Brioni

The high fashion clothing company, BRIONI is the best example of timeless style. From the beginning the name of Brioni has been a synonym for luxury and faultless Italian taste. Today famous politicians, royalty, aristocracy, world known businessmen, and celebrities are all clients of Brioni.

History
Brioni was founded in 1945 by master tailor Nazareno Fonticoli and fashion designer Gaetano Savini when they opened their first suit shop in Rome. The company was named «Brioni» after a resort on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Many fashion designers were guided by the clothes of aristocracy and the political elite who visited this seaside town. Their dresses, suits and tradition became a symbol of quality.

Immediately after the end of WW2 Brioni began to revive the elegant classics. This step was accepted with enthusiasm. Interest grew among with the quantity of their collections and the sales increased dramatically

Brioni designs have always had an international appeal, satisfying both Italians who were looking for a new style, and foreigners, who were happy with the absence of the excessive Puritan stiffness that then dominated the English style of men's suits. So the exclusive style of BRIONI, which created loyalty within the aristocracy, was born.

For the first decade BRIONI managed to introduce into the world of fashion the new prêt couture style, the so called «continental style.» These elegant and comfortable clothes were created for an active life, emphasizing brightness and even some peacock pride.

Soon, the number of clients was rapidly growing. In order to satisfy their needs, Brioni opened a factory in Abruzzo, Italy, where professional tailors created the masterpieces of that brand. Later, the company expanded by acquiring a shirt factory, a leather fashion house and then a line of women's clothing.

In 1952 during the ITALIAN HIGH FASHION SHOW, a significant event happened - for the first time in history, male fashion models were sent to the runway, and they were wearing courageous BRIONI suits. The show made an indelible impression upon the American «fashionable» elite. Most of all they were amazed with the abundance of colors: One particular crimson suit made a furor.

BRIONI managed to win the hearts of the real experts of men’s fashion. The warm relations between Brioni and Hollywood are evidence of this. Clark Gable, Harry Cooper, Henry Fonda, John Wayne and Kirk Douglas, quite often came to Rome to VIA BARBERINI to be dressed. Beginning with the first movie in 1962, James Bond was often seen in a Brioni suit.

Philosophy

What is the essence of Brioni? It is essentially surprise. Surprise with bold color, a silhouette, and future trends. Starting in the most conservative area of men’s fashion, Brioni has walked a razor’s edge. But for more than half a century Brioni has kept its balance through excellence.

«We are engaged in style, not a fashion. Our interests are the long-term things that can be changed only when people themselves change. It means that modern fashion designers’ belief that ‘the suit is dead,’ has no value for the company with such a long history.»

Today, BRIONI makes suits by the same methods, as in 1945, the essential forms do not change. The secret of their success lies in the fact that Brioni management constantly follow their customers’ lifestyle trends. For example, by the end of the 50's when air travel became more popular, Brioni's designers developed crease resistant menswear for traveling and an active lifestyle. In this way, they didn't miss a chance to fill this niche.

According to the BRIONI philosophy, all changes come from the client and don’t depend on designers who easily get bored with their own ideas. Fabrics that Brioni uses became lighter, more durable and wrinkle resistant. The jacket for traveling, which was made in 1965 on the order of a private client, is still very popular. Its form and 17 pockets have remained unchanged since then.

Hand crafted work

Each garment requires at least 18 hours of work. Plus breaks which are spent on sewing all the details together. Wool is a vivacious material; it should allow your body to breathe. That is why the suit will be pressed 184 times during 2 months.

There is a college for tailors established by BRIONI. This institute is unique - it offers capable students a four-year curriculum by masters of BRIONI.

As a result BRIONI, unlike other similar companies, has its own source of the fresh ideas from enthusiastic young students.

«This enthusiasm is based on deep knowledge of fabric and method of sewing,» - Jean Franko de Мате, operating manufactory manager said.

Today 1,200 people (mostly women) work at the factory. They work non stop and sew 300 jackets a day by hand. The only people who are not involved in the process directly are tailor-auditors who attentively examine, and sometimes reject each «sleeve» at any fabrication stage.

According to representatives of the brand, 60 women work on each shirt just sewing buttonholes and it takes 10 minutes to make one buttonhole.

«If the lapel is not embroidered by hand, it would be too rigid; - they say – everything must be done by hand... Just because it’s better!»

Fabrics.
In the room where Brioni patterns are created you can see a lot of fabric rolls.

These are most expensive fabrics on the shelves: silk tweed, cashmere, linen from Ireland and North Italy, the best quality wool. All fabrics are stored at special temperatures. Manufacturers of new fabrics often choose Brioni to display their new textiles.

Brioni also uses a special fabric called «Escorial,» woven from the wool of sheep from a flock originally presented to King Phillip II of Spain. Now these sheep are raised in Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania. A very limited quantity of this wool is produced annually. It is very soft and naturally elastic. It is capable of stretching and doesn’t wrinkle. BRIONI has exclusive rights on half of materials used in manufacture. Ninety percent of Brioni’s materials are so expensive that no other fashion houses can afford to use them.

Made-to-measure
BRIONI management doesn’t manufacture in countries where labor is cheaper, and mass production methods are used. The brand’s soul forever remains in its studios in Rome and Milan where the tailors who have been brought up in traditions of old school craftsmanship, still measure the clients personally and store their patterns for future use. To order a suit is not so easy - half a year in advance plus two months - standard time of sewing one suit which will last the owner his entire life.

The custom-tailored suits require approximately 150 operations: cutting, stitching, decorating, and hand made processing of buttonholes. Each of these operations demands from 18 to 30 hours, and approximately half of this work is done by hand.

Brioni today
Now each year Brioni’s 900 tailors create 200 models. A quarter of the production consists of made-to-measure tailored suits for 25,000 elite customers who order 2-3 garments per year. Once, a sultan from the Middle East ordered one hundred suits during a single one month period.

Today Brioni has more than 500 boutiques around the world. There are 1100 employees at their factory in Pennsylvania alone. The company also boasts 25,000 clients, including the five year old son of a famous Turkish billionaire, Japanese sumo wrestling champions, as well as celebrities such as Kofi Annan and Pierce Brosnan. Their fashion designers provide their clients with elegance, convenience, and accessories as well.

It should be recognized that the most amazing innovation at BRIONI was the appearance a female line of haute couture in 1999. Thus at last gave elite women the opportunity to wear clothes of the same quality as their men.

For 60 years BRIONI, has remained one of the few embodiments of the famous phrase by Frederic Fellini in 1960 «LA DOLCE VITA («The sweet life»).

For more details see
www.brioni.com