Italian Tailoring

Book excerpt: Men's tailoring in Italy is a veritable art tradition, the product of a long legacy of elegance, taste and appreciation. In fact, made-to-measure garments and shoes entail painstaking measuring and a transformation of these measurements into a perfect object, thanks to the skilled craftsmanship of tailors and the use of refined textiles. For those who know how and where to look, each garment speaks to the secrets and history of the place where it was made and customized. Italian Tailoring offers an insider's view into the world of Italian tailoring and its key protagonists. Journalist Yoshimi Hasegawa, an expert in European tailoring, presents an extraordinarily stylish travelogue, surveying tailoring across the country. Beginning at the beginning--with the famed Vitale Barberis Canonico fabric mill--this publication profiles 28 historic tailor shops in Italy and the famed names behind them (from Donnadio to Musella; Liverano & Liverano to Sartoria Napoletana; Rubinacci and Attolini to Caraceni, Ciardi and Pirozzi). Italian Tailoring leads the reader on a journey through Italy, from north to south, in search of the haute tailoring and the practitioners who have shaped the world-famous Italian style.