You saw him all over the place back when Tumblr was cool and he's still firmly on the #menswear street style Mount Rushmore, but what the fuck has Lapo Elkann been up to lately? Well, The Wall Street Journal sat down with the heir to the Fiat throne to talk about his unconventional path to fame—one that's come through fashion rather than fast cars.
Lapo's brand that he started in 2006, Italia Independent, had an extremely successful IPO in Italy last year and is now on its way to reaching a truly global level. It recently opened a store right here in New York and has plans for a Los Angeles location in the near future. Apparently, he's been traveling all over the world, working to expand the Italia Independent footprint, even though, in typical Lapo fashion, he broke a bunch of ribs in a motorcycle accident just a couple months ago.
While there isn't a ton of room for creativity in eyewear, now the core business of Italia Independent, the brand has pulled a few interesting moves on the materials side of things with carbon fiber frames and a treated plastic that feels like velvet. Um, velvet sunglasses? CLASSIC LAPO ELKANN. Naturally, all these crazy eyewear innovations fall firmly into what has proven to be dude's signature look of bright colors, ginormous lapels and an inherent, cavalier nonchalance that only comes with being born rich as fuck.
Not sticking to the proven family business script, striking out on your and still making loads of cash? Mad props, Lapo. You're a true legend.
