Introduction
Walter De Matteis is one of the co-founders and creative directors of KNT, the Kiton New Textures line developed inside the Kiton group. Working with his twin brother Mariano De Matteis, he helped establish KNT in 2018 as the third generation’s contribution to the family company: a contemporary laboratory for textile research, urban tailoring and sport-inflected luxury.
His role is inseparable from the collaborative authorship of KNT. The line does not present a single-star designer model; it operates as a paired De Matteis project under the broader Kiton structure. Walter’s profile foregrounds KNT’s collection history, Pitti activity and technical wardrobe rather than implying an independent house separate from Kiton.
Design ethos
Walter De Matteis’ work with KNT is centred on the meeting point between craftsmanship and mobility. The line takes cloth, construction and refinement from Kiton and redirects them through metropolitan proportions, technical surfaces, sport references and a younger rhythm of dressing.
The design ethos depends on balance: tailoring must become easier without becoming careless; sportswear must become refined without becoming decorative; and luxury must be recognised through touch and movement rather than branding alone. That balance is what gives KNT its identity.
Disclaimer
Career history
2026
For Fall/Winter 2026/27, KNT continues to define its collection language around texture and movement, balancing corduroy, cashmere outerwear, tartan checks and relaxed tailoring within a Pitti-facing menswear format.
2025
The KNT Marine capsule and SACS Strider 13 project expand KNT’s textile vocabulary into nautical lifestyle, using performance materials, fluid summer silhouettes and product design to move the line beyond conventional menswear presentation.
2025
KNT Intersection formalises the line’s Pitti presence with a collection built around converging material languages: sporty function, Neapolitan craft, technical fabrics and a contemporary reading of tailored elegance.
2024
At Pitti Uomo 105, KNT becomes a visible part of the fair’s tailoring-to-outerwear conversation, using graphic, urban presentation language to separate the line from Kiton’s quieter mainline formality.
2023
The Tottenham Hotspur partnership extends KNT beyond showroom menswear into visible sport-adjacent dressing, connecting the line’s active, metropolitan tailoring language to professional football culture.
2018
Mariano and Walter De Matteis create KNT as Kiton’s contemporary textile laboratory, translating the parent house’s tailoring and fabric culture into urbanwear, sport-inflected silhouettes and Pitti-facing collection activity.
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