Why This Niche Italian Fashion Label Is the Ultimate Pajama Party
Photographs by Matteo Cherubino
How often do you think, Oh, I wish I could just stay in my pajamas all day? That idea certainly crossed the mind of Italian designer Francesca Ruffini, a self-professed sleepwear devotee who, after years of working as a consultant for a commercial sportswear brand, founded her own line of silky pajama-inspired clothing, For Restless Sleepers, last March. The clothes, a mashup of menswear silhouettes and vintage patterns, could be considered the antithesis to athleisure, which is influenced by performance gear rather than luxurious, laissez-faire attire. “I really hate to stay at home, but if I do, I want to look chic,” Ruffini tells Yahoo Style. “Even if I don’t have to see anyone, I think it’s important.”
She’s not the only one. After getting picked up by Net-a-Porter in its first season, the line quickly became a go-to favorite for top editors at fashion bibles such as Vogue and W, who would wear the elegant, boldly patterned pieces as pantsuits or with jeans. It wasn’t long before the bright colors and glorious prints caught the attention of zealous street style photographers, who took to Ruffini’s colorful, menswear-inspired designs like catnip. In fact, it was F.R.S. (not Gucci) that put the whole pajamas as ready-to-wear look into motion. Not that Ruffini is particularly into fads. “You can live forever in my pajamas; it’s not a fashion trend,” she says.
Fortunately, the designer does not have to travel far to get inspired. She sources all her silks from local fabric factories in her hometown of Como, where she currently resides with her husband of 36 years, Moncler CEO Remo Ruffini. “It’s a nice thing for my town that I love,” she says, explaining that she regularly delves into the archives for inspiration. Her colorful prints could stem from a pattern on a vintage tie that she found alluring, which she’ll then remake as a bigger, brighter motif. Or she’ll ensconce herself for hours in vintage issues of Vogue found in her personal library, which features over 2,000 fashion tomes. She loves to infuse color into her designs, as well as contrasting piping and the scripted F.R.S. monogram.
“My tastes are what drive me,” says the woman who is known for pairing Vans with her signature look. And if you think F.R.S. is remotely influenced by lingerie, think again. “I don’t like pajamas that are overly sexy,” she says. “The design is based off of men’s pajamas. They are more masculine than feminine, but with the fabrics and bright prints, we offset the masculine element.”
For Fall 2016, she turned to another one of her passions — vintage jewelry — to inform her designs. She took some of her favorite heirloom pieces and replicated them multiple times onto silks to create a camouflage-like effect. She is also introducing wool into the collection for the first time, since “silk is not always what you want to be wearing during winter.”
Her heightened awareness of the cold could be attributed to her husband’s thriving outerwear business. “He does influence me,” she says with a laugh. “When I explained to him this idea, he gave me a lot of power to believe in myself. He told me to be confident and believe in my taste. Only after two months did I realize that his business is dressing for the cold winter outside and mine is the complete opposite.”
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