Isaia Red Gingham Check 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.

La Spalla Camicia

Spalla Camicia roughly translates to 'shirt sleeve' in Italian and is a shoulder style created and popularized by Neapolitan tailors. The name 'shirt sleeve' was so coined due to the characteristic shirring found at the sleeve's head where the fullness of the larger sleeve collapses. Rather than having the head of the sleeve turned back and stitched inside, the head is lapped under and stitched along the top.

Handmade Buttonhole

Handmade buttonholes are made using a chain of knotted loops called purl stitches that make them strong and visually distinctive. It takes about five seconds to sew a regular buttonhole with a machine – a single handmade buttonhole takes about 10 minutes to sew.

Red Coral Pin

Isaia finishes off its blazers with a red-coral pin, which in Naples (Isaia's homebase) is meant to bring good luck.

Two-Button Closure

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

Barchetta Chest Pocket

The barchetta pocket is often thought to be a tailoring detail exclusively from Italy. The word “barchetta” is Italian for “little boat.” It describes how the pocket floats on the chest, gently angled upwards, like the bow of a sailboat.

Neapolitan Darts

Neapolitan master tailors add 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.

Mother of Pearl Buttons

Mother of pearl buttons are iridescent buttons made from an inner layer of certain shells. Especially shells of oysters and mussels that contain nacre, the mineral substance that forms pearls. What makes these buttons so iconic is their inimitable pearly finish.

Patch Pocket

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