● Case Study
REMUS UOMO
RE-IMAGINING AN ICONIC TAILOR FOR A NEW GENERATION
Remus Uomo is one of the largest Men’s Formalwear brands on the island of Ireland. As their agency of record, we have guided them through a brand transformation designed to build on their 100 year old family legacy by embracing a bolder future of tailoring. Now stitched into fabric of the brand, the words “Belfast Not Milan” are both an ode to their truth as Belfast's oldest family of drapers and a reminder to always stay true.
"Nobody wants to
wear a brand unless they
believe in what it represents."
Our journey together began in the summer of 2019 when we met brothers Adam + Michael. For thirty years, their family business had grown and grown on the back of its strong reputation for formalwear but with Men's fashion becoming increasingly casual the idea of ‘traditional tailoring’ was blurring by the day. They needed to find a way to carefully thread the brand into the world of casualwear while continuing to build on their family’s 100 year old legacy and strong reputation in formalwear.
We looked at the world of men’s fashion through the lens of Remus Uomo’s audience, and realised there was something missing. The landscape was overwhelming, pretentious, and boring - missing a brand who could meet them on their own terms. We knew we were speaking to a generation who could see through the bullsh*t. Remus Uomo actually had an incredible story, they just hadn’t figured out a way to tell it yet. And at the heart of that story was their home; Belfast.
Belfast, The Linen
Capital of the World
A little known fact is that Belfast was the linen capital of the world in the 1930s, known then as ‘Linenopolis’. That’s where Remus Uomo’s story began, when Dixie Finlay was working as a draper in the heart of the linen district. Travelling back and forth to factories across Italy to source fabrics, he discovered what tailoring could be and brought that knowledge back to Belfast, opening the door for his sons and grandsons to follow. His love affair with Italy is what inspired the Remus Uomo name.
We fell in love with this story; generations of brothers passing down decades of craftsmanship, and Belfast’s forgotten legacy of fashion and garment-making. If Remus Uomo weren’t going to tell that story, who was?
It was time for them to proudly stand over their roots, by bringing the true history of the brand front and centre.
The Manifesto
Belfast not Milan
It was originally the family's love affair with Italian tailoring that inspired the name "Remus Uomo".
Later on, this lead to confusion around the brand's origins. We wanted to bring the them back to their roots land the brand in Belfast.
The big creative unlock for how we’d narrate this story came from creating a long and definitive list of things that the brand is NOT, and then we realised, that was the answer.
The words ‘Belfast Not Milan’ represent much more than a tagline. It’s the ethos of the brand; a reminder of where they come from, a statement of pride, a hymn sheet for the future.
THE ICON
The icon represents the brotherhood ethos, suggesting the illusion of one face rather than two, underpinning the seamless power of moving in step together while still celebrating individuality.
Bringing the brand to life
From the moment we introduced this honest, down-to-earth attitude, everything started to move. The answer was always there for them, it was just about telling their story at the right time, in the right way.
Once they had that voice and an understanding of their own positioning, we could begin to build a community and a world around them.
