Bologna | Pusher Barber Shop

There’s a new place in Bologna where the concept is as vintage as the décor, where vintage signifies the very finest of a time past. And about now there’s nothing more contemporary than that. Pusher Barber Shop offers the ultimate in old-fashioned barbering: the professional service that’s practically a pampering ritual delivering clean-cut as well as cutting-edge styles. And it teams up, in the new concept store, with New Deal Gentlemen’s Goods: clothing and accessories for just those dedicated followers of non-mainstream fashion who embrace the old-time barbershop culture. So who’s behind this cosmopolitan combination? Stefano Ziosi is the hairstylist. A local boy apprenticed to the trade at age 16 who fast climbed the creative ladder and fine-tuned his approach and technique by looking to London and Vidal Sassoon. His salon in Via Ferrarese already had cult status. And Antonio Ghedini is the partner in fashion, a Bolognese textiles entrepreneur with his own hipster brands in need of a flagship store.

The whole concept is a tribute to their roots in this city which throws down the gauntlet to any other fashion-conscious metropolis, in or outside Italy. They’ve entrusted it to consummate professional look-makers Davide de Martino, barber, and Lele Novelli in the wardrobe department (fresh from L’Inde Le Palais). The Ghedini brands fit the bill for quality and high style without breaking the bank, also fundamental to the store’s distinct identity. In particular the GZC line of casual chic in fine fabrics, plus expertly-tailored shirts and those signature floral or otherwise-patterned waistcoats from Guya, young and fresh but made to last. Other labels, not home-grown but patently up to standard, cover footwear and more accessories requirements: they’re mostly Italian and some artisanal. And then there’s the signature Moustache coffee cup…

The whole works, then, all the urban gentleman of the 21st century might require for perfect grooming, in Piazza Roosevelt, within shouting distance of the main shopping drags and Piazza Maggiore itself. A more serendipitous address would have been hard to find. And that ultra-cool shop fitting I mentioned, inspired by a 1930s and ’40s tradition but positively flaunting bold contemporary detail? That was achieved with the collaboration of Antonio Mastrorocco, architect, designer and artist, lately specialising in high-end showroom and concept retail installations under a project he’s called One Off, in which reclaiming, upcycling and restyling old stuff is the order of the day. By the way, hairstyling at Pusher Barber Shop is for girls too, as are some of the accessories in the store and why not the whole dapper look? They’re more than happy with that at New Deal and Pusher, agender being right up their street.