Gallello Atelier Brings Back Artisanal Styles of a Bygone Era in Fete With Kelly Rutherford
LONDON — How does a brand market a Grace Kelly-inspired collection without using images of the Monaco princess? For Gallello Atelier, the solution was to invite the American actress Kelly Rutherford, now a Monaco resident, to host an afternoon of cocktails at De Gournay on 112 Old Church Street in London’s Chelsea.
Rutherford wore a white Bardot jacket with a matching ankle-length skirt from the brand, which was founded by the American Stacey Gallello and is made in Venice.
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One of the skirts on display during the event required more than 250 hours of hand embroidery using antique, Victorian-era beads acquired from a collector in France. The skirt was sold for 28,100 pounds to a client based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“I was a luxury consumer myself and I shopped with my husband on Savile Row. He gets these beautiful bespoke tailored suits, but I find that experience doesn’t really exist for women,” said Gallello, whose brand is inspired by Dominic Gallello, who was the couturier pattern cutter for Christian Dior in the ‘50s, and Stacey Gallello’s husband’s grandfather.
The couple inherited all of his archives including sketches, patterns, samples, and pieces he had made for his wife Elena. He would incorporate a white lily into all of his wife’s pieces because it was her favorite flower, and now it has become a brand motif.
“I took the pieces to my tailor and said, ‘I would love to create something,’ and my tailor told me, ‘Stacey, nobody creates clothes this way anymore, it’s super intricate,’” said Gallello. She was later introduced to Antonella, the woman would become the brand’s Venice-based, master pattern cutter.
Gallello said she wants to fill the gap between ready-to-wear and haute couture, and is catering to women who want delicate pieces by trained artisans that don’t start at 40,000 euros apiece.
“We are trying to return to that era of the ‘50s couturier atelier, where we put on salon presentations, and the pieces are hand-tailored individually for each client,” she said.
The brand’s biggest market is the Middle East because “they’re very much used to that couture experience, whereas in the European or American market, there’s a level of education for women who traditionally wear luxury ready-to-wear,” said Gallello.
She added that Seoul has become another big market for the brand.
The Gallello Atelier style is minimal, monochrome and without any extra embellishment.
Gallello said that her ultimate style icon is Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. She even resembles the former Calvin Klein publicist with her bright blue eyes and surfer-blond hair.
This is Gallello’s first foray into the world of fashion. She previously worked in technology with companies such as Braze, Airtime and Know Me, which was acquired by Apple.
“I love being an outsider and having an outsider’s perspective. I really think it’s a luxury to be an outsider and have a different perspective in terms of how things are done — because I’m an outsider in the industry, I’m very committed to being an advocate for the artisans,” said Gallello.
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