Marlboro Classics Men

I TOLD my friend that I was going to interview the business director for Marlboro Classics and after a short pause, he went: “Ah, the cowboy brand.”

If you are of a certain age, you’d remember the old Marlboro advertisement where a bunch of cowboys huddled around a campfire and then put out the fire with what was left in their mugs. For many, that image stayed.

There are certain connections between Marlboro Classics and the American outdoors that can’t be shaken off, such as horses, hats, ropes, checkered shirts and boots — think Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain.

But here’s the thing: Marlboro Classics isn’t even an American brand. It’s Italian. Produced under licence from Philip Morris by Marzotto SPA, a family company known for producing textiles, the brand started in the 1980s.
“The United States was where everyone wanted to be then. The sense of nature and freedom that Americans have are different from that of Europeans and that was exciting.

“Of course, more than two decades have passed and the Marlboro Classics men may have swapped their horses for Land Rovers or even Porsche Cayennes,” said Federico Ruffo, Marlboro Classics Asia business director.

“The brand is less ‘raw’ and more sophisticated but its essence remains — Marlboro Classics is all about the American outdoors, the desert and the wide open spaces,” he added.

For its latest campaign, the brand engaged British Olympian swimmer Mark Foster for a shoot in Wyoming, Nevada.

“We cannot run away from the brand’s history as we continue to improve and make the brand relevant to current trends,” he said.

Ruffo said the label is targeted at established entrepreneurs and as weekend wear for successful men who “wear suits on workdays and want something stylish but durable to go hiking in on weekends”.

Being produced by an Italian textile empire has its perks. Marlboro Classics’ clothes are made of 100 per cent cotton while its range of leather goods — such as bags and leather jackets — are still designed and produced in Italy.

The brand has stores all over Asia including Macau and the Philippines, so the expansion to Malaysia was only natural. The store is located in Starhill Gallery, Kuala Lumpur.

“Given the present economic situation, it may not seem the best time to get into the market but I’m hopeful that it will be over soon,” Ruffo said.

The brand is looking at opening three more outlets in department stores in Kuala Lumpur.

Ruffo said the brand produces 400 items per season and some of the bestsellers are its polo tees, belts, footwear, jeans and cargo pants.

“My personal favourites are the jeans and polo tee. They are sporty and I can go hiking and walking on the beach in them.

“We are not doing anything new. What we are doing has been done before and will be done again in the future. We just want to update certain styles and give our customers more quality goods and fine detailing,” he said.