Super Mario

One of Portland’s top boutiques celebrates 50 years.

By Kasey Cordell

Photo: Courtesy Ryan Mcvay

View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Mario's

Mario Bisio Sr. rolls out the grand-opening sign for his new Lloyd Center store, Mario’s for Men and Young Men, in 1960. Mario Bisio Jr. would later sweep the floors, unpack boxes, and stock shelves in this store before taking over in 1975, following his father’s death.

View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Mario's

A well-dressed family: Joan, Mario Jr., Mario Sr., and Myrna Bisio show off 1950s fashion. We love: the pocket square…and that Mario Jr. already is sporting a bow tie at age 6 (ish).

View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Mario's

Mario Jr. might not have agreed with his father’s taste in clothes (he bought his high school graduation suit from another store!), but he can’t have argued with his taste in cars.

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The current Mario’s at the corner of SW Broadway and Taylor Street is actually the fourth iteration of the store in Portland. First came the Lloyd Center store (which closed in 1984), followed by a second location at the Galleria in 1977, the same year Bisio introduced the Northwest to Giorgio Armani. In the 1980s, Bisio opened a women’s store, Raguzza, across from the Galleria, and the two shops were married, so to speak, in 2002, with the opening of the Fox Tower boutique.

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Bisio shows Seattle some love by opening a men’s and women’s store on Sixth Avenue in 1982. In the ’90s, he renovates the space and introduces Seattle’s first in-store Hugo Boss shop, which just got another face-lift this year.

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Mario’s goes casual with the opening of a boutique in Bridgeport Village in 2006—the same year his store is named one of the most influential men’s stores in America by industry bible DNR magazine. The demin focus of the Bridgeport store is appropriate for the man who was among the first to bring Diesel jeans to the US back in the 1970s. The boutique’s name– 3.10– makes more sense when you view it this way: Mar10. Look familiar?

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The next generation of Mario’s? Bisio’s nephew Jake Hanover joined the company in 2008 after learning the fashion retail trade in places like Rodeo Drive. Bisio’s own children, 19-year-old Michaela and 16-year-old Nico, also have a keen interest in fashion.

View Slideshow » Photo: Courtesy Mario's

The man himself and wife and business partner, Anne, are all smiles on the steps of their Portland store. And after 50 years in business, who woudn’t be?

When Mario Bisio began sweeping floors as a pre-teen in his father’s Lloyd Center clothing store—Mario’s—Portland was all sharkskin suits and polyester shirts. But Bisio had grander dreams. He even bought his high school graduation suit from another store because he didn’t like his father’s taste. So, when dad died in 1975, Bisio filled Mario’s racks with Italian suits and something that surely caused a grave-flip: stonewashed jeans.

“I was full of youth and testosterone,” he says. “I thought, ‘Of course, Portland will get it. How could it not?’”

It did. So, too, Seattle, where Mario’s opened a second store in 1982. By the mid-’80s, Bisio was tallying more than $4 million in annual sales. In 2006, he tapped the burbs with a Bridgeport Village premium denim boutique. This month, the micro-chain—which DNR magazine named one of country’s 50 most influential men’s stores—celebrates 50 years in business, a shining achievement in light of the recent luxury market plunge (RIP Portland’s Saks, July 2010).

So what’s behind Mario’s success in a town that, until recently, held down Pluto’s position in the fashion universe? Simple: “I want people to feel confident and comfortable in whatever they’re wearing,” says Bisio, who, in 2008, earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from MR magazine. That means being comfortable with the price, too, which is why Bisio started his own moderate label in the ’80s.

Today Mario’s also carries names like Prada and Oscar de la Renta. It’s a highly curated collection: Bisio travels with his women’s fashion director, Lynwood Holmberg, at least twice a year to Italy, plus eight times to New York. If a trend doesn’t look good they won’t buy it. And because each season, Bisio likes to introduce new designers (he was one of the first to bring Diesel jeans to the US, in 1976), his attention is highly coveted at fashion events.

“Style is about how you put it together,” says Bisio. “People shouldn’t just notice one piece.”

An ensemble performance, in other words. An orchestra piece. As he pads around his store, Bisio’s own attire underscores the point: His navy blazer and khaki trousers—the strings and woodwinds—carry the melody, while the flash of his red-soled Cucinelli loafers plays bass. And the turquoise striped Paul Smith socks? Why, they’re the whimsical piccolo, singing just above his feet.