Margherita Cardelli & husband Gerardo Cavaliere

Full Bio

The first time Margherita tried on her then boyfriend Gerardo’s double breasted top coat, she never gave it back. After all, she had been wearing her father’s and grandfather’s high-waisted trousers and jackets since she was a teenager.

For Gerardo, who grew up in Salerno, fine tailoring is a piece of his cultural identity that evolved into a personal passion. He’s never owned a pair of jeans and wears bespoke and handmade pants, jackets, and shirts exclusively.

When the two of them met in Rome two and a half years ago, Gerardo was successfully running Sartoria Giuliva, a classic Neapolitan atelier creating bespoke clothing for men. Margherita was running a luxury and lifestyle communications consulting firm.

As Margherita found herself dipping into the treasure trove of Gerardo’s armoire and dressing in his clothes almost every day, the couple recognized a hole in the women’s market—a prêt-à-porter women’s wear collection using the best fabrics and manufacturing possible. And so they decided to launch Giuliva Heritage Collection in Paris in February 2017 with a collection of iconic coats—full-length pieces that are feminine interpretations of classic menswear silhouettes. Just three years later, with the launch of the FW2020 collection in Paris, the first prêt-à-porter men’s collection was launched, enlarging Giuliva’s reach and scope.

Entirely manufactured in Italy, the line celebrates authentic artisanal craftsmanship. Attention to detail is prevalent throughout, with several stages of production made by hand, including fabric cutting and the sewing of buttons, labels, armholes, necklines and flat fell seams.

“We started with coats because they were the natural transition from men’s tailoring into women’s.” The new collection offers a total look. “We both love the idea of those perfect pieces that are meant to last a lifetime. The way that our grandparents used to have just a few things, but they were things that lasted, and they wore the right thing to every event…statement pieces in a way.”

Ethos

Giuliva Heritage is pleased to announce they will be launching a Lifetime Guarantee Policy to customers globally. 
In keeping with their belief of timeless style and that pieces should be created to be passed down from generation to generation, the Lifetime Guarantee Policy will offer repairs and restorations to pieces bought through both our their e-commerce website, as well as through all of our global stockists and retail partners, forever.

The Lifetime Guarantee Policy is yet another step towards their approach and idea of sustainability, one that is embodied in their identity and enhanced by all their choices – from textiles selection to manufacturing processes – that remark their investment towards unrivalled quality, rather than quantity. Giuliva Heritage strongly believes to retain an educational responsibility towards our customers, even more so in this historical moment, as it is essential to be selective and strategic in one’s purchases. Buying less and wearing more, buying less but buying better quality, to ensure that a garment lasts for years and becomes part of one’s personal legacy and tradition, passing down pieces of clothing from generation to generation.

 Founders, Margherita and Gerardo are passionate about the aftercare process of clothing. They recommend consumers educate themselves around taking great care of their garments, ensuring items are stored and hung correctly, as well as appropriately washed and pressed ensuring years will be added to investment pieces.  At the point when a piece needs mending, and to be wearable again, Giuliva Heritage will mend and restore any cuts or tears with stitches that will tell the story of the garment and who wore it. By doing so, creating something that will be entirely intimate to you.

Customers can contact Giuliva Heritage directly for the service, organising the shipment back to the Atelier in Rome where Giuliva Heritage will look after the rest. Giuliva Heritage will then repair and restore the item back to its wearable condition, in keeping with our wish to promote a specific lifestyle, based on grace, respect and sustainability, buying less and wearing more.

Giuliva Heritage hopes to contribute in creating a better world while cultivating their passion by working to give a true and impacting sense on the world we live in.