We go inside Brioni's tailoring process
“Heritage and innovation are both anchored in our DNA. It’s a balance that helps keep our standards of quality at the very top”
Words: Chris Cotonou
In association with:
“Brioni is the expression of a quintessential Roman style,” Angelo Petrucci, Brioni’s chief master tailor, tells me. “Effortless, timeless, and ever-relevant.” Petrucci has been with Brioni since 1985, initially as a student in the Brioni Tailoring School (Scuola di Alta Sartoria), and has since grown to be the elegant ambassador of the house – trained in every detail, from its history to the 220 steps it takes to create the ultra-exclusive made-to-measure suit.
Like his fellow alumni of the Scuola di Alta Sartoria, he shows an almost ruthless attention to craftsmanship, a commitment to being the very best that even translates into everyday habits. Petrucci shares one such memory: “When I started at the school, I remember that I kept a thimble tied to my finger for two consecutive months to get it accustomed to remain in that natural position,” he explains, offering a rare insight into the institute's methods.
Eventually, he was moved to the atelier, where standards were just as high. “I began in the ironing department, working on the finalised jacket. Then, we would basically follow the inverse process.
From the finalised piece, I went back through all previous construction steps. This is done to encourage an understanding of the entire construction.”
It takes at least two-and-a-half hours of training before the cutter can progress into commissioned work. “The most important thing a Brioni cutter should keep in mind is the complexity of Brioni bespoke,” Petrucci explains proudly.
The process itself is one of meticulous planning. “Every Brioni fabric passes through a quality check where the subtlest defects are marked. Then, we perform several other quality checks throughout the suit’s production.”
It’s the so-called ‘Brioni Method’, requiring 220 steps, 7,000 precise hand-made stitches and more than 24 hours of workmanship. Being 100 per cent Made in Italy remains integral to Brioni’s house values, Petrucci tells me, encompassing the journey from the manufacturing and the fabrics to the hands that stitch, cut and tailor the final product. “The ironing is one of the most emblematic examples to help a customer understand Brioni’s hunt for perfection: each sewing step is followed by its own ironing step, which also includes our own specific anatomic tables.” This is a craft taken to an entirely new level.
Although the process remains traditional, embodying the epitome of measured precision and time, Petrucci is quick to point out that Brioni has always been a house of innovation. “In 1952, we hosted the first-ever men’s fashion show at the Sala Bianca, at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence,” he reminds us.
“On that occasion, the brand introduced jackets with bold colours in red and yellow, as well as fabrics that were unusual for men to wear at the time, like silk shantung. So, heritage and innovation are both anchored in our DNA. It’s a balance that helps keep our standards of quality at the very top.”
That attention to improvement has never stopped. Today, Brioni works with fabrics made of the finest fibres – a choice that typically makes an already complex process even more difficult (but far more rewarding). “Moreover,” Petrucci notes, “in the construction of a jacket, there are areas and sections that even feature up to seven different layers.” They’re all naturally put together – never with glue, he is quick to add: “They’re combined with special tailoring techniques that create the right balance, with neither wrinkles or swelling.” These time-consuming details mean that Brioni tailoring remains as crisp and as close to its original form as when it was first built in the brand’s atelier.
Listening to Petrucci talk, it becomes clear that it’s no accident that Brioni still sits at the pinnacle of men’s suiting. How something that seems so effortless and clean can be such an example of the finest craft – of the most painstaking minutiae – is owed to the Scuola di Alta Sartoria and its commitment to training cutters, such as Petrucci, into the very best tailors on Earth, and to Brioni’s quest for innovation, even at the smallest seams.
“Clean lines are definitely our characteristics. But, what really sets us apart is probably something only felt by the wearer,” Petrucci tells me. “After only a few hours of wearing a Brioni suit, you have already started to enjoy wearing it. Your physical movement and the piece’s exclusive materials follow your body, so you don’t feel constricted.” Now that is the Art of Tailoring, Brioni style.
This feature was taken from Gentleman’s Journal’s Winter 2023 issue. Read more about it here.
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