It started with socks now he designs for Dua Lipa and Beyonc. Meet Giuliano Calza, the founder

“That time was a lot of fun but also my formative years [from a business point of view],” says Naples-born Calza from Milan, where he is now based. “I was in charge of all the visual aspects, from the decor to the menus. I was acting as creative director. My favourite thing was to learn Chinese slang from the cleaning lady and to design the uniforms for the staff.”

It did not take long for Calza to realise he should try his hand at designing clothes.

“One day, the man who made the restaurant uniforms, a Chinese supplier, said to me on a whim, ‘Why don’t you do your own thing?’” recalls Calza. “So I designed these sweatshirts and socks that are to this day our bestsellers, the ones with the maxi logo and the stripes.”

When his Chinese visa expired in 2015, he had no choice but to return to Milan, where, crashing at friends’ flats, he started building his label as a one-man show, working out of a temporary basement office.

The early days were tough, admits Calza. Even though he had dabbled in design from a young age, he did not have the business acumen to run a company. He soon decided to call his brother in Shanghai and ask him to pack up and join him in Milan.

“We were very close by then,” says Calza, “especially after working together in China for three years, and even though I knew his dream was to build a business in China, I asked him to come back to Italy and work with me.

“I felt that there was a lot of potential for my brand so he started to help with the legal and financial stuff and also to get some financial support because we don’t come from money.”

GCDS, which originally stood for God Can’t Destroy Streetwear and was later rebranded as Giuliano Calza Design Studio, quickly took off, gaining the attention of top retailers such as Selfridges in London and celebrities like Madonna and Lady Gaga.

Just as Calza was getting started, Dua Lipa’s stylist reached out to him, asking if he could make some pieces for the then up-and-coming singer who was performing in Milan.

“I never paid a celebrity; it was always a personal relationship,” says Calza. “Celebrities wanted to be associated with a young brand that struck a chord and had the same voice that they had.

“Dua Lipa was at the beginning of the brand and back then I only had logo T-shirts and that’s what she wore first, then I designed some chokers for her. Our journeys started at the same time so we stayed genuine friends because we saw how we have grown together in our careers; there is this genuine connection and exchange, and nothing is fake.”Calza says he has dressed every star that he loved while growing up, including Beyoncé, but it was a collaboration with Sophia Loren, the 88-year-old Italian movie legend, for a pasta commercial that he will never forget. “I am still star-struck by her,” says Calza.

“Irreverent, ironic, sassy and fun”, as he describes himself and the brand, Calza says GCDS represents who he is as a person and is not defined by any geographical or aesthetic boundaries.

“Once you live overseas as an Italian, you have the burden of the Italian stereotype of pizza, pasta and mandolins […] but I wanted the brand to be about me, not as an egomaniac, but about my journey and experiences,” he says.

“Made in Italy but with a global outlook that could speak to everyone around the world; a brand that reflects Italy’s heritage in textiles but that doesn’t feed that Italian cliché. It wasn’t about being pigeonholed but about expressing myself and my creativity, which is stimulated by influences that come from everywhere.”

The brand has evolved significantly since those early days of maxi-logo sweats and socks. While still popular, now they are just part of a repertoire that includes accessories, dresses and separates meant for cool grown-ups who do not take themselves too seriously.

“I’m very proud of the beginning of the brand and the maxi logo,” says Calza. “But I didn’t want to just keep growing by selling sweatshirts and socks. It was about understanding what I wanted to do and growing my position as a designer and communicator because this brand is a platform. I always say to myself that I have to keep growing and learning and being curious.”

In 2020, GCDS, which was entirely self-funded, sold a majority stake to the private-equity Made in Italy Fund to spur expansion, especially in mainland China, where the label has stores in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu and Shenzhen.

Shanghai, he says, is the place where he feels most at home when abroad, adding that his years there were the most pivotal from both a personal and professional perspective.

“It was a new beginning for me and it was so lively and I loved going to the local markets and eating the local street food,” Calza says. “Back then, there were still a lot of pockets of the real China in Shanghai, before they built so many malls […] I miss taking the metro in Shanghai, the smell and the food.

“There are certain things that you can feel only in Asia, things you can’t find or experience in America or Europe. I only left Shanghai because I had to, other­wise I would still be there now.”

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