Picture this: It is a cold, wintry night in the streets of Paris. A light dusting of snow falls from the sky, gently enveloping dim, old-fashioned lamp posts that made Paris aptly named the City of Lights. A while later, the streets become covered with the cotton-like texture of newly accumulated snow — the kind of snow where you'd construct snow angels or have snowball fights.

This Parisian backdrop seems like a stage.

Amidst the calm winter night, classically dressed men wearing wool aviator bombers, sharply-tailored camel overcoats, and chunky knit sweaters, start to walk and gather around the lamp posts. The men, although dressed casually, are chic and have an air of nonchalance; they may seem sophisticated at first glance, yet they walk with their hands in their pockets. Surrounding the men are people quietly watching and observing.

Several men have now scattered around the lamp posts. Suddenly, a lone woman emerges, walks in the same way as the men did, and leans against a lamp post. Overwhelming and enthusiastic applause can be heard from the people watching. Finally, one last man appears and waves to the crowd as he takes in their joyful adoration.

No, this isn't reality; it is merely a reflection of reality. The snow is faux, and the lamp posts are a prop.

The setting described was the AMI Paris Fall/Winter 2014 Menswear show at Paris Fashion Week, and the last man who walked out was Alexandre Mattiussi, founder and designer of the brand, who vows to dress the everyday man with real style.

Alexandre Mattiussi founded AMI in 2011, and it has since grown globally with over 300 stockists worldwide — including prominent retail stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue, 10 Corso Como, and Mr. Porter — and boutiques in Paris, Tokyo, London, Hong Kong, and Beijing. According to the brand's website, "AMI offers a stylish and comprehensive wardrobe that blurs the boundaries between both casual and chic," a core value of the company that is not only evident in their clothing but also serves as what made the brand appeal to a broad audience.

"I like the idea of dressing as many men as I can," says Mattiussi in an interview with The Business of Fashion. "It's the proposition of real clothes for a real man." Real in the context of high-fashion is an understatement; Rick Owens, Maison Margiela, Saint Laurent, are among some of the most revolutionary brands in Fashion (capital "F") who consistently produce conceptual fashion-forward clothing. For all their grandeur, they certainly deserve respect. But that's not what AMI is trying to be. Compare and contrast AMI's shows with other brands, and you'd instantly think, "I would wear everything here."

Real, indeed.

The concept of reflecting reality in AMI's clothing is at the heart and soul of the brand's designs. Jim Nelson, former Editor-in-Chief of GQ Magazine, attended AMI's show in 2014 while wearing a coat designed by the brand. "Tonight I witnessed somebody reaching a whole other level," says Nelson. "He designs for how men want to look."

Check out Alexandre Mattiussi's style uniform: A pair of jeans, a white t-shirt, a navy sweater, a coat, trainers, and his "red little beanie." Those are the type of clothes that AMI offers, but much more — wearable every day, yet crafted so beautifully and cut so precisely that the concept lies in the details.

"Ami" in French means "friend," and it is an extension of Alexandre Mattiussi both literally (His initials and last letter of his surname spell AMI) and figuratively — the brand's values and clothes reflect his positive, authentic, and friendly personality. In fact, after AMI's show in 2014 at Paris Fashion Week, Mattiussi opted to have beer and pizza with his friends and family at his apartment that he shares with his boyfriend in Pigalle. On Saturday mornings, Mattiussi usually rides his Vespa to visit his friend's café to have some coffee while having a laid-back conversation; then, he visits a nearby AMI store to feel connected with his customers. For one of the most well-regarded figures in the fashion industry today, Mattiussi chooses to live a simple yet fulfilling life.

Mattiussi himself is the embodiment of AMI.

This kind of authenticity certainly doesn't just begin developing in the prime years of life. Mattiussi's desire to be rooted in reality stems from his childhood — one filled with imagination and creativeness in the picturesque countryside of France.

Born in Gizeux, about 70 miles away from Paris, Mattiussi knew from the beginning that he wanted to express himself through a creative point of view. At an early age, Mattiussi dabbled in singing, dancing, and sketching. Little did he know that the convergence of these artistic pursuits would be his calling.

Inspired from the ballet Swan Lake by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Mattiussi decided to take up a ballet dance course in Gizeux at four years old, where he was the only boy. Despite the circumstances, Mattiussi's parents were fully supportive of his first big decision, which gave him the confidence to be comfortable with his choices.

"I was a kind of Billy Elliot," Mattiussi explains about his passion for dance. "I was completely in my world doing it."

However, the pursuit of a career in ballet came to a halt when Mattiussi was 14 years old when he participated in a dance tryout at the Palais Garnier Opera House, which included hundreds of kids who were all ready to do whatever it took to succeed. These kids would shove each other backstage, without a care in the world about the other participants. Mattiussi didn't like this competition aspect of dance, especially when his main driving force for practicing dance in Gizeux was his love and passion for the medium.

A day after, Mattiussi quit ballet and set his sights on his next venture: a creative journey into the fashion world, filled with the same love and passion he had for dance.

The transition to Fashion was a natural switch for Mattiussi, who cut and designed his costumes as a ballet dancer. For three years, Mattiussi studied at a technical baccalauréat specializing in the arts about 24 hours away from Paris. Mattiussi quickly found that he loved what he was studying and after graduation, enrolled at the Duperré School of Applied Arts in Paris, where he studied Menswear Design.

From the beginning, Mattiussi's career in Fashion began in menswear: his first couple of internships were in menswear, and at 21 years old, he worked at Dior Homme under then Creative Director, Hedi Slimane. (Albeit indirectly as he worked on the 30 Avenue Montaigne line, separate from the super-skinny silhouette that Slimane brought to the house.) While working at Dior, Mattiussi started the first iteration of AMI in 2002 when he started selling t-shirts and shirts in New York and Italy. But, it didn't seem to be growing; he was able to sell about 800 shirts per season, but with his lack of experience and a supportive team, he decided to close it down.

Mattiussi didn't close AMI due to its growth, however. In an opportune moment, Mattiussi received a call that Ozwald Boateng was going to be the next Creative Director for menswear at Givenchy, and he was looking for designers to join his team. Boateng — one of the most reputable people in menswear fashion who pioneered the modernization of Savile Row bespoke tailoring — wanted to infuse his unique blend of tradition and modernity into the luxury french house. Mattiussi saw this golden opportunity as a chance. After arranging his portfolio, he decided to apply for the menswear team at Givenchy.

And a chance is what he got. On February 13, 2004, Mattiussi started working at Givenchy, where he looked up to Boateng as a father, who gave him — alongside a few designers — the keys to be able to create collections for the house.

Givenchy served as Mattiussi's fashion school much more so than his time at Duperré: he learned about pricing, fabrication costs, and how to work with a production team. Mainly, Mattiussi was able to figure out how to build a collection for men, which requires the ability to offer a range of clothes that are organized and balanced.

Boateng's tenure at Givenchy lasted for four years, and he was replaced by Riccardo Tisci, who wanted to embed dark and sensual themes into the house. After Boateng's departure, Mattiussi chose to remain for only one season under Tisci, when he noticed that Givenchy was becoming too "high fashion" for him. 

In September 2008, Mattiussi moved to New York and worked at Marc Jacobs, but he started to feel disconnected from Fashion. Mattiussi looked to his experience working for big fashion houses and had an epiphany: most of the clothes that he was designing were clothes that he could never afford nor wear himself. 

After meeting with Marc Jacobs Chief Executive, Bertrand Stella Bourdillon, Mattiussi decided to revisit AMI in 2011 — only this time with the realization that he won't be able to do everything by himself. Mattiussi immediately saw success: AMI's first menswear collection for Fall/Winter 2011 was bought and sold exclusively in the US by Barneys New York.

Mattiussi started to establish AMI as a brand in Spring/Summer 2012 with a full men's wardrobe, which included everything from linen Prince of Wales checked blazers and denim to even swimwear and underwear. The collection was presented at a cafe in Marais arranged as an impromptu get-together with friends, an unstructured yet approachable way of presenting stylish garments that the brand would echo in later collections. For Fall/Winter 2013, Mattiussi took inspiration from real-life situations; models debuted the collection in a mock-up of a metro station at the Boulevard Beaumarchais in the 10th arrondissement in Paris. To Mattiussi, the metro was an inspiring place because "you see people from different horizons seated together for a quick instant."

During that same year, Mattiussi won the prestigious ANDAM award, a gateway for young designers to be able to present at Paris Fashion Week, an award whose recipients include the likes of Martin Margiela, Christophe Lemaire, and Anthony Vaccarello. 

AMI's first collection at Paris Fashion Week for Fall/Winter 2014 was an instant hit for the general audience and buyers alike. Despite not having the kind of storytelling through art that other brands have, it's amazing that AMI has managed to stand out, but it's for exactly that reason that AMI holds it's own ground. "Beneath the sequins and the glamour, fashion is above a commercial vocation," says Mattiussi in an article for Numero. "My responsibility as a designer is to offer clothing that's destined to be worn." Since then, AMI has been a mainstay at Paris Fashion Week; they regularly debut their main collections — along with pre-collections and collaborations with other brands — to the allure of buyers who wish to stock AMI's clothing in their retail stores. 

It's important to mention that the models in AMI's shows are multi-ethnic and span different builds from skinny to muscular, another way for Mattiussi to reflect reality in his clothing. "I do this job for only one reason: to see my collection on people," says Mattiussi in an interview with GQ UK. "Success in Fashion should mean just that." 

The need for connections in building a successful brand hasn't been forgotten by Mattiussi. AMI collaborated with Gap and released a collection in 2017, a prize from Mattiussi winning the GQ Coolest Menswear Designers on the Planet award. On the collaboration, Mattiussi said, "I liked the idea of working with a high street brand, they dress people from all walks of life." Mattiussi continues: "It fits with my design philosophy of seeing the clothes worn on the street, my objective is not to have them end up in a museum." The connections don't stop with brands either. One of Mattiussi's main driving forces are his friends (it's why he named the brand "AMI" after all.) While AMI has always been a menswear focused brand, Mattiussi's friends are both men and women. 

So, during the Fall/Winter 2018 season, AMI launched "Menswear for Women" as a way to address Mattiussi's love for dressing his friends. Take note, Menswear for Women. Much like girls wearing their boyfriend's clothes, Mattiussi hopes the same can be reflected in AMI's womenswear collections — baggy, relaxed, yet cool clothing like hoodies and sweaters.

Mattiussi's connections extend to his business partners as well. AMI's CEO, Nicolas Santi-Weil, was co-founder and Executive Director of the fellow Parisian brand The Kooples. While Santi-Weil experienced success at The Kooples, he was entranced by AMI's aesthetic and affordable price point. Santi-Weil was the entrepreneurial-minded person that Mattiussi needed; with his help, AMI was able to gain an audience in China, where the brand has retail stores in Beijing and Chengdu. 

Not only does the brand have a physical presence in the form of boutiques, but in October 2019, AMI held its first fashion show in Shanghai, where they plan to launch a subsidiary soon.

Aside from AMI's retail presence, another key factor for the success of the brand is its online marketing. Look anywhere from social media sites to e-commerce stores, and it's easy to figure out that the brand's most popular items are those that include the heart logo; Mattiussi calls it ami de couer, meaning "AMI of hearts," a play on the ace of hearts card. AMI is not only popular online because of its logo; on menswear forums like the Male Fashion Advice subreddit, AMI's carrot fit trousers and shearling jackets are the most popular, which members appreciate for their fit and quality. 

Despite AMI's success and growth, Alexandre Mattiussi still feels disconnected from Fashion. These days, handling AMI has centered around the business aspects like increasing profits with the right strategy. Mattiussi just wants to focus on designing clothes; he looks up to designers like Helmut Lang, Paul Smith, and Giorgio Armani, who were all able to create clothing that stand the test of time. Mattiussi doesn't see AMI as a "trendy" fashion brand, nor does he see the brand turn into one in the future.

Much like his days as a ballet dancer, Mattiussi is a designer purely for the love and passion for being one. "What excites me is to see that the best is yet to come," Mattiussi says about what keeps him going in regards to handling AMI. 

Whether it's being playful, friendly, positive, or real, AMI and Alexandre Mattiussi are one and the same. Perhaps it's difficult to find meaning within his designs, but maybe the real story lies in the real memories linked to wearing AMI and knowing that someone is proud of what you're wearing.

Check out more of my writings on The Dabbler Effect Blog and my published articles.