The story of 5mc2 starts from friendship, hustle, and a simple but powerful idea: to play with fashion. During the first lockdown co-founders Simone and Carmine — childhood friends currently separated by miles — started exchanging sketches and ideas over Zoom, with the common desire to make clothes. What began as a playful experiment quickly turned into a full-fledged company, guided by the motto that still defines them today of ‘kids playing around’.
From the beginnings in Molise, a small region in Central-Southern Italy, they immersed themselves hands-on in every step of the process, from scouting fabrics and denim across the centre of Italy to managing a constantly growing team. Each piece now reflects their passion, creativity and dedication, designed not just to be worn, but to inspire the younger generations to ’hustle hard’. That's how 5mc2 has grown into a vibrant community through events, common passions and values — all while staying true to the hands-on, authentic approach that started it all. The following interview explores the journey and milestones that have shaped 5mc2 into the brand it is today.
The beginning of 5mc2: how did your journey start, and what inspired you to launch your own brand?
In the beginning, we didn’t have a manifesto or a well-defined strategy - just the desire to make clothes. I (Simone) had just finished high school and knew I didn't want to start university; I wanted to put myself out there, right away. Carmine, on the other hand, was starting Graphic Design at Cambridge university. It was 2020 and, driven by pure enthusiasm, we began exchanging ideas and sketches without imagining it would turn into a real project.
In 2021, we launched our first t-shirts and shirts - a small productions that immediately received great feedback. Back then, the market in Italy was much simpler, with very few other players besides us. Today, it’s far more complicated, with new brands appearing every day — and even low-quality dupes of our pieces! Is it annoying? Yes, but also proof that we’re making an impact.
One of the strengths of 5mc2 that led us to success is the communication strategy, thanks to Giovanni, who since the very beginning took on communications and marketing. He has been involved since day one: Giovanni was in fact the first person we reached out to in order to figure out how to express our ideas and what we were building. He has been leading the brand’s entire communication vision — from community building to interactive games, from social positioning to the development of iconic campaigns like “Choco Feeling” and “Monday Dreamers”. We always say that behind every crazy or impactful idea we’ve brought to life, 99% of the time Giovanni is behind it.
Today, we’re a well-established company, offering full collections - accessories included - and steadily refining our brand identity and concept.
A fun fact: it all started almost by chance! Before COVID, a streetwear store in Campobasso asked me (Simone) to develop a t-shirt collection for their local brand. They knew me as a customer and trusted my eye for trends, even though I lacked technical design skills. The first person who came to mind was Carmine, a childhood friend who moved to the UK and was studying graphic design. I had been following his projects on social media and decided to asked him if he’d like to collaborate, and he immediately accepted! Then the lockdown hit: I was in Italy, he was in the UK, and we spent hours every day on Zoom designing the graphics for t-shirts. We developed a lookbook and presented it to the store owners, but we never heard back. That’s when we decided to launch the project ourselves. And that’s how the story of 5mc2 began. It all started with the idea of being just ‘kids playing around’ — a phrase that became our motto. We strive to bring that vision into every collection, making our pieces playful and fun, inspired by icons like the Bratz dolls. Each design is meant to spark joy, express creativity, and remind our customers of freedom and curiosity.
What are the key features or qualities that have made 5mc2 stand out since day one?
Research, passion and being a little naive. While exploring local or international clothing stores, we realized that there were very few high-quality products available at accessible prices. So, we decided to fill that gap: we were driving from Molise across all Campania, spending long days searching for companies, partners, and suppliers of fabrics and denim. We chose not to take the easy road, that means outsourcing production abroad or relying on a design office to make decisions for us. Instead, we decided to experience the entire process hands-on, from the very beginning to the very end. It was more challenging, but it allowed us to truly understand how this world works and ultimately led us to build a real company. Even today, together with our production and marketing team, we still manage everything in-house, from A to Z. The products we create are the same products we wear ourselves — we are our own customers — which ensures they meet the needs of the people of our generation who share our interests and values.
Also, we were among the first emerging brands in Italy to integrate digital advertising as part of our strategy from the very beginning. Giovanni started crafting a digital strategy since the beginning, managing everything from paid ads to e-commerce, making it possible to maintain visual and communicative consistency.
On the influencer marketing side, rather than investing large budgets upfront, we chose to collaborate with micro-influencers and local rappers, building genuine connection and an authentic relationships of trust.
What projects or achievements are you most proud of?
We are extremely proud of the overall quality of our products. Product research is our true passion — we dedicate an incredible amount of time, resources and energy to it.
For example, our entire denim collection (particularly our camo denim) was developed in collaboration with Fabritex, an Italian company highly specialized in denim production, working with some of the leading global denim brands. They craft unique weaves, designs and yarns for raw denim garments. Our jeans are made with the same level of quality as those from brands like Louis Vuitton, Amiri, Gucci, and Givenchy, yet remain accessible at a sustainable price point for a Made in Italy product.
What makes us truly grateful is when customers, upon receiving and wearing our pieces, immediately notice not only the aesthetics but also the quality behind our label. The brand itself is maturing and evolving alongside us — reflecting the different stages of our lives and those of our generation. This allows our loyal customers to grow together with us.
Moreover, we can truly say that 5mc2 feels like a family. We have built a real community that goes far beyond the product itself, bringing people together through shared passions like interior design, art, music events — particularly through our “Kids Make Noise” format. Everything is constantly evolving: every aspect of the brand is in continuous growth. We are working to shape a complete and coherent brand identity, one that embraces every dimension. Step by step, we are expanding our team, our spaces, and our offerings, mainly in terms of accessories, growing steadily and authentically along the way.
And of couse, we are very proud of where we come from, Italy and especially Molise. We consider it as an advantage more than a challenge, and we would like to inspire young generations in our region to hustle hard and follow their dreams.
I guess dressing an international star like Billie Eilish was also a big step in the evolution of your brand identity and awareness. Would you tell us more about this opportunity?
Absolutely, it’s such an amazing story! Actually, they came to us, they noticed us on Instagram as Billie wears mainly vintage, custom Gucci and Chanel or emerging brands - and we went all the way to Los Angeles to deliver the products. They contacted us on a Tuesday, and within two days we sent over our lookbooks for the selection, we put the pieces Billie selected into production — they were unreleased items or special colorways created just for her — and on Friday we flew to Los Angeles with a suitcase full of clothes and dreams. We had no certainty, only the hope that the fittings would work out and that the artist would decide to wear our looks. In the end, everything went perfectly!
Stylist Dena Giannini was waiting for us at the Hollywood Hills and welcomed us with great enthusiasm. Billie wore all the different looks on different occasions, and we were truly thrilled with the whole experience. It also allowed us to start expanding our business to the US.
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Clara Ferrati
Fashion editor and archivist based in Milan currently working as SMM/copywriter; enthusiast about fashion history & trends, music, cinema, social media.
@clarafrt