One of Italy’s Most Storied Mills Is Betting Big on Suiting
Across the retail world, suiting is in retreat in favor of more casual attire. Whereas department stores and men’s shops were once thick with “nested” suits—i.e., jackets and trousers sold together as a single package, in all manner of patterns and colors—today those same racks are more likely to hang solid gray or navy separates, if any.
Which would seem to make now an inauspicious time to double—even quadruple—down on suitings. But that’s precisely what the New York-based fabric distributor Gladson has done with its launch of Best of Vitale Barberis Canonico, a new fabric book now available to custom tailors that is composed of over 170 suiting fabrics woven by the storied Italian mill. From tuxedo-ready baratheas to four-season worsteds to proper winter flannels, each of its selections is intended to be made up as a two-piece package, bucking the current trend for sport jackets and odd trousers.
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And Gladson Owner and CEO Michael Solomon is feeling bullish about the bet. “In the aftermath of Covid, with people still working from home, the reduced demand for proper suits has made it an event-driven business,” he tells Robb Report. “If a retailer is stocking any suits at all, they’re probably plain colors. The result is that the upscale, nested suit business has become a custom or made-to-measure business.”
To that end, the book is divided into three sections for custom tailors, and their clients, to peruse: “Solids,” “Fancies” and “Flannels & Coverts.” The Solids entry, whose name is self-explanatory, has considerable overlap with Vitale Barberis Canonico’s flagship Perennial book, but also contains over 20 “hidden gems” selected by Solomon from the mill’s archives, including black tie-appropriate baratheas and sateens. The Fancies, meanwhile, are patterned fabrics running the gamut from bold overchecks and glenplaids to subtle birdseyes, and feature around 30 new designs from Solomon himself. Finally, the third section collates some of the most popular woolen and worsted flannels and coverts from the mill’s existing range.
The new book serves as the culmination of a relationship that began over 45 years ago, when Vitale Barberis Canonico—whose history in wool production dates back to 1663—entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Gladson, which saw an opening in the U.S. market for the Biella-based mill’s finely woven fabrics. Among the fruits of the partnership was the ‘90s fabric book 56 Classics, to which Best of Vitale Barberis Canonico serves as a sort of spiritual sequel.
While the book is just now reaching showrooms, it’s already caught the eye of some discerning tailors—and their clients. Manuel Martinez, who operates the same-named custom business in Baton Rouge, sees the book’s inclusion of less usual yet still subtle colors—including eggplant browns and soft sage greens—as in line with what his customers prefer today.
“A lot of the gentlemen today, they don’t dress to go to work—they dress for fun,” Martinez says. “So, I think this variation of subtle designs, plaids and checks and these new colors… opens a whole new aspect of clothing for my clients.”
Cutting in colder climes, Manhattan-based bespoke tailor Leonard Logsdail has already sold a solid grey flannel from the book to a younger customer just beginning to build his tailored wardrobe, who intends to have it made up as a single-breasted jacket with peaked lapels and a ticket pocket. To the veteran tailor’s discerning fingers, it’s the fineness of a Vitale Barberis Canonico fabric—even in a fall/winter weight—that deserves to be called out.
“It’s the right weight, 11 ounces,” Logsdail tells Robb Report. “Not everybody wants those heavy 14 ounces, and the lighter eight- or nine-ounces start getting flimsy. So, they’ve hit the sweet spot.”
It should not come as a surprise, even in these leaner times, that the man responsible for an all-suitings book remains a steadfast supporter of the form.
“Even as the general population has moved to a more casual look, nothing has actually replaced the suit,” says Solomon. “What better evidence is there of this than to see so many men wearing suits without ties?”
While the present state of the tie is beyond purview of this article, the suit remains essential. And if you don’t already own one, you now have over 170 new possibilities from which to choose.
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