It takes Brioni specialists more than 200 steps to put together a Su Misura suit cut just for you, and the first step takes place even before a master tailor can take out his tape measure.
by Aaron de Silva /
July 3, 2015
Menswear doesn’t get more personal than the bespoke suit. And for a long line of dapper dressers stretching from Richard Burton to President Barack Obama, the go-to name in the intimate world of bespoke is Brioni. The Italian fashion house prides itself on adhering to the same rigorous codes of craftsmanship it instituted back in 1945. This includes buttonholes hammered by hand on site, and jackets pressed more than 80 times to help contour fabric to a client’s body shape. Each of the 220 steps involved in creating a single suit is done in-house in its nearly 50-year-old factory in Penne, Italy.
The old-school art of tailoring is a tradition that the brand takes very seriously. So seriously that it founded an institution in 1985 – Scuola di Alta Sartoria Nazareno Fonticoli – to ensure that the expertise is passed down through generations. The arduous journey to becoming one of Brioni’s master tailors begins here, with students entering as young as 14 years old, and only the top 15 from each year taken on as apprentices at Brioni’s facilities.
It is the unique relationship between the tailor and the client that differentiates Brioni’s most exclusive Su Misura suit. Here, a new pattern is designed from scratch specifically for the client, unlike “made-to-measure” which involves adjusting a pre-existing, standard size pattern. In fact, every aspect from fit to fabric is conceived with the client in mind. The result is a garment customised to an individual’s personality, lifestyle and ideal look.
For our step-by-step guide into the making of Corthay bespoke shoes, Bentley Mulsanne and Roger W. Smith Great Britain timepiece, download the digital edition here.