A New Toronto Brand Making Seriously Fun Undergarments
Get to know Dante’s Mutande Shop.
Dante Mazzariol has always had a passion for well-made clothes, but until he started designing undergarments, he didn’t know how to start making rather than just wearing them. “Because I don’t have a design background, I was thinking of ways that I could get into this field that wasn’t printing on T-shirts,” Mazzariol says. “So approaching it in a slightly different way, I came across undergarments and thought that I could have a unique spin based on the story that I want to tell through them.”
Mazzariol’s story—of his family, travels, film photography, cars, and myriad other passions—is encapsulated in Dante’s Mutande Shop, the undergarment line the Toronto native launched in November 2024, on his father’s birthday. It is just one of the many connections between the brand and his family that Mazzariol has imbued Dante’s with. A line drawing of his father serves as the logo, and the trades practised by his grandfathers, a butcher and a barber who both immigrated to Canada from Italy (mutande is slang for “underwear” in Italian), inspired the utilitarian word “shop” in the brand name. “I like to pull friends and family into the brand when I can,” Mazzariol says.
Consisting solely of socks and boxer briefs, the Dante’s Mutande Shop catalogue is full of simple yet refined designs that let the brand’s personality shine via their bright colourways. “If you look at the undergarment scene, socks and underwear in particular, it is very commoditized. There’s no personality or it’s hard to find brands with personality,” Mazzariol says. “I don’t take things too seriously. Like, yes, it is a business, but ultimately I think it’s nice to have fun with what you do.” However, while fun may be the name of the game when it comes to the Dante’s Mutande Shop personality, it in no way means that the quality of its designs is anything but super serious. Produced in family-owned factories in Italy and Portugal, the socks and boxer briefs are made from premium cotton and to exacting specifications—with the resulting garments riding the line between breathability and sturdiness.
As with a good long walk on a warm Italian summer day, Mazzariol is happy taking things slow with Dante’s Mutande Shop. “I’m okay with growing slowly, perfecting the undergarments, sticking to socks and underwear for now, and then potentially moving into undershirts,” he says. If and when the first Dante’s undershirt does arrive, it is bound to have some serious personality, but don’t hold your breath for a print.
