Alessandro Gherardi fell in love with the shirt in the very early 1970s, in Pieve Santo Stefano, a small Tuscan town on the border with Umbria. In 2000, he took over and revived the struggling family business, turning it into a manufacturer entirely devoted to shirtmaking, which until then had made up only a fraction of production. For two decades, the workshop honed its craft making private-label shirts for some of the biggest luxury houses in the world—discreet work, but held to an exacting standard. It wasn’t until 2020, seeing growing interest in the Gherardi name abroad, that his children decided to fully invest in developing the brand under its own name.

Alessandro Gherardi at Clusier

Their story perfectly illustrates what we look for in our partners: proven expertise, validated by the biggest names in the industry, finally made accessible under its own name. The Gherardi house, now led by Alessandro and his children Claudia and Paolo, produces three shirt lines: Classic, Soft, and Vangher. Each has its own personality, but all share the same obsession with detail—hand-finished shoulders and collars, hand-sewn sleeves and buttons, buttonholes stitched with almost obsessive care.

This is exactly the kind of manufacturer that doesn’t make noise, but whose quality speaks for itself the moment you put one of their shirts on. In fact, to quote Alessandro Gherardi himself, paraphrasing Enzo Ferrari: “The best shirt is always the next one”—a pursuit of perfection that has never let up since he started out in the trade.

This philosophy shows directly in the choice of fabrics: the house works mainly with fine cottons from the best Italian and Swiss mills, and every new line is tested for several months before being approved for production. It’s this patience—uncommon in an industry so often rushed by fashion cycles—that truly sets Gherardi apart.

For the man looking for an exceptionally well-made shirt, Alessandro Gherardi is an excellent, well-kept secret. Come try it on at Clusier.