Founded in 1965, Sartoria Formosa has become a landmark of the Neapolitan school, maintaining its workshop on Via Cavallerizza a Chiaia. For generations, clients have discovered what it means to wear a handmade jacket: harmonious lines and distinctive details born from balancing tradition with the present. For the Formosa family, il bello vestire is not just a phrase, but a philosophy of life passed from father to son.

With a warm smile and a straightforward way of speaking, Gennaro brought this spirit to Chișinău, showing that a suit is not only about proportions and lines, but also about relationships, experiences, and above all, a living craft.

What makes a Sartoria Formosa suit different from all the others?

It’s a question I hear often, and it’s not easy to answer. I always say that a Formosa suit is “true.” Authentic Neapolitan tailoring shares many common traits, yet each atelier has its own subtle differences in cut and proportion. What really sets us apart isn’t only technique, it’s how we relate to each client. A good tailor finds balance between three things: the client’s wishes, the tailor’s aesthetic vision, and the body’s physical realities. Everyone has asymmetries and imperfections. Our role is to harmonize them. When a client smiles at his reflection in the mirror, I know I’ve succeeded.

Is there a Neapolitan detail you always include in your work?

Yes. I’m particularly fond of the casual, odd jacket approach, the spezzato, where the jacket and trousers are not from the same set. In Neapolitan tailoring we have a distinctive feature: the tasca a pignata, a rounded patch pocket whose upper edge curves like a small boat and whose lower half recalls a cooking pot. It’s one of our signatures. Even when international clients ask for a very standard look, I try to suggest this authentic imprint because it carries our identity.

If Naples were a color, what would it be?

Naples is blue, the color of the sea and our passion for football. But for Sartoria Formosa, our house color is green. I love how expressive it is and how, through different shades, I can give each jacket a personal character. Green is the color of our house, while blue remains the symbol of the city.

Which part of your work brings you the greatest satisfaction?

I’m not a tailor in the strict sense. I studied economics and worked for eight years in a pharmaceutical company. But my father was one of the greatest tailors of the twentieth century, and his legacy could not be lost. As a child, I spent hours at his side in the workshop, helping with administration and watching him work. Clients saw me grow up among fabrics and patterns. At some point I knew I had to devote myself fully to this craft.

What I love most today is the relationship with the client. Every person comes wanting to define their identity through clothing. My role is to guide, advise, and help them discover themselves. I also wanted to bring new energy into the workshop, so I chose to work with young people. Only through them can this art continue. My father, for example, couldn’t really explain the technical steps to me, he didn’t have the patience. I’ve learned that patience is the key to passing on this craft.

How do you capture the lightness and soul of Naples in your suits?

For me it’s natural, because that’s who I am: light, spontaneous, with a joy for life. Authentic Neapolitan tailoring isn’t about rigidity or mathematical perfection, it’s about harmony. Clients from Asia, especially Japan and Hong Kong, often come with very strict requests, like a shoulder measuring exactly 14.7 cm. I explain that it can be 14.6 or 14.8, depending on the fabric, the color, the pattern. If you reduce everything to numbers, you lose the garment’s soul.

At our house, every jacket is unique. If I make three jackets for the same client, they will never be identical. Each is designed and cut separately, adapted to the fabric and to the wearer’s personality. They are stitched by hand, thread by thread, by people who one day may be calm and the next may be tired or emotional. Each stitch carries a different energy. There may be a small imperfection, but in that small imperfection lies the life and truth of the garment. That is what it means to wear Naples with you: not cold geometry, but a living, soulful balance, just like the city that inspires us.