Italian clothing brand Fay originated as a US company in Massachusetts making outerwear for firefighters and the fishing industry. These pieces, which fasten with hook-and-eye closures on the front, attracted the attention of two young Italian entrepreneurs, Diego and Andrea Della Valle, brothers who had a thing about American style. Diego, in particular, was – and still is – a fan of the sophisticated Ivy League wardrobe of the Kennedys. Later on he even acquired JFK’s 1930s 52ft mahogany-hulled motor cruiser Marlin.
He’d already seen the opportunity to translate the US-style driving shoe into an Italian classic, and had built footwear brand Tod’s. His brother was on the same page when, on a trip to the States, he met some ex-firemen wearing the hook-fastening jacket style.
‘I thought that this could be a great weekend look back in Italy, where at that time in the ’80s we still tended to wear formal things whether we were at work or not,’ says Andrea.
The brothers bought the American company in 1987 and transferred production to Italy. The thinking was simple: take this distinctive-looking style and offer it to fashionable Italians as a classic casualwear piece with authentic workwear roots. It paid off, and Fay has diversified over the years and now includes womenswear and styles that no longer sport the hardware hooks that characterised the original jackets.
The name is now well known in Italy and worn by businessmen over a suit – the Double Coat, which has a detachable zip-out padded gilet – and women as a smart/casual option – roomy double-breasted jackets and blazers.
However, the 4 Ganci style (“four hooks” in Italian) that speaks of the brand’s DNA is still there and staying true to its workwear roots. Now in different fabrics – such as délavé (washed) linen-canvas, cotton twill, wool, corduroy and padded nylon – and in a range of colours and patterns, the jackets with their four metal-hook fastenings are produced with function as well as fashion as a requisite.
To demonstrate this, Fay sends its 4 Ganci products out on field trips around the world, asking those who travel and work in far-flung places to try them out in different environments.
Having tested jackets in the northern Arctic islands of Norway’s Svalbard, the icy waters off the Japanese island of Hokkaido, and rural Nepal, Fay journeyed to Chile to meet a group of people who call this narrow and elongated strip of land – around 2,700 miles from north to south, yet only about 110 miles wide from east to west – and its extraordinary landscape their home.
The young man wearing the yellow 4 Ganci jacket is Vito, a free climber who climbs in the mountains of Chile together with his girlfriend Costanza. When they travel, they move around in a motorhome. They choose a spot immersed in nature, park there for a few days, camp and cook on barbecues outdoors. This is how they live all year round. Besides Vito and Costanza, there is Pablo, who forges beautifully crafted handmade knives.
Then there’s Nico, a maritime archaeologist exploring the southern regions near Cape Horn. And another Nico, a conservationist who is studying the Andean puma. These became the Fay study group, and the images here show how they put the jackets to good use.
It may have come a long way from fighting fires in Maine, but the 4 Ganci style by Fay, with its quick-release but secure fastenings, works well in any field.
Words: Peter Howarth
Peter Howarth has been the style director of British GQ and the editor of Arena, British Esquire and Man About Town. He is the co-founder and CEO of London creative agency SHOW and managing director of Secret Trips.
