Brioni. Few other names in the world of gentlemen's clothing carry as much weight. But what makes Brioni so special, and so expensive?
"THE HISTORY" "As it happens, all the defining innovations in menswear in the past half century go back, in one way or another--and usually the route is direct--to Brioni.
The bold use of color and texture in fabric, the international approach to silhouette, the emphasis on the telling and meticulous detail, the men's fashion showings, the celebrity customers, the very idea of "name" recognition itself. Brioni not only changed the face of Italian menswear, it helped redefine contemporary luxury." Quoted from "A Pattern of Excellence" by G. Bruce Boyer - published in the September/October 1998 edition of Cigar Aficionado "THE FEELING"
Hand-sewn suits take about 22 hours to make and are said to fit as comfortably as sweaters, molding to the body of the wearer after about six months. They are virtually unadvertised and for the most part remarkably understated.
"THE COMPANY" Brioni is currently the suit of choice for James Bond! Other customers include Nelson Mandela, Peter Jennings, Al Pacino, and Riccardo Muti. Brioni has also dressed Clark Gable, John Wayne, Sidney Poitier and Tony Bennett.
"THE QUALITY" "You have the [Brioni] shop and the tailor and the creative collaboration between the two, so the suit comes out with a soul...[Brioni's] tailor shop...is staffed with master tailors that have been with the company for 40 some years...Take the suit apart. Moving backward we can unravel the 2,000 stitches that hold together each lapel. The five layers of fabric, padding, horsehair and lining that give structure to a jacket breast. The 180 individual and expertly administered steam pressings that each jacket will receive before the label is sewn in. We can deconstruct it back to the Italian horn buttons, the yarn that is split into two strands for fineness no mill will make, the suiting fabric that has been shipped here from one of the fifty mills Brioni employs and tested for quality...and then thrown out on the table and cut into twenty five pieces with scissors by hand, suit by suit, tracing the lines drawn to specifications...each of which is decoded by the tailor Enzo Fiore." Quoted from the article "From Baaa to Barneys" - published in GQ magazine.