At our Tailoring Symposium next week in Florence, we have six of the greatest tailors in the world presenting their styles to the audience of press and buyers: Panico, Cifonelli, Edward Sexton, Richard Anderson, Liverano & Liverano, and Anderson & Sheppard.
The six have been picked for their quality, but also for their variation in style. On the night, the head cutter of each house will use a suit being worn by a younger member of the team to describe and demonstrate their style. We want to show the wider media – coming from the bright colours and flashy models of Pitti – how subtle differences in shoulder, chest and waist create such beautifully varying effects.
Each tailor is also making a unique piece to display at the party afterwards, so the guests can see the styles for themselves, up close. These pieces are all being made in Vitale Barberis Canonico cloth, and the photos here are of some of them being made. (Flannel, blues and double breasts proved to be very popular.)
The chosen styles and cloths are:
- Panico: Blue chalk-stripe flannel suit (Antonio cutting it, above)
- Cifonelli: Royal-blue double-breasted flannel jacket (Lorenzo, with his Father Christmas beard, shown top)
- Edward Sexton: Cream flannel jacket
- Richard Anderson: Dark-blue 4-ply worsted suit with red stripes
- Liverano & Liverano: Midnight-blue barathea tuxedo
- Anderson & Sheppard: Double-breasted navy flannel suit
Anderson & Sheppard
Cifonelli
Richard Anderson
Edward Sexton
Panico
Liverano
By coincidence, do they all happen to be your size?
Ha, I wish. No, they are all actually being made to perfectly fit the tailors’ own dummies, so that our display actually demonstrates how the tailors approach fit. That’s pretty rare – most of the time they are just all put on standard dummies, so the fit is never that good
Very interesting project, it’s rare to have the possibility to compare tailor style at the same time.
Will there be a vid of it?
We hope so, at least something. But we don’t have the budget for a full-length film, no
This is great—can’t wait.
Is it me, or has the A&S cut changed over the last few years? It seems less roomy and certainly more waisted than their signature house style. Sacrilege or progress?
Interesting choice of cloth, while I like their Revenge range but VBC cloths generally are too light weight and a bit ‘soft’ for most tailors……specially their flannel, it’s just way too delicate, according to an off Row tailor “lasts 5 minutes”
Not my experience, but it does tend to be softer yes
Fantastico!
Just imagine a permanent forum in which young cutters exchange from a tailor to another (for exemple Anderson & Sheppard young cutter work with Panico,and a young Neapolitan cutter with Anderson & Sheppard) in a sharing of experience and style!
Hi Simon,
Do you know much about King and Allen or have you had any personal experience with them yourself? I am after a navy flannel suit with a Neapolitan/shirt shoulder and am wondering whether they can do it? You otherwise recommended Graham Browne to me for this particular style.
Thanks.
Hi – no I don’t, though why don’t you use Solito or Caliendo? I’d always suggest a Neapolitan for a Neapolitan cut
Simon
I tried K&A three or four years ago. They struggled to make a run of the mill business suit (buttoning point on the first jacket was incredibly low; shoulders on the second were well off and very heavily padded) so I wouldn’t hold out much hope for a Neapolitan cut. It was admittedly only around £350 but would have been far better off going RTW somewhere else. A relatively inexpensive, but valuable, lesson regarding cheap MTM. You can do a lot worse than the Havana fit odd jackets from Suit Supply.
What a great idea albeit, I’d have liked to have seen a different choice of cloths and cuts. It could have been more interesting to see some linens and corduroys.
That said, it could also have been interesting to see them work with exactly the same cloth — that would have been a real exercise in style!
I also don’t understand why A&S always field their DB. In my not so humble opinion (IMNSHO) it’s their SB that is their killer. I recently took delivery of a SB in 13oz linen and it is absolutely fabulous. I had them cut the trousers slim with side fasteners and with the exception of patch pockets (excluding the breast) went with their full on house style two button, double vent jacket and the result is great.
I just love their relaxed style and always like to feel that I’m wearing the suit and not the other away around. I hate this trussed up look.
Thanks David, we wanted a more formal elegant theme as the event will be in the evening during a cocktail party. But I agree, linens and corduroy would have been nice.
We also considered doing just one cloth but I fear that might have been too subtle for the mainstream press we are hoping to connect too
please have a word with Richard Anderson’s tailor about his shirt and shoes.
Well he’s his own tailor, but sure
Hi Simon. Do you know which blue chalk stripe flannel cloth was used in the Panico suit? Thanks, Richard.
It is in the VBC Original Woollen Flannel bunch. Not easy to miss
Thanks!
Sometime in the future it would be interesting to see a range of work from provincial Tailors. Some people who have posted on your Blog have alluded to this subject in the past. There are many talented people out there and they are not getting the coverage they deserve. On this point I did feel that The Rake had turned a corner when they featured a young shirt maker from Clapham, regrettably that has died a death and all we are reading about is the work of “Superstars”