Gentlemen,
It is not without a certain pride that I have the joy to present to you the latest creation of Lorenzo Cifonelli, a jacket which he has graciously named "Hugo".
Lorenzo's creation is a bespoke piece of the highest design, made with fabric which is easy to move around in and difficult to compromise with stains or dirt...all the while retaining a pristine traditional style.
Besides the beauty of the design, equally exciting is the function of the jacket, which has an enviable drape, is resistant to wrinkling, and refuses stains. Further, the jacket moves with the body while doing activities like intense travel, cycling, or riding on a scooter.
To serve as an example, we find ourselves traveling often for PG, Sartorial Talks and our books, and are faced with the thorny problem of tailored garments being tossed about and even crushed by fellow passengers and cabin crew members, many who do not differentiate a bespoke piece from a track suit. Perhaps you can think of a few stressful situations of your own when it comes to taking care of your suits?
Other scenarios which can be detrimental to clothing occur in restaurants. I can think of three recent incidences which ended in small disasters, one including a waitress dumping a beer tray on top of my table, another a waiter spilling a dollop of paté on the shoulder of a friend's bespoke jacket (which resembled the unmentionable), and yet another when a dinner guest tried to share his oriental oil-based chili dip, but inadvertently spilled the sauce on the suit of the person beside him. In the later case, two waiters appeared and sprayed the man's bespoke jacket down with a foamy white chemical which in the end, did not remove the stains.While these anecdotes are more exceptional, we can all say that we've splattered red wine, spaghetti sauce, or olive oil on our clothing at some point in our lives.
Weather mishaps also occur; for me, usually when late for an appointment, caught unaware in a downpour of rain, finding myself disheartened by my soaked flannel jacket, which has lost its shape from the weight of the water.
I now realize that these nuisances could be solved by a simple change of fabric---a fabric which is still 100 percent virgin wool and all natural with no chemical treatments.
Master Tailor Gaetano Aloisio introduced us to the fabric mill, Drago, and soon after we arranged a visit to meet owner Paolo Drago at his mill in Biella. The mill was pristine in cleanliness and order, with no expense spared for high tech equipment, including a vertical washing and drying system we have never witnessed before then.
Our attention was drawn to the Rugby Flannel, a "multi-functional" fabric proved to be particularly revolutionary. The cloth is:* relatively light (300 gr)* a natural stretch fabric with NO synthetic materials like elastane* 100% virgin wool* water repellent and wine and oil resistant,* breathable.
To attest to the sustainability of the cloth, Rugby Flannel fabric is woven to imitate the structure of the stem of the lotus flower, which is known to be impermeable by nature. The same method is also used for another Drago fabric (210 gr) - christened "Blue Feel". Both Rugby Flannel and Blue Feel provide the comfort and performance features while remaining breathable and eschewing the use of chemicals or synthetic components.
After pouring wine directly onto the fabric, we can see the results in this small video we recently put up on Instagram: Tissu Blue Feel
You who know me are familiar with my opinion on the race among fabric mills for extreme finesse in super numbers (Super 280s and above), which has touched the limits of what nature is able to offer (with wool being a natural material yielded from the shearing of sheep or goats). A more interesting pursuit than super number ambition is that of discovering methods and configurations of weaving with these same natural materials--to enhance the thermal, stain resistant, and technical properties of the fabrics of our suits and coats.
In discussing these innovations, I bear no offense to the purists who swear by "vintage" fabrics or flannels of 400 grams (which I also love). However, fabrics of a new generation, when made without synthetic material, is also able to bring something to the table, with improvements like durability, comfort and easier maintenance.As for the jacket designed by Lorenzo Cifonelli, this sublime design is reminiscent of his famous Yak wool jacket QILIAN.
The jacket is produced in a limited edition (and numbered up to 15) in Rugby Flannel 280gr for winter and autumn. For a spring/summer version, the jacket is also available in the lighter weight Blue Feel cloth (210 gr).
Lorenzo Cifonelli and Drago have come together to create one of the highest level design, versatile, comfortable, easy to maintain classic sports jackets out there, made to endure the test of time and the challenges of life.
Cheers! Hugo
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For any information request or for any reservation of this exceptional piece of bespoke tailoring, please send an email to hugo@parisiangentleman.fr
