SPRING MENSWEAR TAKES ON NEW QUALITY STANDARDS FROM THESE EUROPEAN MAKERS AND THEIR NEARLY-LUNATIC ATTENTION TO DETAIL

BY INDUSTRY STAFF

Headquartered in Naples, Italy, and the brainchild of Ciro Paone, the son of fifth-generation fabric merchants, Kiton elevates tailoring from a modest artisan craft to an artistic expression: “the love for beauty, the love for beautiful garments,” as Paone puts it.

Carried out according to the age-old rule book of the Neapolitan tailoring profession—which requires, among other things, sourcing the best raw materials in the world—the summit of the company’s menswear is its jacket design.

“We consider the jacket to be the core of our collection,” Paone said. “It is the starting point that determines a specific style, to which we add our shirt, tie, and trousers. The roots of the company have little to do with marketing— more with a streak of virtuoso creativity and a…slightly irrational instinct.”

From cutting and basting to the art of lining, then on to shoulder, neckline, and sleeve construction, and finally to the sewing of armholes, buttonholes and hems, pressing, attaching buttons, and final quality control, every jacket is constructed using 33,000 stitches by 25 different craftspeople. A special detail is the pocket. This, too, is entirely handmade—buttery soft, and with a unique shape. The Windowpane Three-Button Jacket, seen here in a cashmere/wool/linen/silk blend, is quarter-lined, with a lightly padded natural shoulder, double vent, notch lapel, and basted sleeves, along with chest welt pocket and waist patch pockets. ($7,495, here with a Kiton blue medallion tie, $295). It’s paired with Navy Trousers from Zanella ($350).

An ideal accompaniment is just about any shirt from Eton, but the Blue Pencil Stripe ($235) is simply perfect with the Kiton. From the day its factory opened in Gånghester, Sweden in 1928, Eton has crafted men’s shirts, all by hand. “Being a product specialist means that we can monitor every stage in the process,” a company statement read. “And all our material and other suppliers are required to sign our code of conduct and code of ethics, which regulates working conditions, among other factors.”

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