A passion for fashion brought together three young men with different interests, Antonio Patruno Randolfi, Luigi Arbore and Massimo Mazzilli. Prompted by their love for accessories, they founded a new brand in Italy, Cor Sine Labe Doli literally “A heart with no betrayal blemish”), a name inspired by the coat of arms of their home town in Puglia, Corato. The inspiration for their first accessory struck while watching a boring movie, “I remember we were sitting watching this completely useless film and, feeling we couldn’t be bothered less, we started thinking about pieces we could put into production and the bow tie idea struck us,” Antonio recounts. “I must admit it was rather difficult to develop the project as many artists were very scared of creating a piece that was actually meant to be worn using such a fragile material.”

In the end the three friends found a group of ceramicists based in Marostica, a 14th centre Medieval town known for its artistic and decorative ceramic pieces. The artists were brave enough to turn their idea into reality and developed with Cor Sine Labe Doli an entire series of bow ties in fashionable shades, including black, white, blue, purple, silver, gold, and a limited edition in white with Francis Bacon-like splashes of black paint. “We wanted to give a arty yet fun edge to a classic piece borrowed from the male wardrobe, highlighting the craftsmanship aspect,” Antonio explains. “The pieces are cooked in an oven up to three times, according to their design, and, though they come out of a mould, they are refined and decorated by hand, so each piece is unique, even the silk ribbons to tie them, printed with vintage 1920s motifs, are sewn by hand.” While focusing on new bow tie designs, the three friends are currently working on further accessories. Necklaces or hats, they state, may be next. The material they’ll use for their future pieces remains top secret for the time being, but you can bet that there will be quite a few challenges for Cor Sine Labe Doli's intrepid Marostica-based ceramicists.