For some, largely those of Neapolitan extraction or who had heard of the brand five years ago, Rubinacci is a bespoke tailor. For others, mostly followers of The Sartorialist and the Cult of Luca, it is a readymade boutique stocking the knitted ties, handkerchiefs and heady colours the younger Rubinacci has made famous.

Mariano Rubinacci, Luca’s father and current owner of the house, is keen to emphasise that Rubinacci does both. Bespoke is still the majority of the business, even in London. But readymade and accessories are expanding quickly: Rubinacci launches its first wholesale line in Harrod’s in September. Fittingly, the collection is entitled ‘Luca’s Wardrobe’.

“Bespoke is still the mainstay of the business,” said Mariano when he met Permanent Style during a visit to London this week. “Our version of a hopsack is been incredibly popular this year, for example.”

That cloth is woven exclusively for Rubinacci in England and is a lightweight but rough worsted with an open weave. Only available in navy, grey and pinstripe, it was introduced six years ago and has been a mainstay of the house’s summer collection ever since. The silk lining makes it even lighter, as does the lack of any lining in the arms – something English men will find particularly unusual.

But without any personal experience of bespoke at Rubinacci, it is inevitably the ready-to-wear that catches my eye. The reversible cashmere jackets – modelled by Luca in his advertising for the new Harrod’s franchise – unlined tweed overcoats and knitwear all have wonderful individual touches. The pink tweeds, in particular, could only be dreamed up by Luca. The graphic, almost Inca-like print scarves are slightly less to my taste. The suit underneath has to be pretty plain to pull those off.

The silk scarves handkerchiefs famously feature scenes from Neapolitan history or landscapes surrounded by figures of the day, usually designed by Mariano. Not that you can see any of that when a handkerchief is poking from your breast pocket, but the variety of colours does make them very versatile accessories.

“We always try to include a little of Naples in the designs,” says Mariano, “whether that’s Vesuvius, the palace or the opera house.” The latter is the oldest continuously active venue for opera in Europe.

Ties are soft, floaty but strictly speaking untipped rather than unlined. They come in three-fold and seven-fold, both hand-rolled at the tip and the latter containing significantly less lining than the former. Indeed, the seven fold’s lining begins so far up the tie that it is pretty irrelevant to the hang of the front blade. The bar tack is unusually high also, adding to the flighty flow of the silk.

“In Italy, tipping was introduced in the last century just because there was a scarcity of women that could hand-roll the edges,” says Mariano. “It began to be machined down, or sewn roughly, and then covered up with the extra layer of silk. We like to do it the traditional way.”

Then there’s the lime umbrellas, some with big knobs of wood for the handles. And the china, the fragrance… Men of the world should feel pretty lucky that the taste of Harrod’s – and the development of Rubinacci’s new website – means they will soon have broad access to a true innovator of cloth and colour.

There was a generation of tailors in Shanghai known as the ‘red gang’ early in the twentieth century that fused techniques learnt from Russian, British, Japanese and Chinese tailors. They formed their own approach and their own training system, putting all new recruits through a three-year programme (similar to many Savile Row houses) before allowing them to cut trousers and, later in their career, move on to jackets.

Houses like WW Chan and Baroman are descendants of these tailors. Mr Chan himself took apprenticeship in a tailoring shop at the age of 14 (in 1936) before enrolling in a tailoring school and learning the ‘red gang’ trade. The Ningbo fashion museum in China, which features a long history of the gang, also holds a few of Chan’s artefacts, including his ring.

WW Chan founded the shop in Hong Kong in 1948, and handed the business down to his son Peter. Today there is just a handful of these Shanghainese tailors in Hong Kong, who have resisted the temptation of mechanised production and high turnover. Chan’s cutting and tailoring, for example, is still all done on site. That’s a stretch beyond even most Savile Row tailors today (though it does help that Chan owns the premises).

Interesting to know how a different group of tailors arrived at similar practices on the other side of the world. And if anyone reads Chinese, they can peruse the Ningbo museum.

For those that are interested, Patrick Chu, head cutter at WW Chan, will be over in London from May 13th to 20th. Suits are usually around $1500 to $2000 and, the way Chan works, have the option of a basted fitting the next time Patrick is in the country (usually every six months). If you can make it to Hong Kong – or the US where the team visits every three months – the process can be quicker.

The current Chan site, while the full one is being updated: wwchan.com/special

“All of our jackets and trousers are sold separately, even if they match,” points out Clive Derby, owner of new menswear brand, RAKE. In these few words Derby is summing up not just his brand’s ethos but also the direction of men’s tailoring today. Suits are being split up and mixed with casual gear in new and unlikely ways. A formal jacket worn with jeans, T-shirt and white Converse trainers no longer garners comment.

Take RAKE’s high-twist wool and cashmere Prince of Wales check jacket. It can of course be bought with matching trousers to make a suit. Or, it would just as smartly sit a-top straight-legged darkest denims, grey flat-front trousers, even white jeans; for each of these combinations creates: a dressed down weekending banker, a casual Friday lawyer and even an Ibiza-bound party animal. Mixing tailoring with sports and casual-wear offers up a range of possibilities for the wardrobe, turning it into a running buffet rather than a set menu.

“When I was thinking about the collection I had Serge Gainsbourg in mind,” says Darby, referencing the crumpled elegance of the Gallic crooner, lothario, and yes… rake. Darby, with a background in buying and retail development with smartest labels Browns, Richard James and Kilgour understands men’s classic clothing consumption, with a depth of experience gained from over 20 years in the business.

He also seems to be designing for himself, looking low-key smart and relaxed wearing a navy cashmere sweatshirt and fine jersey flat-front trousers from the brand’s next collection. He looks like a sophisticated design tutor as he talks me through the range.

There’s a particularly fine dark-navy ‘one show one’ double-breasted jacket that, indeed, could be a Serge Gainsbourg cast off. It’s only missing the whiff of stale Galloises. Importantly for this first collection, the suit block is slim without being skinny. The RAKE customer is in his 30s or 40s, and is not trying to look like a youngster in body-hugging clothing.

There’s subtle branding too. “It’s the RAKE ‘halo’,” says Darby, pointing out the fine hand-stitched buttonhole found on the back of shirt collars and jacket lapels. “And look at our labels too,” he enthuses, “RAKE is about subtle difference in fabric texture and the label is formed by three built-up fabric layers. It’s that attention to detail we know our customer appreciates.”

With a collection this considered, it’s no surprise that even seemingly simple accessories like silk neckerchiefs are cleverly designed so the merest tug while tying it under the chin makes it look rakishly right. A feat even Hermès versions struggle to emulate. Or a simple waistcoat that is reversible, flipping between navy and grey.

Gainsbourg of course would be wearing his stained with Claret and cigarette ash, but then again so might you.

RAKE available from September 2010 at Matches
Shirts from £188 and jackets from £985
rakestyle.com

My tailor, Russell, recently lent me the tailoring book he was passed by his old boss at Kashket’s, the military tailors, when he retired. Dan and Russell still use it for reference on particularly unusual jobs like riding britches or certain coats.

The book has no cover. Its front is merely the beginning of Chapter 1 – Some Problems of the Tailoring Trade, by F. Chitham (Director, Harrods, Ltd.). Through good fortune and no doubt some decent treatment, this front page has survived without mark, despite the lack of a cover. And the back of the book is merely page 274 – the end of detailed descriptions on how to cut a West End Morning Coat.

The book therefore has no title. But through a little research, I have discovered that this is volume one of The Modern Tailor, Outfitter and Clothier, by A A Whife. Whife was the technical editor of The Tailor and Cutter, a trade magazine that was published from the 1850s until the 1960s. Volumes two and three apparently go into clerical dress, court dress and women’s wear. Which is probably why Russell only kept volume one.

The fact that this is only the first volume also explains why there is no index. A reference system would seem to be indispensable for a guide like this, which aims to teach cutting in no small detail.

On page 162 one can follow the instructions for a pattern of the ‘coat-frock’, which though full in the back as we consider a frock coat to be, has a belt that cinches in the waist. There is one alternative pattern, on the following page, but this is for a coat-frock with “Magyar shoulders; short sleeves; square neck; gathers on hips.”

As I read my way through this guide, expect occasional blog posts on interesting patterns and points. To start with, though, Mr Chitham’s introduction. It begins with the cheery note that “the Growing Competition to which the trade has been subjected … is the greatest problem of all, and is peculiar to the bespoke tailoring trade, in that it is a competition which threatens the very existence of many hundreds of persons engaged in the business.” The decline hasn’t stopped, really, since he wrote that a century ago. Though there are fewer hundreds threatened today.

He goes on to recommend that tailors should not become too specialist, yet should concentrate on one ‘class’ of trade: “it is impossible to make a ‘cheap’ suit today and a ‘good’ suit tomorrow.” Some houses that have pulled back from ready-to-wear should perhaps have learned their lesson here.

And finally, Chitham thinks it absolutely necessary for salesmanship that “every tailor should be extremely particular about his personal appearance, in order to create a favourable impression. He must also cultivate a pleasing manner.” I’ll have to show Russell that bit…

Italian brands like Canali, Corneliani, Zegna and Pal Zileri all place a lot of emphasis upon the family ethic of their production and the hand-made nature of their suits. At least with the highest brand-within-a-brand, such as Zegna’s Couture or Sartoriale at Pal Zileri, there is a pride about buttonholes and sleeveheads being sewn by hand. (The latter being a question of comfort, the former more of status and aesthetics.)

While not quite reaching the heights of Brioni or Kiton, these four brands all make very well constructed suits and have individual devotees. One thing that I have always felt stands out about Pal Zileri, though, is the design.

Last year I remember browsing the Pal Zileri store on Bond Street and becoming fascinated with an unlined, unconstructed cashmere overcoat. Navy on the outside, orange check on the inside. It seemed so unlike anything I had seen in any comparable brand. Needless to say, when I came to researching this piece last week, the overcoat had sold out, the last few pieces snapped up in the sale.

Yet there was still no lack of design quirks on display. Not all unique to Pal Zileri, perhaps, but symptomatic of the psychology behind the brand. One unlined blazer I looked at, for example, had a very neat little floating pocket sewn to the inside hip. While not necessarily innovative, it was very fitted and sharp where those of other brands can seem like rather an afterthought.

That same blazer also purposefully left its internal seams open along the sides of the jacket and under the shoulders, so you could see the horsehair-and-cotton lining and delicate shoulder pads. Also, mother-of-pearl buttons on black cashmere.

I also like the fact that the trouser cuffs in the Sartoriale range all have buttons that attach them to the trouser leg, so you can let them down when they’re being cleaned. And the buttons are identical to those on the front of the jacket, only smaller.

The internal chest pockets also extend above the opening as well as below, to help hold cheque books or particularly long wallets without making the pocket too deep. And there’s standard details like coin pockets and split waistbands.

Around 70% of the Sartoriale jackets are handsewn, with a particular focus on sleeves, buttonholes and linings. There’s always a handsewn loop behind the lapel to secure one’s boutonniere as well. The cloth is always cut by machine, though, and the next option up is made-to-measure rather than bespoke.

Pal Zileri is a relative newcomer to the UK, but one with a growing fanbase. Its emphasis on design is also clear from the more experimental Lab range, which now has its own dedicated store in London’s Westfield shopping centre.

Photography: Andy Barnham

[Part one of this feature can be read here]

In 2003, you and your cousin Massimo took control of the family business after starting in the workshop in 1993. Have your customers changed over the years?

Of course. When I started my career in the family workshop, we were known as a classic, serious, discrete, almost confidential house. At that time most of our clients were 50-year olds who dressed in bespoke, whether because of family traditions of because of their body shape.

Back then, we made a lot of suits, but we had far fewer clients. For instance, we often made 10 or 15 suits for one single order. Nowadays, even though we still have a few very loyal clients that order several suits, our clientele is much more diverse in terms of age and income.

Who are these new clients?

They have been getting younger every year. They don’t choose bespoke out of necessity or because they can afford to, but because they want to. Unlike our traditional clientele, our new clients are around their 40s and only order a few pieces every year. However, they are much more demanding in terms of sartorial awareness and education.

Some guys in their 30s even come to us for their first bespoke suit. Very early on, these guys are trying to create their personal style and venture into bespoke very thoughtfully. Their demands in terms of style and customisation cannot be compared with what we saw in the 1990s.

Do you think this new clientele emerged from a natural market trend or was it triggered by Cifonelli being more open to a contemporary style?

There really is a trend for customisation and gentlemen are more and more aware of all aspects of personal style. However, I think that the decline in our clients’ average age has more to do with us becoming more open to bolder and more modern lines, and more aware of the new needs of modern gents.

When my cousin and I took the business, we started to travel a lot to expand our client base in Japan, the US and some European countries. Both of us were 35 at the time. At that age, you’re always more sensitive to trends and, most importantly, to the needs of your new clients. They are demanding, always on the go, and not willing to compromise on elegance, no matter how, when and where they were their suits. This is how we gradually modified the cut and the lines without touching the fundamental elements of our reputation.

Where does the Cifonelli line come from?

I think that the Cifonelli style is original because it was born out of the best elements of three sartorial traditions:
- Italian tradition of course, with a strong accent on style, flowing lines and softness (sometimes at the expense of quality of assembly)
- British tradition, with a military heritage that inspires its very structured design (at the possible expense of comfort)
- French tradition, including Claude Rousseau whose career ended with us and who contributes another aspect: precise detailing, quality finish, topstitching, arrowheads, buttonholes…

My grandfather was trained in cutting in England at the beginning of the century. Very quickly, he learned how to blend the British technique and his Italian sensitivity. Soon after he moved to France, he added a French touch to his style, and the Cifonelli signature style was born. By the way, we still take all the measures in inches.

Let’s get into details. Part of the Cifonelli signature is the shoulder. Karl Lagerfeld says he can recognise it 100 meters away.

It is true that the shoulder is very important to us and that ours is quite particular. It is very bold and forward, to streamline the silhouette without losing the masculine and manly aspect. To make this type of shoulder, we have to use our own construction technique, which we have been using for decades [the sleeve is felted wet with an iron before stitching].

Although it is our most famous hallmark, there is a lot more to the Cifonelli style. Our suits have a rather small chest, and the jackets are cut smaller at the front than at the back. The line is always our ultimate priority. It must streamline the body and be very masculine. Details and finish are equally important: we always stitch the buttonholes with Milanese rolled thread (difficult to use) and are quite particular about lapels: we position the notches quite high.

Right now our 35 workers [the largest bespoke team in France] on Rue Marbeuf make about 800 suits every year. We recently developed a line of very original sports jackets that has brought us to a completely new clientele that is more open to bolder pieces.

In 2007, you reopened the store below the bespoke workshop on Rue Marbeuf. It offers traditional ready-to-wear and made-to-measure. What prompted this decision?

The idea of renovating and reopening the store was simple: access a broader clientele and offer high-quality traditional pieces at good prices.

Even though it’s not bespoke, it is the same Cifonelli quality and the standards are just as high. We draft the patterns for suits and coats that are then assembled in Parma in an excellent traditional workshop. The close proximity of the boutique and bespoke workshop gives clients access to a wide array of fabrics and offers them alterations and finishing that meets our standards. So for about €2,000 euros they can get a quality suit and a taste of the Cifonelli experience.

We are seeing connections between the boutique and bespoke as well. Some clients move on to bespoke from our high end RTW. So there is a genuine consistency in the approach, even if the two client bases remain fairly different. It takes money to move up to bespoke but more importantly you need a lot of patience, a rare quality in the 21st century.