With cuts that mean business, the latest top-level tailoring collection from Corneliani has set the bar high for others to follow suit.
Corneliani is one of Italy’s most respected tailoring houses. Mantua is its home – a place where Italian art resonates throughout buildings, artwork and clothing. But while the company is proud of its heritage, it is definitely looking to the future.
After all, the fashion industry is cut-throat, and while the Italians still have the manufacturing edge, the Asians are snapping at their heels. So today, technology is the name of the game. On the factory floor, machines can cut the pattern for ten suits in seconds. The fabrics themselves are cutting edge – using nanotechnology, cashmere can be made to be water-repellent by manipulating the molecules actually within the fibres, rather than using a finish that will be lost after dry-cleaning more than three times. You can even have your clothes perfumed – Corneliani has already produced a sweater that smells of green tea.
“Rather than a gimmick, I think soon this will be as normal as air-conditioning in cars,” says creative director Sergio Corneliani. “As the world moves on, technology helps us develop new fabrics. We have already developed fine fabrics that are 100 per cent natural but won’t wrinkle, so are perfect for travel.”
The watchwords are tradition and modernity. “In Italy, tailoring has developed over years,” says Sergio’s brother, Maurizio, the brand’s marketing director. “Tradition and quality are part of our country, our history. It is part of our DNA. Demanding excellence is part of being Italian. If you want salami you look for Felino salami, if you want a performance car you buy a Ferrari. If you want a suit you try one by Corneliani. Simple. But at the same time, we have to embrace technology. Otherwise we are dead. We need to concentrate on the details, the quality and the latest technology to have a chance of survival.”
And hand-in-hand with technology and tailoring goes comfort. “It’s difficult to sell clothes that aren’t comfortable,” says Sergio. “It is up to us to create softer jackets, softer shirts, even softer ties.”
The Italian masters are perfecting their soft touch with luxurious fabrics and Seventies-inspired pieces, including the belted jacket, which has all the style of the sharpest blazer combined with the comfort of a robe. Equally, you can go all secret-service smooth by twinning it with a fine-gauge rollneck or dress it up with a white shirt and a knitted tie. Now you’re all set to go back to work in style.
For more information, please visit the official website here.
