twenty-first anniversary program

  [1]Costume Nationalen.wikipedia.org

  The anniversary program included the 21 book, a special Absolut bottle, the Alfa 147 C'N'C 21, the Costume National 21 fragrance and Costume National Active sneakers.

• 2005

  Ducati Black Dogo collaboration

  [1]Costume Nationalen.wikipedia.org

  Ennio Capasa created the Ducati Black Dogo motorcycle and related C'N'C Costume National Ducati apparel.

• 2000

  Online menswear presentation

  [1]Costume Nationalen.wikipedia.org

  A menswear collection was streamed online in partnership with Kataweb.

• 1995

  International retail expansion begins

  [1]Costume Nationalen.wikipedia.org

  The company began opening stores in major fashion cities, including Milan, New York, Rome, Los Angeles and Paris.

• 1991

  Paris presentation

  [1]Costume Nationalen.wikipedia.org

  The Woman Collection was presented in Paris.

• 1986

  Founding and first women's collection

  [1]Costume Nationalen.wikipedia.org

  Ennio and Carlo Capasa founded Costume National in Milan, and the house presented its first women's collection.

A high-end Italian designer house combining precise tailoring, Japanese-influenced minimalism, sensual silhouettes, avant-garde styling and rock-oriented urban culture.

• Women's fashion · 1986

  Costume National women's ready-to-wear

  The founding product category of the house. The women's line expresses Costume National's combination of sharply controlled construction, slim and sensual silhouettes, minimalist detailing and an avant-garde attitude shaped by Italian and Japanese design references.

• Men's fashion

  Costume National Homme

  The dedicated men's line extends the house's tailoring and urban aesthetic into menswear. It was distributed alongside the main Costume National collections through stores and the brand's online channel.

• Street-couture fashion

  C'N'C Costume National

  C'N'C was developed as a more youthful and avant-garde street-couture label for men and women. Its assortment included ready-to-wear clothing, footwear, bags and small accessories, with the business operated through a licensing agreement with ITTIERRE.

• Footwear

  Costume National footwear

  Footwear became part of the expanded Costume National product offer during the 2000s. Development and production were associated with the company's shoe factory in Fossò, and footwear also appeared in C'N'C and anniversary-related initiatives.

• Fragrance

  Costume National fragrances

  The fragrance portfolio included The Trilogy, Scent Gloss, Scent Cool Gloss, Intense, 21 and Homme. The scents extended the brand into beauty while retaining the house's naming and visual identity.

• Technology-infused accessory · 2009

  Costume National Solar Bag

  The Solar Bag incorporated solar panels and a concealed battery designed to provide charging power for mobile phones, iPods and other portable digital devices. It was presented as an eco-oriented fashion product and received a Chi è Chi award in 2009.

• Luxury sneakers · 2007

  Costume National Active

  Costume National Active was a luxury sneaker line included in the house's twenty-first anniversary program in 2007.

• 2009Water Project

  Italy · International

  Costume National participated in the Water Project, an initiative associated with Amref, during the 2009 Christmas period.

  Outcome. The project extended the company's cause-related activity into water and social-development concerns.

  Source
• 2009C'N'C Costume National Piazza Duomo show

  Italy

  C'N'C presented its spring/summer 2010 collection in Milan's Piazza Duomo before a large public audience.

  Outcome. The format made the collection presentation more public-facing than a conventional industry-only fashion show.

  Source
• 2008Climate Project limited-edition T-shirt

  International

  Ennio Capasa designed a limited-edition T-shirt in support of Al Gore's Climate Project.

  Outcome. The initiative associated the label with climate-awareness messaging and cause-related fashion.

  Source
• 2008Plant a Tree project

  International

  For Christmas 2008, Costume National collaborated with Planète Urgence on a tree-planting project.

  Outcome. The activity linked seasonal brand engagement with an environmental and social initiative.

  Source
• 2007Costume National 21st-anniversary program

  Italy · International

  The anniversary program combined publishing, beverage packaging, automotive design, fragrance and footwear through the 21 book, special Absolut bottle, Alfa 147 C'N'C 21, Costume National 21 fragrance and Costume National Active sneakers.

  Outcome. The program presented the brand as a cross-disciplinary design house rather than only a clothing label.

  Source
• 2005C'N'C Costume National Ducati

  Italy · International

  The collaboration connected C'N'C Costume National with Ducati through Ennio Capasa's Black Dogo motorcycle project and a related special clothing label.

  Outcome. It broadened the brand's cultural positioning beyond apparel into motorcycle design and co-branded lifestyle products.

  Source

• 2010

  C'N'C autumn/winter 2010-11 collection presentationProduct launch

  Background

  The C'N'C line continued to use event-based presentations to communicate its experimental fashion identity.

  Action taken

  The autumn/winter 2010-11 collection was shown at the Teatro dell'Arte of the Triennale di Milano.

  Aftermath

  The venue reinforced the label's relationship with design, architecture and contemporary culture.

  Source

• 2009

  Solar Bag introductionProduct launch

  Background

  The company was developing environmental projects and products that connected fashion with everyday technology.

  Action taken

  Costume National introduced a bag using solar panels and an internal battery to charge portable electronic devices.

  Aftermath

  The product won a Chi è Chi award for best eco-friendly fashion product.

  Source

• 2009

  Public presentation of the C'N'C spring/summer 2010 collectionProduct launch

  Background

  C'N'C was positioned as a younger and more accessible street-couture label within the Costume National portfolio.

  Action taken

  The company staged the collection presentation in Milan's Piazza Duomo rather than limiting attendance to fashion-industry professionals.

  Aftermath

  The presentation emphasized public visibility and the label's connection to contemporary urban culture.

  Source

• 2008

  Launch of direct e-commerceStrategy

  Background

  The brand had developed several apparel, accessory and fragrance categories and maintained flagship retail locations.

  Action taken

  It launched an online store carrying Costume National, Costume National Homme and accessories.

  Aftermath

  The move added a direct digital sales channel to the company's physical retail and wholesale distribution model.

  Source

• 2000

  Early online fashion presentationStrategy

  Background

  The company was extending its international profile and exploring digital methods of presenting collections.

  Action taken

  Costume National partnered with Kataweb to stream a menswear collection online.

  Aftermath

  The presentation represented an early digital distribution and communication initiative for the house; later references document the launch of a full online store in 2008.

  Source

1. 1Costume Nationalen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Costume National official websitecostumenational.com