Fashion / Feature
More than just AlrightMate: design, community and ‘the act of belonging’
Luca’s journey into fashion was not planned.
He left Italy around a decade ago, seeking something more open. “Back home, it was closed,” he said. “There was a lot of racism, lots of pressure to just study, work at the post office, and that was your life.
I was raised around individuals from all over, and I had wanted to live abroad, so I picked Bristol, not knowing anyone here.”
Luca moved to Bristol from Italy nearly a decade ago
When lockdown hit in 2020, Luca, like millions of others, was furloughed. Bored and isolated, he designed a T-shirt to mark the infamous Bristol attraction – The Bearpit.
This design sparked many future designs, and before he knew it, AlrightMate had kick-started.
The breakthrough was followed by a design inspired by Turbo Island in Stokes Croft, which Luca recalled “went crazy”.
As famous for social commentary as late-night parties, Luca chose to substitute Patagonia’s classic mountain logo with the scene.
The design was an instant hit and took Luca’s humble dreams to new heights: “I did markets, events, everything with just that T-shirt. It showed me there was something here.”
From there, Luca embarked on taking AlrightMate seriously, just not in the way that most clothing brands would.
AlrightMate created a campaign T-shirt for Bedminster-based food charity The MAZI Project
Luca said: “I didn’t want it to just be clothing. Any art, whether it’s fashion, painting or music, has to be an extension of yourself.”
The result is a brand that doesn’t shout fashion elitism. Instead, AlrightMate is all about humour, community, and storytelling.
Luca collaborates with Bristol artists, photographers, and DJs regularly, integrating his designs into the fabric of the city.
“I want to include the whole of Bristol,” he said. “I’ve discovered a side of the city I didn’t know existed since last year – all these amazing creatives.”
Alongside releasing collections, Luca interviews locals and posts their stories online, a concept he said started by accident.
He began by taking photographs and writing captions, only to realise “no one reads long captions.”
Since then, he’s spoken to restaurant owners, tattooists, and everyday locals and documented their connection with the city for his series Tales of Bristol.
Owner Luca says he would love to have his own storefront
“You sit with someone for half an hour, you don’t know them at all, and suddenly you feel close. Different backgrounds, different lives, but we share the same feelings,” Luca explained.
This ethos soon extended to charity collaborations, including creating a campaign T-shirt with Bristol-based food charity and community kitchen, The MAZI Project.
“It felt important to give something back,” he said. “If the brand is about Bristol, then it has to support Bristol too.”
The brand is now in a handful of local shops, including Curbside Ethos in The Arcade and a vintage store on St Michael’s Hill.
Luca said he would love to have his own storefront, but for now, he’s realistic. “It would be incredible, but rent is crazy. Maybe one day.”
Despite everything he’s made, Luca hesitates to call himself a creative. “I don’t know,” he said. “In Italy, creativity wasn’t as supported as it is here. I never thought I had it in me. Still don’t, sometimes. I feel like an imposter.
“But maybe Bristol brought it out in me.”
Label or not, Bristol doesn’t seem to concur. AlrightMate is quickly becoming one of the city’s most authentic fashion stories—a label rooted not only in clothing but in people, places, and the messy, beautiful act of belonging.
And if Luca has his way, the legends of the city will keep on being spoken, stitched into fabric, murmured across cocktail bars, proudly worn through the Bristol streets.
All photos: AlrightMate
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This article originally appeared in Bristol24/7’s November/December 2025 magazine.
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