Meta Campania Collective Makes Artisanal Artisan Uniforms
Meta Campania Collective was founded on one simple notion: real clothes for life, work, and everything between. You've probably heard other brands embrace a similar raison d'être but Meta Campania Collective has a different perspective to other brands.
Co-founder Jon Strassburg elucidates that distinction with two simple words: "No compromise."
In Strassburg's words, Meta Campania Collective makes clothing that's "considered, without any compromises in the make and materials, in silhouettes that feel current and timeless at the same time."
Strassburg is well-positioned to bring this vision to life. He comes from a product merchandising background with stints at Bottega Veneta (Daniel Lee, Tomas Maier) and Burberry (Christopher Bailer, Mark Weston), which shaped his sense of what a clothing collection should feel like and look like, both visually and in terms of scale.
But Meta Campania Collective didn't come into being just because Strassburg spontaneously decided to strike out on his own (he left his gig at Bottega to help launch the brand).
Instead, Meta Campania Collective was born from an organic desire that Strassburg and his friends shared to create the clothes that they couldn't find anywhere else.
Their idea was to create the perfect uniform, easy clothes that could be worn in any and all situations. Wedding, office, bar crawl, casual hike, lounging around the house — don't think, just get dressed.
This isn't a regular ol' "elevated basics" or "wardrobe staples" brand, though: Meta Campania Collective makes artisanal clothing for artisanal people, as epitomized by its comprehensive Season 02 collection, currently available on its website and through international stockists.
"Art and artists is the key inspiration in everything we do," Strassburg continued. "From the mindset of an artist, the freedom and positivity, to the look. The uniform that many artists have in common. We also frequently collaborate with artist and creatives — it’s fun to have this platform."
Think of all the garments that great artists made their own through unbothered, repetitive wear.
We're not talking dudes like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg, who buy a million identical garments from a fashion designer because they're disinterested in personal style.
We talking quietly stylish folks who know how to dress but turn to staple garments for the sake of stability: Kahlo's Rebozo, Beuys' fishing vest, Warhol's turtlenecks, O’Keeffe's wrap dresses. Uniform dressing isn't appealing because it's boring but it makes getting dressed one less thing to clutter the mind.
"It is [artist's] nonchalance, the seemingly “I don’t give a fuck' attitude, that we find most inspiring," Strassburg said. "I find that so elegant. It’s about underlining your personality rather than overshadowing it.
"We like each piece of the collection to feel like it’s been part of your life forever. Timeless, but timely."
You can feel that one size fits most approach in Meta Campania Collective's seasonal lookbooks, wherein creative pals do the modeling — including Sarah and Philip Andelman — and some of whom participate in subsequent Q&As with Strassburg as part of Meta Campania Collective's Live and Work editorial series.
"We shoot the lookbook on friends and people that inspire us," said Strassburg. "Artists, creatives, chefs, musicians, athletes, photographers, models, healers, entrepreneurs. We want to create products for artists and creatives or people that like that look, so it was only a natural conclusion to shoot it on them."
"These are people that don’t necessarily like to be in front of the camera and only do this because they like and believe in [what we do]."
Anyone can make a boilersuit and call it an artist's uniform so Meta Campania Collective strives for more, crafting peerlessly fabricated separates to be worn fluidly, interchangeably. Apparel that's proven reliable for generations, like car coats, shirt-jackets, and tank tops, provide the foundation upon which Meta Campania Collection iterates.
"Anyone working in the industry knows how you have to cut corners once in a while to reduce costs, or make things apparently more commercial. We wanted to create a brand that doesn’t cut these corners," said Strassburg. "From the fact that we avoid glues or un-natural materials in interlinings to who we work with and how we treat them. Everything is important."
Inspired by the off-beach clothes preferred by surfers, Meta Campania Collective cuts approachable neo-workwear that's as hardy as it is unstructured.
Blank canvases for expression, these garments grant the wearer freedom to style them as their tastes dictate. Pair matching pieces as an un-suit for all occasions or mix different textiles across clothing that you know will be innately complementary, whatever works.
Relaxed shapes, dropped shoulders, and drawstrings amp up the ease while crisp shapes reign in the silhouette. Comfortable, yes. Sloppy, no. Finishing is key: every Meta Campania Collective garment is made in Italy of top-shelf Japanese or Italian fabrics.
"We want the items to stay with you for a very long time," Strassburg said. "We love fabrics, yarns and materials that are natural, have a great touch and performance when you wear them."
You can wear all Meta Campania Collective every day of every year, layering on more or less as the season dictates from now until eternity, confident in your preparedness for all dress codes, environments, and occasions.
