Kiton is an Italian fashion house founded by Ciro Paone in
Arzano, NA 1968.
Founded in
Arzano,
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
in 1968 by Ciro Paone, Kiton is an Italian clothing company with its roots in traditional Italian tailoring. By the end of 2022, Kiton had 60 monobrand stores and 300 wholesale accounts worldwide.
The company's slogan is ''Il meglio del meglio più uno'' ("the best of the best plus one").
Kiton operates five manufacturing facilities located in Arzano (for their primary production),
Caserta
Caserta ( ; ) is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. An important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city, Caserta is located 36 kilometres north of Naples on the edge of the Campanian p ...
(for sportswear),
Parma
Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
(for outerwear),
Fidenza
Fidenza (, locally ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Parma, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It has around 27,000 inhabitants. The town was renamed Fidenza in 1927, recalling its ancient Rome, Roman name of ; before, it was ...
(for knitwear), and
Biella
Biella (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the northern Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the Province of Biella, province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of ...
(for textiles).
Kiton owns the
Carlo Barbera fabric mill.
History
Kiton is the trademark brand of the company Ciro Paone SpA, a company founded in 1956. It was set up at Arzano, in the province of Naples, in 1968. The name Kiton derives from the
chiton
Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora ( ), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized.
They are also sometimes known as sea cradles or coat-of-mail shells or suck ...
ceremonial
tunic
A tunic is a garment for the torso, usually simple in style, reaching from the shoulders to a length somewhere between the hips and the ankles. It might have arm-sleeves, either short or full-length. Most forms have no fastenings. The name deri ...
worn by the
ancient Greeks
Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...
and
Romans.
The word ''chiton'' is derived from a
Central Semitic language *''kittān'' (e.g.
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
), ultimately from a word for '
flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...
'.
In 1995, Kiton launched a line of womenswear.
In 2008, Ciro Paone purchased suits and other wardrobe items that once belonged to
Edward VIII
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...
, the Duke of Windsor, from a 1998
Sotheby's
Sotheby's ( ) is a British-founded multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine art, fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, an ...
auction. These items were later showcased by Paone at the Excelsior hotel in
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
, Italy, during the biannual
Pitti Uomo menswear show. The display highlighted the historical sartorial elements Paone incorporated into his contemporary designs for Kiton suits.
In 2009, Kiton bought the
Carlo Barbera woollen mill, which had been founded in 1949 in
Biella
Biella (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the northern Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the Province of Biella, province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of ...
.
This allowed Kiton to work with delicate fibers such as viscose and create specialized yarns, dyes, and weaves.
In 2013, Kiton acquired Palazzo Ferré, a building on Via Pontaccio that was home to the
Gianfranco Ferré
Gianfranco Ferré (; 15 August 1944 – 17 June 2007) was an Italian fashion designer also known as "the architect of fashion" for his background and his original attitude toward creating fashion design.
Early life and education
Ferré was born ...
label for 14 years. After the restoration, it was planned that the second floor would house Kiton's showroom and offices, while the first floor would become a tailor's shop.
In 2013, Kiton launched its retail operations in
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. In 2015, Kiton launched its
eyewear
Eyewear is a term used to refer to all devices worn over both of a person's eyes, or occasionally a single eye, for one or more of a variety of purposes. Though historically used for vision improvement and correction, eyewear has also evolved into ...
collection, and opened a 2,500-square-foot store in
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. In 2017 to mark the opening of Pitti Immagine Uomo 91, Ciro Paone received the Pitti Immagine career award.
In 2018, Kiton launched an
athleisure
Athleisure is a hybrid style of athletic clothing typically worn as everyday wear. The word is a portmanteau combining the words 'athletic' and 'leisure'. Athleisure outfits can include tracksuits, sports jackets, hoodies, yoga pants, tight ...
collection, called KNT (Kiton New Texture). The KNT brand is owned by twins Walter and Mariano de Matteis, the latest generation of the Kiton family. Also, in 2018,
Sergio Mattarella
Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician and jurist who has served as the president of Italy since 2015. He is the longest-serving president in the history of the Italian Republic. Since Giorgio Napolitano's death in 20 ...
, President of the Italian Republic, awarded Kiton the Premio Leonardo Qualità Italia.
Ciro Paone, the founder of Kiton, passed away at 88 in his home in Naples, Italy on October 27, 2021.
In 2022, Kiton announced a new collaboration with Beatrice Venezi. In July 2023, Kiton began dressing the team and players of the London club
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
for official events.
In July 2023, Kiton opened a 350 sq m flagship store in
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
in
Cheongdam-dong
Cheongdam-dong () is a ward of Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea. The area is best known in South Korea as an affluent neighborhood populated by a disproportionately high number of high-income individuals and for having some of the most expens ...
.
School of Advanced Tailoring
In 2000, Kiton launched a training project with the foundation of the School of Advanced Tailoring, aimed at training new generations of tailors. Kiton developed this course with two main goals: to prepare young people to enter the labor market and to ensure that the workforce is constantly updated.
The majority of the students hail from Naples, though there are also applications from international students. Approximately 80% of these students secure employment with Kiton or at other companies.
The institution offers a three-year program aimed at training individuals between the ages of 16 and 21 for professional roles. The curriculum, delivered by in-house instructors, primarily focuses on jacket creation during the first two years. In the third year, students are encouraged to pick and delve deeper into a specific production stage.
Production
Kiton operates in the
luxury goods
In economics, a luxury good (or upmarket good) is a good (economics), good for which demand (economics), demand increases more than what is proportional as income rises, so that expenditures on the good become a more significant proportion of ove ...
sector and offers
bespoke
''Bespoke'' () describes anything commissioned to a particular specification, altered or tailored to the customs, tastes, or usage of an individual purchaser. In contemporary usage, ''bespoke'' has become a general marketing and branding concep ...
service, characterized by hand-cut and basted tailored suits, as well as
ready-to-wear
Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à-porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a partic ...
men's and women's garments.
Kiton maintains an integrated supply chain, with five company-owned factories:
* Coats, jackets, shirts, ties, shoes, and small leather goods are produced at the company's headquarters in Arzano.
* Leather and bomber jackets are crafted in
Collecchio.
* Knitwear originates from
Fidenza
Fidenza (, locally ) is a town and (municipality) in the province of Parma, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It has around 27,000 inhabitants. The town was renamed Fidenza in 1927, recalling its ancient Rome, Roman name of ; before, it was ...
.
* Jeans are produced in
Marcianise, in the province of
Caserta
Caserta ( ; ) is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. An important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city, Caserta is located 36 kilometres north of Naples on the edge of the Campanian p ...
.
* Fabrics are processed and developed at
Biella
Biella (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the northern Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, the capital of the Province of Biella, province of the same name, with a population of 44,324 as of 31 December 2017. It is located about northeast of ...
, Kiton's proprietary woolen mill.
As of the end of 2022, the company employs about 850 employees and sells its products in 73 countries, with over 60 monobrand stores and 300 wholesale accounts globally.
Management
Antonio de Matteis (CEO)
Antonio de Matteis, the nephew of Ciro Paone, is the CEO and joint Creative Director of menswear at Kiton Group. Born in Naples in 1964, he started his career at Kiton under his uncle Ciro Paone, the founder of Kiton. In 1996, Antonio joined the Ciro Paone spa shareholder package, acquiring a 10% stake. By 2007, Ciro Paone appointed him as the CEO of the group. In 2018, Antonio initiated "Knt (Kiton new textures)", the first collection by his sons, Mariano and Walter De Matteis, representing the third generation of the Kiton family. In 2021–2022, Kiton saw a 60% increase in turnover, reaching €162 million.
Maria Giovanna Paone (president)
Maria Giovanna Paone, daughter of Ciro Paone, is the president and the creative director of the brand's womenswear.
Maria Giovanna joined Kiton in 1986 and, under her leadership in 1995, introduced a line of womenswear. Paone currently holds the positions of president and creative director of the womenswear division at Kiton. She is an advocate for slow fashion and has been instrumental in expanding the women's collection with new accessories. Under Paone, the women's collection emphasized tailored jackets suitable for a range of settings and customers. By 2013, womenswear accounted for 20% of Kiton's total growth, with a marked presence in international markets, including Japan, Korea, Canada, and the U.S. The line's success also led to the development of a women's accessories range. Paone recognized the growing interest of women in high-end tailoring, a field often associated with men. In recognition of her contributions to the fashion industry, Paone received the Italian Forbes CEO Award in the Fashion category in 2021.
Antonio Paone (president of Kiton USA)
Antonio Paone is the president of Kiton USA. He began his career at Kiton, working from the ground up, starting as a driver and later becoming a
fabric
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...
scout across Europe. By 2004, he had risen to the role of commercial director and subsequently oversaw Kiton's US operations. Under his leadership, Kiton has expanded, notably with a new women's store on
Madison Avenue
Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...
, and he also spearheaded the growth of Sartorio Napoli, a Kiton family brand.
See also
*
Made in Italy
Made in Italy is a merchandise mark indicating that a product is all planned, manufactured and packed in Italy, especially concerning the Italian design, design, Italian fashion, fashion, Italian cuisine, food, manufacturing, craftsmanship, and ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Companies based in Campania
Clothing brands of Italy
High fashion brands
Clothing companies established in 1968
Italian suit makers
Italian companies established in 1968
Metropolitan City of Naples
Neapolitan tailoring