Meriggi is a men's resortwear brand inspired by the Mediterranean: its storied past, enduring style and unhurried pace. Their take on a day well spent includes salt in the air and a cocktail al fresco. We indulge in the occasional amenity but only ask for good company and a long summer day. We appreciate places where the jet-set feel at home and joie de vivre fills the mind. The brand makes resortwear with the Mediterranean in mind. Their garments are tailored to the local fit and make no concession when it comes to the details. The patterns and palette are reflective of landscapes and a cultural richness that truly are one-of-a-kind. And most importantly, they believe in clothing that doesn’t change by the season, but rather gets better with age. In this episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast we interview Alberto Solana, Founder of Meriggi about his investment banking background and his newly launched resortwear brand. Our host Peter Brooker and Alberto talk about his love for menswear, finding a gap in the market, designing a short for all occasions, learning from mistakes, and dealing with overseas manufacturers. 

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Alberto Solana, Founder of Meriggi / Mediterranean Swimwear

Welcome to the official Menswear Style Podcast, hosted by Peter Brooker. In this men's fashion, men's style, men’s grooming and men’s lifestyle focused podcast we speak to some of the most influential designers, innovative brand founders and truly inspiring entrepreneurs from within the fashion and apparel industry. Our aim is to bring you a detailed insight into founder start-up stories with a focus on sustainability, marketing, design, manufacturing, eCommerce, and operations.

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Kostüme makes the best cycling apparel money can buy, developed and tested on some of the most challenging cycling events in the world. The brand makes technically innovative cycling apparel focused on all-day performance, comfort and utility. Developed in the UK for the unique demands of Audax and multi-day long distance cycling, Kostüme products are equally at home riding events like GBDURO or Paris Brest Paris as your local café loop, where the exclusive artist designs will stand out from the crowd. Every Kostüme product is crafted from premium recycled materials and released in limited editions of 350, with each batch known as an Edit. Combined with a pre-order model, this innovative approach to cycling apparel production drastically cuts waste, and is just one example of their commitment to put environmental impact at the heart of every decision.

Kostüme was founded to challenge the status quo, developing stylish, durable and highly functional products to help you express yourself both on and off the bike, however you choose to ride. Every piece of Kostüme cycling apparel is manufactured in partnership with two of the leading independent European family-run factories, who combine decades of bleeding edge experience with a fastidious approach to sustainability and obsessive attention to detail. It's the brand's aim to be as rigorous and transparent as possible about the impact of their actions, and they're working hard to close the loop on truly circular production. Make More with Matt Heslin
Explore strategies to thrive financially, build legacy, and enhance life experiences.
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Ed Bartlett, Founder of Kostüme / Cycling Apparel

Sheep Inc. is a pioneering clothing brand that uses proprietary technology and supply chain innovation to deliver next generation knitwear essentials with a naturally carbon-negative footprint. Achieved by working with cutting-edge regenerative farms and supply chain partners that run on 100% solar power. Custom built supply chain technology gives real-time insight into production processes and NFC technology is integrated into each supremely soft garment. A tap of the phone shows each garment’s unique digital fingerprint. Giving detailed information about the environmental impact and background about the farms and manufacturers. It even connects you with a sheep from the same farm the garment’s wool is from. Sheep Inc. aims to fundamentally change how we view and purchase clothing. Delivering best-in-class products with a unique customer experience and unparalleled sustainable credentials.

Co-Founders Michael and Edzard are both experienced founders and saw first hand the impact of fashion on the environment. So their journey didn’t begin from a single moment but a series of realisations that the fashion industry's footprint was too heavy a burden for our planet to bear. It was the understanding that they could shift the approach and thinking. To do more, be more. Influenced by both the majestic simplicity of nature and the complex web of our global ecosystem, they were inspired to create a brand that mirrors the balance between the two.Make More with Matt Heslin
Explore strategies to thrive financially, build legacy, and enhance life experiences.
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Edzard van der Wyck, Co-Founder of Sheep Inc. / Natural Merino Wool Clothing

Billy Tannery was founded in 2016 by Jack Millington. A farmer’s son who spent his early career in marketing, he had no previous experience in the leather industry. After discovering that thousands of goatskins were going to waste each year in the UK, he joined forces with childhood friend Rory Harker to launch Billy Tannery. Tapping into local leather knowledge, Billy Tannery built a pioneering micro-tannery on a farm in the Midlands and the sustainable, bark-tanned leather now completes the circle. The first leather brand of its kind in the UK, with a vertically integrated supply chain from hide to final product, Billy Tannery is able to offer something extremely rare - genuinely traceable leather goods. The growing range of leather goods is designed and made in England for those who care about shopping locally and responsibly, without compromising on quality.  Billy Tannery’s range of products includes bags, wallets, aprons and small leather goods. The company offers a lifetime repair guarantee on all of its products in an effort to ensure many generations of use, one of the main factors in making a product sustainable.Make More with Matt Heslin
Explore strategies to thrive financially, build legacy, and enhance life experiences.
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Jack Millington, Founder of Billy Tannery / Handmade Leather Bags

Inspired by South America's rich heritage of unrivalled horsemanship and traditional leather work, pampeano evolved from the polo fields of central Argentina. pampeano remains one of the few brands with quality and craftsmanship at its heart. Continuing the cherished techniques of the South American artisans, pampeano uses only premium-grade, butter-soft, vegetable tanned leather and the finest, luxury natural textiles and threads available. Their craft is incorporated into pampeano's iconic pampa diamonds; shapes inspired by the peaks and silhouettes of the Andes Mountains and the extraordinary landscapes that surround them. pampeano have taken this unique traditional styling and made it available to the world, with over 300 loyal stockists worldwide, all without compromising the quality they are renown for.Make More with Matt Heslin
Explore strategies to thrive financially, build legacy, and enhance life experiences.
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Jennifer Brown, Founder of pampeano / Argentine Handmade Belts

The world of Plowden & Fallow is the home to one of Britain’s newer contemporary fragrance houses, located on the Plowden Estate in Shropshire, England. They produce artisan luxury fragrances and shaving products and accessories for those that demand not only the very best of quality, but also for those that yearn perhaps, for the less conventional.  Plowden & Fallow is inspired by great British traditions, folklore and eccentricity. They take a great deal of inspiration and knowledge from the past and apply it in the modern day to create quintessentially British fragranced products, to exacting standards, which, whilst giving a nod to tradition, contain a refreshing modern twist.  Plowden & Fallow is a proud British brand and all of their product ranges are produced here in the UK, by artisan craftsmen and women, who combine knowledge with passion and the expertise in their individual crafts, most often, passed down through generations to the current day. The brand's fragrances and other ranges are produced in small batches, and all are constructed by hand. Make More with Matt Heslin
Explore strategies to thrive financially, build legacy, and enhance life experiences.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Alberto Solana, Founder of Meriggi / Mediterranean Swimwear

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