Brioni Cashmere & Silk Jacket

Full Canvas Construction

A sartorial jacket - or coat - needs an interlining that will help give it shape and mold it. Canvas gives the item a tailored and crafted look. In short, it breathes life into it. Purely technical, canvas is made from either horsehair, wool, mohair or camel hair. It could also be a mix of them all, with varying thickness and weight. The canvas is stitched to the jacket, often by hand, thus making the canvas pieces 'floating' in the middle of the inner and outer cloth. This gives the jacket added flexibility. The canvas runs from the upper parts, all the way down to the end of the jacket. After you wear your canvassed suit for a while, it will begin to take your shape and look incredibly natural.

Roman Style Shoulders

Characterised by a clean, strong silhouette, the Roman style has its origins in the military and equestrian style on Savile Row. While the heavily structured, military-inspired suits with strong shoulders and stiff canvassing were fitting of English nobles, the staid style was not an adequate reflection of the Italian way of life. As Italian tailoring grew into its own, though, different styles began to develop. In Naples unstructured whimsical Neapolitan suiting took hold. In Rome, where Brioni was born, the style evolved more subtly. The structured British style was made more voluminous, body conscious, and free-flowing without losing too much of the signature Saville Row shape.

Milanese Buttonhole

Also known as an ‘Asola Lucida’ buttonhole, the Milanese is made using a piece of thread called a ‘gimp’, which is tightly wound around it by a whipstitch to give the style its characteristic thread showcasing look. Achieving Milanese perfection is a delicate 15-minute process and something only a quality tailor can provide - no machine can imitate it.

Two-Button Closure

The jacket has a two-button closure which keeps the profile neat.

Chest pocket - Rounded welt pocket

Also known as ‘barchetta’ Italian for ‘little boat’, it is so named because this pocket floats on the chest gently angled upward, just like the bow of a sailboat. These pockets echo the lively roll of a lapel that carries the spring of canvas and natural wool, unlike machine-made chest pockets that have a more stamped-out, rectangular shape and less life.

Darts

The tailors adds two darts - think of them as pinched seams - to ensure the jacket’s body achieves a slim silhouette. The process, called mezzo punto riprese, is done entirely by hand.

Unfinished Sleeve

Pre-owned, not loved - yet. The buttons have to be set and the buttonholes have to be created by your local tailor. The (horn) buttons are enclosed within the left inner pocket.

Patch Pocket

Patch pockets, with their rugged functionality, were unsurprisingly adopted by the military for both shirts and jackets.