Born September 17, 1945 by David Vitale and Paola Cesa, he became CEO of the family business, the Maglificio Calzificio Torinese, in 1968 at 23 years of age. He turned the Robe di Kappa after seeing a John Lennon interview on US television wearing the military-green shirt of a fallen US soldier in Vietnam. As thousands of T-shirts left unsold in its company's warehouses, he got the products dyed in military green and had them decorated with army patches and put them on the market. It was a resounding success. Sensing that the future for his company would have been in the youth casual-dressing, in 1971 he introduced a new jeans brand - Blue Jesus, launched with the advertising campaign 'He who loves me follows me' - stirring controversy with a then-powerful Roman Catholic Church resisting social change ignited by the youths across the West and hitting record retail sales for an Italian jeans brand. In 1980, Jesus was the first jeans brand to be made available in the Soviet Union, through a joint venture Maurizio signed, licensing the brand and production techniques to a state-owned garment producer. In the early '80s he once more showed his nature of setter of fashion and garments trends when he re-positioned Robe di Kappa as an active sportswear brand and, in the process, created a new sector in the Italian market. The brand was launched with professional football player and teen-age girls icon Marco Tardelli, pre-empting the trend of using professional athletes as brand testimonials, which later has become the pillar of global growth of sportswear brands such as Nike and Adidas. In 1981, he signed what it turned out to be the 1st technical sponsorship deal with a Football Club, which granted Robe di Kappa the right to brand playing kits of professional club FC Juventus - an agreement which lasted a record 23 years. In 1984 the brand Kappa sponsored the US Track & Field Olympic team at the Los Angeles 1984 Games. Maurizio Vitale was married twice and had four offspring: Maurizio Junior and Tancredi with Maddalena Marrone; Maria (who didn't survive birth) and Oliviero with Carolina Blaaw. Maurizio Vitale died prematurely in Turin, on June 4, 1987 at 41 years of age.
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Jeans are a type of pants or trousers, typically made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in partnership with Levi Strauss & Co. in 1871 and patented by Jacob W. Davis and Levi Strauss on May 20, 1873. Prior to the Levi Strauss patented trousers, the term "blue jeans" had been long in use for various garments, constructed from blue-colored denim.
Kappa is an Italian sportswear brand founded in Turin, Piedmont, Italy.
A hoodie is a sweatshirt with a hood. Hoodies often include a muff sewn onto the lower front, and (usually) a drawstring to adjust the hood opening.
Clothing terminology comprises the names of individual garments and classes of garments, as well as the specialized vocabularies of the trades that have designed, manufactured, marketed and sold clothing over hundreds of years.
Streetwear is a style of casual clothing which became global in the 1990s. It grew from California surfskate culture and New York hip hop fashion to encompass elements of sportswear, punk and Japanese street fashion. Eventually haute couture became an influence. It commonly centers on "casual, comfortable pieces such as jeans, T-shirts, baseball caps, and sneakers", and exclusivity through intentional product scarcity. Enthusiasts follow particular brands and try to obtain limited edition releases.
Fashion in the 1990s was defined by a return to minimalist fashion, in contrast to the more elaborate and flashy trends of the 1980s. One notable shift was the mainstream adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and to a much lesser extent, other forms of body modification such as branding.
The Izod Corporation is an American mid-range clothing company that produces dressy-casual clothing, sportswear for men, as well as footwear and accessories. It is part of PVH, forming part of its Heritage Brands division along with Van Heusen, Arrow, Warner's, Olga, True & Co., and Geoffrey Beene. It is perhaps best known for its short-sleeved piqué polo shirt, formerly produced by Lacoste and featuring the Lacoste crocodile on the left breast, now replaced with an embroidered crest. One variation is the "IZ" patch instead of crest. Other Izod classics include the Harrington jacket G-9 model, also v-neck and cardigan sweaters. Today, the Izod brand competes most directly with the similarly-priced Chaps brand owned by Ralph Lauren Corporation, while competing more indirectly on the lower end with U.S. Polo Assn. and on the higher end with Nautica.
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Gant, stylized as GANT, is an American Swedish clothing brand, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The company was founded in 1949 by Bernard Gantmacher and was originally based in New Haven, Connecticut. Gant operates in 70 markets and its products are available at over 4 000 retailers and Gant-stores all over the world. "House of Gant" has three different collections: GANT, GANT Diamond G and GANT Rugger.
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Russell Athletic is an American sports equipment manufacturer based in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Currently a subsidiary of global company Fruit of the Loom, Russell Athletic was the main brand of Russell Brands, LLC. until its acquisition in 2006.
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Athleisure is a fabricated style of clothing typically worn during athletic activities and in other settings, such as at the workplace, at school, or at other casual or social occasions. Athleisure outfits can include yoga pants, tights, sneakers, leggings and shorts, that "look like athletic wear", characterized as "fashionable, dressed up sweats and exercise clothing". The idea is that gym clothes are supposedly making their way out of the gym and becoming a larger part of people's everyday wardrobes.
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