The Italian premium sportswear brand Ten C has grown continuously in recent years. Now it’s time to work on the notoriety to take the next step. Among connoisseurs, Ten C has long since ceased to be an insider tip. After all, the brand comes from a famous Italian house: Ten C belongs to Fgf Industry, the company that also owns the brands Blauer and BPD-Be Proud of This Dress.
The company is run by Enzo Fusco, owner of Fgf Industry and longtime insider of the sportswear scene, and Alessandro Pungetti, designer and founder of Ten C. FashionUnited spoke to Enzo Fusco about where Ten C is at the moment and how menswear is changing overall developed and what the Japanese jersey is all about.
Mr. Fusco, as a designer and entrepreneur, you have known the fashion industry like no other for decades. In 2010 you founded a new men’s brand with a focus on jackets. What was the original idea?
The idea was to design a jacket that can be worn like a sweater, but tailored, deconstructed and colored with a vintage effect.
How has the original idea evolved in recent years?
The collection initially consisted only of outerwear and, due to the development and demand of the market, has evolved into an overall collection, while maintaining the image of high quality for each product category.
How has the brand grown in recent years?
Ten C grew 50 percent in 2022, and we think it will continue to grow in 2023. Customers and shops are accepting our products and the philosophy behind them more and more. At Blauer we have had constant growth of 25 percent per year in recent years.
You are known for your appreciation of craftsmanship and functional design. How does that apply to the Ten C brand?
The idea was born about ten years ago thanks to the discovery of a Japanese fabric, the OJJ jersey, with which we have made five pieces of outerwear that still today represent the Forever collection and that are reinterpreted with new colors or fabrics in each collection.
Why is this Japanese jersey fabric so interesting?
The Original Japanese Jersey – OJJ fabric – is a jersey fabric used and manufactured by Ten C with unique properties. However, our version is a polyester nylon interlock jersey that we created ourselves. We dye the fabrics and then, to make the material even finer, we also dye the garment. This treatment makes the material more compact overall. It is a jersey-like fabric with unique properties. It is a substance that changes depending on the outside temperature. When wet the material becomes very soft, but when dry it becomes hard and stiff. The material thrives on a certain rigidity, which softens with use and adapts to the body.
Where do you produce Ten C?
80 percent in Italy and 20 percent in Europe.
In your manifesto you write that you want to create timeless products that can be worn for many years. How are you trying to achieve this?
When you start with essential materials and excellent workmanship without overdoing fit, they can create garments that you can wear forever.
Does the issue of sustainability also play a role for you?
We have been using recycled or green materials in our linings and padding for many years; we are finding that customers are also increasingly understanding and appreciating these factors, such as sustainability, which will definitely be, or already is, part of the future.
What makes Ten C different from Fgf Industry’s other brands, namely Blauer and BPD?
Ten C differs in terms of the product, the price and also the distribution, which targets a certain type of stores that are in the high-end segment, while for the other brands we have more customers overall and a mid-range distribution with sometimes even different customers.
How many collections are there per year and are there NOS products?
We do five collections per season, so a total of ten collections per year.
What target group do you have in mind?
It depends on the collection in question, definitely observant consumers who follow social media and changes in fashion, but also seek products that stand the test of time and styles that ideally never go out of style come.
How many retailers sell Ten C and what type of retailers are you looking for?
We currently have four agents and three importers for Ten C, covering the whole world except China. Our representatives serve Italy, Germany, England and France, while the importers are responsible for Korea, Japan and America.
You started out as a wholesale brand: what are your plans for online retail?
The brand has grown through a select circle of wholesalers, the mono-brand online shop has also been active for about two years and the new website is scheduled to go online in the spring/summer 2023/24 season.
What international plans do you have, which markets do you want to reach?
That depends on the line, the only thing missing for Ten C is China, which is certainly an interesting market to tackle in the future. For Blauer we are working on the opening in Asia and America.
You also founded B.Tactical in 2021, with a focus on military styles. What became of this project?
B.Tactical is a project that is part of the Blauer collection and is a very refined and appreciated capsule, it will take some time to succeed.
Men’s fashion has been seen as a growth market for a number of years, but it is more stable and less volatile than women’s fashion. Is this still the case?
In fact, men’s collections are more stable, although lately men, especially young men, are very influenced by everything that happens on social media, by influencers, musicians, artists. Women are similar, but with the difference that they always want new things.
Sportswear has had a very strong influence on men’s fashion for years. Do you believe in a real return of formal style?
Even today, combining technical materials with fashion is always a win. But I think formal style is in the air again, maybe with more modern proportions, but the most important thing is always to have good taste.