Renaissance men, step this way.
To devotees of classic sartorial elegance—especially those who indulge that passion on Instagram—Alexander Kraft needs no introduction. But any those late in the room, the CEO and owner of Sotheby’s International Realty France–Monaco is, as well as an international businessman, a celebrated aesthete, tastemaker and style icon (he was Cifonelli’s brand ambassador for more than 10 years).
An enthusiastic collector of art, antiques, classic cars and fine wine, Kraft is followed by hundreds of thousands of admirers on social media platforms, where he offers a curated glimpse into his world (one which also includes cocktails—his take on the negroni, the Kraftoni, made with Comte de Grasse’s 44N Gin, is the stuff of legend on the Riviera—and the finest Dominican Republic cigars.
In 2020, at the behest of thousands of his style-obsessed followers, he launched his own menswear label Alexander Kraft Monte Carlo. Befitting Kraft’s own sartorial niche, the brand’s garments (which are crafted in small, family-owned workshops in Puglia using cloths by Vitale Barberis Canonico, Loro Piana and Drago) are all about timeless gentlemanly elegance: “An ethical antidote to fast fashion, with sartorial details and a bespoke feel,” as he puts it.
The tailoring blends Savile Row-inspired elements – full-or half-canvas constructions, high armholes, flower loops under the lapel, working buttonholes, nipped waists – with the lightness and charm of Italian tailoring (shorter cuts, half-linings, barchetta pockets). and ultra-luxurious, natural materials from the likes of Vitale Barberis Canonico or Loro Piana.
Wool/cashmere Bridge coats, Portofino jackets and waistcoats, Gurkha trousers, long-sleeved polos in lightweight cotton, jeans, knitwear and suede loafers (the shoes are all handmade in Portugal by a traditional cobbler) are also in the mix, with garments displaying the same quality, in terms of materials and construction, as those by the most elevated menswear brands on the planet, but with more accessible price points.
“My collection was born out of the wish to make my personal style accessible to a larger audience without compromising on quality,” says Kraft, who describes Gianni Agnelli, Stavros Niarchos, David Niven and Cary Grant as his personal style icons.
Kraft’s first physical retail space opened in the heart of Monte Carlo in 2024, and has since evolved into something of an unofficial gentlemen’s members’ club. He’s always planned to open this side of The Pond: and now, his retail zone at 475 Park Avenue on the Upper East Side – in the city where he began his career at Sotheby’s more than 27 years ago, as a management trainee at the auction house – has flung open its doors.
To call this a “menswear boutique” would be to miss the point somewhat. “I wanted to create a universe where people just want to come into my bubble, and to share the passion,” he tells Robb Report. “I’ve replicated, in many ways, my shop in Monaco—the Empire style furniture was hand-made in Italy, for example, and the antique chandelier shipped over from Italy. There’s my beloved polo sticks. I have some Chinese vases. I want to put an old bike in the shop – an old BSA or Norton or triumph or something – and I want to have a little gentleman’s corner in the back where you can look at coffee table books, and have a Kraftoni.”
The distinctive apparel from Kraft’s own creative niche – “Reminiscent of 1930s and 1940s Hollywood glamour mixed with a healthy dose of 1960s Riviera style,” as he puts it – shares a space with the bespoke shoemaking endeavours by Kraft’s long-time friend Tommaso Melani of Stefano Bemer.
The whole Alexander Kraft Monte Carlo brand is, he says, based on his personal lifestyle. “Ralph Lauren dreamt up a lifestyle, and then sold it—for me, it was the other way around,” he says. “I made my own life in a completely different field, and had this passion for all things sartorial, then created a brand based on it.”
