Introducing Franco Uomo 3.0

Hello World,

My name is Matthew Mountford and I am the Communications Director for Franco Uomo on Santana Row. While some of you may recognize my name from an email you’ve received, most of you have only seen me as I pass through the store to my office.

“Who’s that guy?” you asked.

“He’s the White Brother,” they say.

But today I get to emerge from my anonymity to unveil the story of the all new FrancoUomo.com and the monumental campaign that we are releasing with it. While a new site is a big step for every company, I am honored to say that this one is a decade in the making not only for Franco Uomo, but for myself as well.

2009 BC
(Before Covid)

I first met the Franco Uomo Family back in 2009 when I was selling advertisements for a fashion magazine that I had started called Helium Magazine. It was a small start-up publication launched out of San Jose State University by a bunch of students looking to break into the professional world and build contacts during one of the worst economic periods in American history. Most doors I knocked on were immediately slammed in my face, but at Franco Uomo I found myself connecting with creative people who had the same mission as my magazine: to lift fashion from the shadows of Silicon Valley.

Franco Uomo bought the very first ad in the first issue of Helium Magazine, and then we went on to partner together on creative design projects for over a decade. We launched multiple stores, created new brands, made billboard campaigns and catalogs, and—together—we grew and evolved over time. To be honest, it was a rocky road. Small businesses always are. But shared goal seemed to always bring our paths back together, and returning to Franco Uomo always felt like returning home to family.

2019 BC

In 2019 I started my role as the Communications Director working for Franco Uomo full time for the first time. I came in with a blank slate and figured out how to add value. I restructured operations and rebuilt the brand from the bottom up.

Franco Uomo had essentially pivoted from being a product-focused boutique to being a service-focused boutique. Instead of just being a retail store that you popped into to buy a suit, we were now booking appointments, providing enduring style consultations, and tailoring our garments to a level of precision that we had never attempted before.

Custom became King and the demand for our Signature Suits went through the roof. It seemed as though Silicon Valley men were finally shedding their aversion to style and fashion began to rise from the shadows.

As the web content evolved to follow this trend—and as we readied to open La Donna Bridal Atelier—I realized that we had never truly photographed one of our perfectly tailored Signature Suits. To take Franco Uomo to the next level, we would have to do something different. Instead of doing a big shoot with a bunch of models wearing clothing that kind of fit them, we needed to go ALL IN on ONE suit. We needed to make the best suit that we had ever made, for the best model that we have ever had, to be photographed by the best photographer in Silicon Valley.

I reached out, made the contacts, and then COVID hit.

Behind The Scenes at our Campaign Shoot for La Donna Bridal Atelier on January 20th of 2020.

2022 AD
(After Delta)

2020 was a rough year to say the least. In March of 2021 we started to fully reopen and then got hit with The Wedding Curve that I had forecasted. It was a struggle just to keep up with demand.

THE SUIT

Finally by the end of the year we were able to execute on a suit that would set the bar for years to come: a 3-Piece Signature Franco Uomo Suit made with Loro Piana Fabric.

Like all Signature Suits, this suit is a hand-stitched horsehair full-canvas construction. Each cuff buttonhole takes 30 minutes to make by hand and the Milanese Button Hole—accented in red on the lapel—takes nearly one hour by hand. The lining is made out of Cupro and the buttons of real horn.

For the fabric we selected from Loro Piana’s Fall/Winter 2021 Proposte Abiti collection; a charcoal navy window pane made from blended Wool (72%), Silk (13%), Linen (12%), and Cashmere (3%).

The Retail Cost of the Suit: A reasonable $5,375 (or $6,460 for the entire look with Shirt, Cufflinks, Necktie, Pocket Square, and Shoes).

THE TEAM

For the model we selected our all-time favorite model and good friend Justin Belcher. He had long become the “face” of Franco Uomo and even after searching through agencies all over the West Coast, we just couldn’t find anyone who represented the elegant strength of our brand any better than him.

The haircut and styling was done by “Hair God” Jaymz Marez and the makeup was done by Bay Area legend Elizabeth Chang.

For photography, we had the honor of hiring Silicon Valley’s absolute finest: Paul Ferradas. Both Franco Uomo and I (at Helium) had wanted to work with him for over a decade. Perhaps thanks to the Pandemic, we were finally able to book him. Needless to say, the entire team already knew each other well having worked together multiple times separately through the years.

THE LOCATION

Selecting the right location for the shoot was perhaps the hardest part. Originally we had wanted to do a vintage style library or office. However, I realized that this stemmed from a desire to aspire to be like the royal suit makers of Saville Row in London. The more I thought about it the more I realized that wasn’t actually who we are or are trying to be. Our customer doesn’t care about vintage opulence. Our client is tech and represents a new era of casual sophistication. We would need to create our own definition of Silicon Valley Style.

After pinging our network for suggestions, my good friend Joseph Minafra at NASA suggested and made an introduction for me to the new Ameswell Hotel at Moffett Field in Mountain View. Opened in July of 2021, the hotel is designed to be the epitome of Lifestyle for Silicon Valley, and their NASA Library was exactly what we were looking for.

In January of 2022, we finally had our shoot. The best of the best photographing the best that we had ever done. And finally, 4 months of web-design later, here is the full campaign on the brand new FrancoUomo.com

A big step for us at Franco Uomo, and—hopefully—a defining moment for Silicon Valley Style.

THE CAMPAIGN