In a world rushing through trends and disposable styles, Gallello Atelier brings a heartfelt pause with its devotion to the crafts of old. This boutique, rooted in the legacy of the late Dominic Gallello, a master of couture patternmaking, champions the slow and careful creation of clothing. Dominic’s artistry not only dressed the elite but also deeply expressed his love for his wife, crafting bespoke garments that now inspire the atelier’s ethos. Today, Stacey Gallello, connected to this legacy through her husband—Dominic’s son—leads the charge in reviving these time-honored traditions. Gallello Atelier stands out in the fast-paced fashion scene by slowing things down, crafting each piece with a care that honors the past and enriches the future, ensuring that the beauty of meticulously tailored garments is not forgotten but celebrated.
Stacey, Gallello Atelier’s foundation is deeply rooted in your grandparents’ legacy and their timeless love story. Can you share how this profound history shapes your approach to design and the essence of your collections?
Our debut collection is rooted in this family love story. Nonno and Nonna, Dominic and Elena Gallello had a deep adoration for each other. One, which, as a couturier Pattern Cutter, inspired Dominic to tailor beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces by hand for Elena. His art is a physical symbol of his dedication to his wife.
I was inspired to start Gallello Atelier after discovering pieces left as family heirlooms. The Atelier is unpicking the fond memories he wove into the seams of his garments, and entwining them into the modern day. Reviving the family legacy of prestige tailoring and uncompromising excellence since 1950. The Atelier returns to an era when it was understood that true luxury requires time, as each heirloom piece is handcrafted to an impeccable standard using nonno’s time-honoured techniques.
Your grandfather, Dominic Gallello, was a couturier pattern cutter for Christian Dior, a role that denotes a high level of artistry and precision. How do his techniques and philosophies influence the atelier’s creations today?
My husband’s grandfather, Dominic Gallello, was the Pattern Cutter for Christian Dior himself working alongside him to hone his craft. The role of the Pattern Cutter is to bring a design to life; he receives the first sketch from the designer and makes it a reality. I inherited Dominic Senior’s archives, including a series of personal sketches, fabrics, and designs that he had made for his wife, Elena. For my wedding, I wanted to honour Dominic and Elena by remaking one of the dresses he had made for her. When I brought the piece to my tailor, she examined its construction and told me that clothes aren’t made this way anymore – it was completely handmade and the pattern behind it was complex. These heirlooms started my journey of the Atelier and the vision to revive the love for the one, well-made piece and the craftsmanship of artisans in luxury.
As I began to build the Atelier in Venice, I learned that the artisans and tailors who still practise nonno’s craft today are approaching retirement and that the idea of artisan made in Italy is a dying workforce. The heart of the Atelier is to return to nonno’s era of couturier craft – where fashion was made to order, where women shopped attending elegant salons, and each piece was individually made to a client’s specifications by a single artisan. Each piece at the Atelier is crafted to the highest degree by a single artisan using exclusively noble materials – silks, cashmere, and virgin wool. We believe that luxury is artisan made. Gallello Atelier creates traditional, hand-tailored garments deeply rooted in the ethics of Made in Italy and artisan savoir-faire.
The concept of ‘true luxury requires time’ is a fundamental belief at Gallello Atelier. In today’s fast-paced world, how do you maintain this principle, and what message do you hope it sends to your clientele?
We live in an age of convenience and find that this slowing down of the process is one of the hardest parts. Customers are used to speed and convenience when actually what we need from a sustainability perspective both from a human and environmental standpoint is to re-engage the consumer in the art of creation.
The Atelier has been built on creating a small community of clients with an appreciation for tailoring and couturier craft. Our utmost priority is to our community of clients who are just as passionate about ‘artisan-made’ as we are. The Atelier is committed to reviving the relationship between the creator and the client. For each client, we take them on the ‘creation journey’ of their piece. This approach enriches client understanding and appreciation of the artisanal processes and ensures that each piece carries with it a story of its own—a narrative of creativity and a shared passion for excellence.
It is certainly a goal of ours to shift consumer behaviour and expectations, which does take a bit of education at first but we are hoping that this will bring about a great shift in mindset, while elevating craft and crafts people once again.
Each piece from Gallello Atelier is described as an ‘heirloom piece,’ handcrafted to impeccable standards. Could you walk us through the journey of creating one of these bespoke garments, from initial design to final stitches?
The Atelier practices hand-craftsmanship, where each piece individually created embodying the techniques of Dominic Gallello. In lieu of pret-a-porter, designs are made-to-order or made-to-measure to allow time for intimate processes and meticulous details.
The first step is to take our clients measurements. In cities where we have tailors you can organise an at home fitting and measurement appointment. Upon receiving or taking our clients measurements, the construction can begin. At the start of construction, the Master Pattern Cutter cuts each pattern piece by hand, ensuring precision of the highest calibre. A single expert tailor brings the piece to life from beginning to end, employing unhurried, hand stitched details. The handmade elements make each garment truly matchless—no two pieces are exactly alike, each one holds its own unique details sewn in by the tailor. Pieces can take 2–8 weeks, depending on the level of personalisation needed .
The Atelier also offers a ‘Special Order’ service, creating bespoke pieces exclusively for existing clients. We offer a made-to-measure service, where any piece in the Collections can be made custom to a client’s unique measurements and specifications.
The art of tailoring is celebrated within your atelier as a deeply human discipline. With the age of immediacy overshadowing traditional craftsmanship, how does Gallello Atelier work to revive and honour this forgotten craft?
The art of design has humans at its core and Gallello Atelier was designed to elevate the artisan once again. The tailoring skill that was once celebrated during our grandfather’s era has slowly become a forgotten craft. The Atelier is devoted to reviving the love for tailor-made garments and recognising the artisans behind them. We are actively slowing down the process of creating clothes to reengage customers in the creation process, igniting a deeper connection with the clothes in our wardrobe which is at risk of being lost. We believe your clothes should tell a story.
The ‘Elena’ jacket and silk shirts feature a unique homage to your family love story with hand-embroidered white lilies. Can you delve into the significance of integrating such personal symbols into your designs?
The whole brand is dedicated to narrating different elements of this family history and the love story at the centre of it. Through each element we raise up a different moment in history. The signet of the Atelier represents the thread of Dominic’s craft and Elena’s favourite flower, the white lily.
The white lily has become a calling card for us and is present at all our events and something we send to clients and partners we work with. To me it evokes a more romantic time and is emblematic of the moment and feeling we are trying to bring back.
La Collezione Elena draws inspiration from the serene and historical Villa Passalacqua on Lago di Como. Can you describe the moment or experience that sparked the idea for this collection while visiting such a culturally rich location?
The brand is an homage to the family’s Italian heritage and roots. The Atelier is in the heart of Venice, with another one in Milan and it is where my husband’s family are from. The Italian dolce vita is central to our story telling and lifestyle and we wanted to evoke this in the most authentic and beautiful way possible. I had visited with family previously and I felt the location and emotion of the property were entirely aligned with the ethos of the brand. Plus was recently voted the best hotel in the world which speaks to our dedication to quality and what we consider true luxury.
Aside from being the number one hotel in the world, Passalacqua was a very special location for me to shoot the campaign. As a fan of opera, Vicenzo Bellini wrote his most famous Operas Norma and La Sonnambula at the former Villa Passalacqua.
The grand villa is known as the birthplace of some of Vincenzo Bellini’s most adored operas. How do Bellini’s works, specifically Norma and La Sonnambula, influence the aesthetic and emotional tone of the collection?
It is all about love and craftsmanship. The vision for the Atelier is to promote the lost craft of the artisan as a fine art equivalent to that of the Operatic pieces we enjoy today.
At Gallello Atelier, we have a pure and unwavering dedication to art and craftsmanship. We believe in things that take time and are filled with human passion and care. As a brand, we are closely aligned with culture and art and want to keep these connections alive through everything we associate ourselves with. And just like in both of Bellini’s operas, there is plenty of drama and emotion within our pieces.
Serendipitous encounters are at the heart of La Collezione Elena’s narrative. Could you share how the concept of serendipity is woven into the designs and storytelling of the collection?
The narrative behind the collezione Elena is about finding good luck in unexpected places. It was a serendipitous journey that set me on the road to starting the brand, it has been one fortuitous connection and conversation after the next that has led to where we are now (plus a lot of hard work!) and I wanted to continue that feeling through our campaign. I also believe that beautiful clothes alter your mindset and allow you to carry yourself in a way that leads to beautiful things.
Looking to the future, how do you envision Gallello Atelier evolving while staying true to its roots in prestige tailoring and the legacy of Dominic and Elena Gallello?
At the moment, we are focused on staying true to ourselves and maintaining the founding ethos of the brand. We are a small atelier where each piece is made to order for each client. We have one Pattern Cutter and two tailors, one who specialises in ‘Atelier Tailleur’ jackets and one in ‘Atelier Flou’ soft dressmaking. We have extremely limited production and built this business to keep it as such. This business is built on slow craftsmanship and uncompromising quality and we offer an extremely limited number of pieces, which is what makes them so special.
We have our next limited edition collections launching in April and then a very special evening wear collection launching in September, which will include very special, on-of-a-kind, works of art. Our evolution will focus on deepening our connection to exquisite craftsmanship and elevating true luxury once again.
