Salvatore Giardina brings more than twenty years of
experience in the Men’s Tailored Clothing industry to this new venture. After graduating from the Fashion
Institute of Technology, he began his career with Hartmarx in 1988, and then moved
on to Gruppo Finanziato Tessitura (GFT) in 1990.
GFT was an Italian powerhouse of fashion labels such as
Armani, Valentino, Calvin Klein, Joseph Abboud, Claude Montana, Louis Feraud,
and Emanulle Ungaro. During his
tenure at GFT, Salvatore merchandised and sold Emanuelle Ungaro and Louis
Feraud tailored clothing lines. He
also gained invaluable knowledge of the manufacturing process in dealing with
garment factories in Italy, Mexico, and the United States.
In 1994, he
accepted the position of Vice President of Merchandising with American Fashion,
Inc. While working at AFI,
Salvatore was exposed to specialty store accounts and the custom- made garment
business; in addition to licensing Jhane Barnes tailored clothing. Due to increasing domestic labor
prices, AFI was forced to source outside of the United States to Italy in
2000. After building a
relationship with a local factory in Italy, Salvatore was able to move all
manufacturing to this new location.
A few years later, when the licensing agreement between AFI and Jhane
Barnes ended, Salvatore decided to stay on with Jhane Barnes.
As Italian labor costs started to escalate, Salvatore began
researching the possibility of manufacturing high quality suits in China. After teaming up with ex-Zegna-China
CEO, Giuseppe Tosco, this goal was realized. Currently, the Salvatore
Giardina full canvas suit is one of the best values in the USA, according
to many retailers. Even the Wall
Street Journal took notice of the superior construction of these suits. When employed by Jhane Barnes Menswear The
Wall Street Journal published an article on March 29, 2008 comparing Jhane
Barnes’ well-made Chinese suits to Italian and American-made high-end
suits. For quality of
construction, the Chinese suit was ranked above a well-known U.S. brand, as
well as another label made in Italy.
In addition, the Jhane Barnes suit sold for 50% less than one of those
competitors.
After many years at Jhane Barnes, Salvatore Giardina decided that the time was right for a label to emerge in custom clothing sector. In July of 2009, Salvatore Giardina formed his own Made-to-Measure clothing company, selling suits, jackets, trousers, and shirts under his own label. Many customers appreciate the value associated with his clothing. SG delivers an excellent price value relationship, unrivaled in the current market. Merging excellent quality, sensible styling, and understanding the needs of the current retail climate makes Salvatore Giardina a prudent choice in today’s highly competitive marketplace.
Salvatore was voted “Most Technical” in his industry by Men’s Retailing Magazine and later wrote a guest editorial piece on China. He continues to put his technical knowledge to good use by teaching Textiles at the Fashion Institute of Technology, where he has served as an Adjunct Professor since 1995, and is a permanent member of the Textile Development and Marketing department Advisory Board. On May 05, 2009, the Textile Development and Marketing Department at F.I.T. honored Salvatore as “Alum of the Year”. Salvatore Giardina served in the United States Navy from 1981-1985.
Articles of interest: