Interview with Maurizio Marinella: class and refinement for over 100 years

E. Marinella, founded in 1914 in Naples by Eugenio Marinella, is a tailoring company specialized in ties and luxury accessories. Its original shop, located in Piazza della Vittoria in the Chiaia district, measured only 20 square meters.

Store Marinella

Here, Eugenio Marinella began creating bespoke shirts and ties, using hand‑printed silks imported from England. Over its more than 100 years of history, E. Marinella has become famous for its ties, worn by Italian celebrities and even heads of state. Enrico De Nicola, the first President of the Italian Republic, often gifted a box containing five ties from the Maison to foreign leaders.

This luxury brand has opened stores in Milan, Rome, and Tokyo, and has exported its products to renowned department stores such as Bergdorf Goodman in New York and Le Bon Marché in Paris. Today, in addition to ties, E. Marinella offers a wide range of accessories for men and women, including shirts, perfumes, bags, scarves, and leather goods.

Welcome to InItaly, thank you for accepting our invitation. Let’s start with a question about your history: how was the Marinella company founded?

The story of the E. Marinella brand dates back to 1914, when Eugenio Marinella—grandfather of Maurizio Marinella, the third generation of the family—decided to open a shop in Piazza Vittoria, on the elegant Riviera di Chiaia in Naples. Aware that men’s fashion at the time looked mainly to England, he created in his small 20‑sqm shop a corner of England. He began importing brands such as Acquascutum, Briggs, and the perfumes of Penhaligon’s and Floris.

The Marinella tailoring company was founded 110 years ago. Over the years, have you maintained tradition or focused on innovation?

Technology in general certainly represents a great support for companies, both in terms of production and communication. Personally, I pay attention to changes, but I remain tied to tradition in my sartorial production. We are attentive to silks, to how they are hand‑printed according to traditional methods. Perhaps the finishing has improved over time, but the work itself remains 100% manual.

There are no industrial machines supporting our skilled seamstresses—only their mastery in cutting fabrics one by one and sewing ties step by step. It may sound strange, but the only step done with the help of a machine is with the sewing machine, to ensure the tip has strength and perfect alignment of the design. Technology cannot replace certain things. Likewise, I prefer old methods of communication, which is why I have not yet opened to e‑commerce. For me, human contact with the client still matters most.

How much effort was required to achieve recognition by Forbes, which listed Maurizio Marinella among the top 100 successful managers?

Throughout my career I have had the great chance to learn a lot, but what I consider my greatest fortune is carrying forward a company based on human values and tradition. A tradition that must absolutely be preserved but adapted to the times so that it can endure and be passed down from generation to generation.

Having illustrious clients, from celebrities to heads of state, has this contributed to the global rise of the Marinella brand?

The shop has gone through important historical events that also changed its course: the two world wars, the decline of the old nobility, and the rise of the new bourgeoisie with the arrival of American products that brought substantial changes to fashion. In this period, Luigi Marinella carried forward with determination the production and choices of his father Eugenio, keeping the name and reputation of the Marinella house high.

The real growth came in the 1980s, when Francesco Cossiga, then President of the Republic, became a true ambassador of the brand, making it a habit to gift foreign heads of state, during official visits, a box containing five Marinella ties.

The brand thus began to travel the world. The G7 organized in Naples in 1994 definitively opened doors beyond Italian borders. The organizers decided to offer all the heads of state present a box containing six Marinella ties, giving the brand enormous publicity.

Among the ties in your drawers, are there still dreams to be realized?

This is a world where you cannot stand still. We continue to look around and move forward, but always with great care. We must build paths suited to our reality and way of working. It would be nice and interesting to expand in some of the markets where we are already present.

Today, my son Alessandro, the fourth generation of the family, is also in the company. Certainly, with him, new situations will be faced.

Thank you for being with us, and may Marinella continue to represent Neapolitan elegance worldwide.