The Sartoria Deluxe Creative exhibition, hosted at the National History Museum of Moldova, brought to Chișinău some of Italy’s finest masters of artisanal fashion. The event was made possible thanks to the initiative of Sandro Livv and Alexandru Cornicel, who united renowned Neapolitan craftsmen in this cultural mission. Among the guests was Damiano Annunziato, who shared his vision for the association Le Mani di Napoli and the unique story of Sartoria Dalcuore.

As Vice President of Le Mani di Napoli, what do you see as the association’s most urgent mission?

Le Mani di Napoli was born to protect and promote craftsmanship, but above all, to pass it on. Passing down craftsmanship means giving young people the opportunity to embark on this path, a path filled with hard work, challenges, and passion.

We have already lost several generations because young people drifted away from the crafts. Yet for us in Italy, and especially in Naples, craftsmanship is the lifeblood of society. Think of nativity scene makers, ceramicists, coral workers in Torre del Greco, tailors, violin makers. These are the heart of our cultural fabric. But over the years, young people were drawn into other professions, losing touch with what could have been their future and a hope for renewal.

That is why, together with the University of Federico II, we are about to launch an academy called Art and Crafts. There we will teach and guide young people into this world.

How do you balance the Neapolitan sartorial tradition with a modern international strategy at Sartoria Dalcuore?

For me it comes naturally, maybe it’s a matter of character. In my wife’s family business, Sartoria Dalcuore, important steps were taken in the last ten years to become international, and I brought the same vision into Le Mani di Napoli.

I try to give visibility and protection not only to artisans, but also to clients and the entire ecosystem that revolves around craftsmanship, both Neapolitan and Italian. For me, it’s not just a job, it’s a passion. I wouldn’t call it a mission, but it is a passion that I want future generations to remember Le Mani di Napoli for. This association wasn’t created for business, but to leave something meaningful for the young.

What core value do you believe preserves Dalcuore’s authenticity?

Our authenticity lies in unity, in family. We are known and appreciated because we have always been one single team: Gigi, his daughter Cristina, and myself. That unity allows the world to see what family, passion, respect, and shared goals really mean. These are values the world is in danger of losing, and yet we continue to work to preserve them. Of course, I also believe we have an excellent product that we proudly bring to the world.

When did you realize that Dalcuore had become a global reference point?

There are several moments I recall with emotion, but I truly understood it when Gigi passed away, in the middle of the pandemic. Messages poured in from all over the world, and Il Mattino di Napoli dedicated an article calling him the “Neapolitan Armani.”

A few days later we returned to the atelier, located on the first floor of Via Caracciolo, the famous street by the sea in Naples. Three large windows overlook the street, and one of them was almost always ajar, because Gigi worked from four in the morning until midnight. Many passersby and clients used to photograph that glowing window, where they could see him working day and night.

When we returned after his passing, we found beneath that very window a carpet of flowers and messages from all over the world. In that moment I asked myself: “Who was this man I had at home, right beside me every day?” That was when I truly realized Gigi’s greatness.

Today I am proud that together with my wife Cristina, our daughter, and our family, we continue his work. I always say: behind every Dalcuore garment lies a whole world that no one sees. Even my daughter, who is now 15, grew up with our constant travels, unable to always enjoy time with her parents. A Dalcuore jacket carries within it that invisible world, which I try to bring to light, even through social media.

How do you imagine Neapolitan elegance twenty years from now?

It’s a question that can be simple and difficult at the same time. Elegance is something we build, we build it through culture, through understanding what elegance truly means. As I said before, we lost two generations who wear tracksuits or dress like American rappers, because we keep borrowing from America everything that is worst: ketchup, hamburgers, oversized clothes. And that happened because our generation failed to transmit what our ancestors built.

Our ancestors gave life to culture. We had philosophers, painters, men of art who wrote the history of the world starting from Italy. Only a few days ago, Giorgio Armani passed away – the man who shaped modern Italy’s image.

This is why I say that twenty years from now, I hope to see a revival. The first suits made by Gigi Dalcuore were inspired by the 1950s – we even brought two gray suits from that period, his favorite style. He loved that kind of elegance. I sincerely hope it will return to today’s youth, that we will once again see students going to school in classic trousers and a beautiful shirt. And not only the young, but society as a whole should return to that spirit.

Today, you don’t even see suits and ties in boardrooms or among ministers, and this is truly wrong. I hope that as Le Mani di Napoli grows, more initiatives will join us, and together we will bring real Made in Italy back to the world.

It has also been a great pleasure to be here in Moldova. As the Prime Minister said, this cultural, social, and human bond between Italy, Naples, and Moldova must never be broken.