The Curious Case Of Grandpa Button

Interview By Serena Pezzato
Photos By Tommaso Fiscaletti

Franco Jacassi surrounded by ten million buttons. This is what he had to say about his leather jacket: “I love this jacket. It’s a riff on the traditional smoking jacket. Once I sold it to a boy who wore it perfectly. The next day he returned it, saying his girlfriend didn’t like it. I suggested he dump her.”

Vice: How did you first get into vintage clothing?

Franco Jacassi: So fashion wasn’t your first love.
Talking about that, how did your particular passion for buttons develop?
Yeah, buttons have an amazing sound!
Tell me a bit about the history of buttons.
They were an indicator of social status.
Wow. Were buttons used for other non-functional-to-the-closing-of-your-pants activities?
How romantic. Men used to be much more sentimental.
So the proliferation of buttons can be seen as a sexual-liberation barometer?
Plus, zippers are dangerous.
For sure. “Cute as a button” is one of my favorite figures of speech in English.
So what designers were most into playing with buttons?
Last question: How many buttons do you actually own?
Whoa. Well, thanks for your time, Mister Button.