Talent and creator, Marco Taddei moved from Marche to Milan for work ten years ago. Initially he began as a digital reporter on artisanal companies: through his blog and social media he talked about the world in which he grew up – in particular that of the Marche region footwear industry – trying to remove the dust from a context which unfortunately has not undergone a generational change, neither among artisans nor customers. “I must admit that I have done well and also very lucky in life to be able to work in an environment that I am passionate about. I aimed to reveal the hidden beauty of a world that too often remains closed in on itself”, he confides.

He set out on his career path at a very young age as a sales agent in a clothing showroom in the Marche region. During trade shows such as White and Pitti, Taddei was recognised for his style and photographs of his looks ended up in TV reports and magazines.
“It was 2013 and social media didn’t function like they do now. There was a designer who worked for our showroom who urged me to share my outfits online, because he believed social media would have become the future. I was working every day and had neither the time nor the means to do something whose potential I did not understand. It was when he passed away that his words came back to me. In a very difficult historical moment, I decided to give it a go: I opened up a profile and blog of my own and started knocking on company doors to tell their story”.

Eleven years later, Taddei must be credited with the great merit of knowing how to express and promote sartorial culture, bringing more and more people, even amongst the younger generations, closer to the world of couture.

His passion for menswear is rooted in the influence of his father who worked as a sales manager for an insurance agency. “His formal wear was a daily source of inspiration for me”, he explains. “And then there is my love for eras in which I have never lived, the 1960s and 1970s, when men’s elegance was incomparable.” Taddei’s style, which he defines as “neoclassical”, features classic volumes and combines English fabrics with Italian wearability. “I love to wear a coat and tie even though I acknowledge that formal is a bit outmoded now, especially since the pandemic. But I do it for myself, I find it to be a timeless style in which I feel at ease.”

While at the beginning Taddei’s relationship with Milan was purely work-oriented, since moving there it has turned into a “wonderful and complex bond, like the best relationships”. The city has welcomed him with its dynamism and international mood which make it so fascinating, but it is the Brera quarter that reflects him most: a mixture of history and elegance, somewhere between art and design. “Walking its streets and breathing in this air makes me feel good, as well as being a great source of inspiration for my work. For me, Brera is a reflection of the true Milan.”

Today, Marco Taddei is a talent driven by a genuine passion for the sartorial world, with Milan as the perfect stage on which to express his vision of timeless elegance.

Marco Taddei’s Milan

The Brera Art Gallery, where the Brera Academy is also located, is the perfect refuge for those who, like me, are creative people in search of harmony and inspiration.

I recommend that you take a break at the Caffè Fernanda. It is located on the first floor of the art gallery and from the loggia there is a unique view of the courtyard. Here you can get away from the chaos of the city, breathing in art and history.

Cittamani is a restaurant offering traditional Indian cuisine, reinterpreted in a contemporary key by chef Ritu Dalmia. Modern and welcoming at the same time, this restaurant expresses Milan’s international and eclectic spirit.

When my father comes to visit me in Milan, we always go to the Novecento Museum inside the Arengario Building, which exhibits works of 20th century Italian art. Looking over Piazza Duomo, the Fontana Room is spectacular.

Milan still offers some important examples of Art Nouveau style and of these, the one I love most is undoubtedly the Casa Galimberti in Via Malpighi. Admiring the wrought iron detailing, the floral motifs and painted ceramics transports you to another era.

If like me, you are passionate about watchmaking, don’t miss Via Monte Napoleone: along Milan’s most famous shopping street, you will find the boutiques of brands such as Omega, Buccellati, IWC, TAG Heuer, Audemars Piquet and many others.

Photography by Paolo Biava