Tre Mari Bakery transforms their products into items for casual wear

By: Teresa Valenton

A local bakery has reimagined the limitations of fashion by incorporating their products into clothing pieces. While pulling inspiration from the immigrant story, Tre Mari Bakery has brought communities together by creating a space to purchase groceries.

Founded by Jim and Mary Deleo in 1960, the bakery has provided a cultural hub for Italian immigrants in the St. Clair West area. They have brought individuals together through shared experiences of food and other Italian events.

On Oct. 7, the bakery launched an online fashion show featuring the “Tre Mari” collection. With a vision of representing decades of community service, they sought to create a unique concept tailored to the family-owned business. 

Visuals were an important feature when deciding the creative direction of the fashion show. By taking inspiration from Versace’s SS2021 campaign video, “this one just felt right,” said Mark Savoia, the “Tre Mari” collection designer. 

Prior to the show, Savoia had started working with an AR designer to create an Instagram filter for the event. It featured a breadbasket headpiece, which later became the central idea for his designs.

Moving beyond conventional fashion, he wanted to create a fresh take on the ways food and fashion intertwine. “It had a contemporary art feel to it, all these things were happening and we wanted to see what could work,” said Savoia. 

All pieces that were featured in the show were constructed out of real bread. Savoia recalls the red hats as one of his favourite pieces. Made out of rye bread, he got to manipulate the materials to construct a new type of accessory.

“I thought dry bread would be better to work with because you can cut and carve it like a solid, versus soft bread, but in actuality the soft bread was much easier to work with,” he said. 

Keeping community members in mind, Savoia had an idea of who would be wearing the pieces in the show. By keeping these vast personalities in mind, he says each design was tailored to every model. From production planning, to the models featured in the show, all hands were on board behind the show.

“Everyone who was involved just felt part of the community,” said Franco Deleo, third generation co-owner of Tre Mari Bakery.

For Deleo, taking inspiration from customers worked to the advantage of the bakery.

“Producing all the stuff, showcasing the food products and involving the community in such a full way aligned with the values of the brand,” he said.

There was a spontaneous feel to the show as the bakery wanted to capture the warmth of the community first-hand. Although there were technological challenges, individuals were receptive to the idea of an online fashion show. The tight-knit St. Clair community was quick to support the show in any manner.

“I think that level of trust made us feel like we were heading in the right direction. They did not even question it,” said Deleo.

With the launch of clothing pieces, Tre Mari Bakery created a window display that would entice individuals to check out the business. Rather than viewing the show as a business strategy, it was seen as an opportunity to give back.

“We want to be smart with the marketing, but we also want to have fun and not take everything too seriously,” said Deleo.

Due to the success of the show, Tre Mari Bakery wishes to continue creating new merchandise in a visual medium. Keeping the community in mind, they want to push the boundaries of how bread can be recontextualized.