Ennio Capasa left for Japan in 1982 to work for Yohji Yamamoto, after studying fashion and urban project design in Milan. Four years later, he returned to Milan to start his own label, Costume National—a name inspired by a book of uniforms—and launched his first ready-to-wear and shoe collection for women in 1987.

Not wanting to deprive his own sex, Capasa started Costume National Homme in 1993, blurring the boundaries between formal and informal men's wear to balance modern, ready-to-wear and the Italian sartorial tradition.

Praised for heralding in the “new Italian design” movement (i.e. hypermodern innovations on classics), Capasa has always been known for his architectural precision in draping men’s and women’s necks, hips, and shoulders with impeccably tailored suiting, trench coats, and casual wear in body-hugging leathers, silk knits, and denim.

His refined urban style comes from the interplay of black and white, gloss, mat, and transparencies to show cuts and shadows and underline details.

View our C'N'C Costume National collection now.