French Tailoring Thread (e.g. Camps de Luca, Cifonelli, Smalto and etc.)

[HighToned]

Maybe not "tailoring", but the limosine briefcase by Moynat is completely made by hand and is a good example of the French style and workmanship that you see throughout this thread: attention to detail, high-quality materials, precision, and modern variations on classical forms and shapes:

I'm very close to French house, Moynat. I was in charge of their launch at Isetan in Tokyo.
If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me.

Moynat limousine trunk was made concave bottom to perfectly fit on the roof of the cars.
The Limousine briefcase, named after the eponymous trunk, has a similar concave bottom to make it easy to place the case on one’s knees and use as a mobile desk.
And when you're walking, your knee doesn't hit the briefcase because of the ingenious shape.

Designer, Ramesh Nair seeks always the perfection.
I went two times at their atelier in middle of Paris (2 min from the flagship store).

They have the best materials, good sense of details, no rush for the orders (only small quantity) and they can do everything made-to-order.
Amazing craftsmanship !

 

[Dandy Wonka]

Thanks for that explanation.

The big plus with things like that briefcase is that you will rarely see another and only people in the know will understand what a special item you have.

In other news I just spent some of my spondula on a Goyard briefcase.

 

[Griffindork]

The concave side avoiding the knee when waking is ingenious and really nice. I generally tend to wear things and enjoy them, but the limousine is so beautiful that i fear damaging it and tend to be very careful when I carry it. The only drawback is that it is extremely heavy. You can tell you are carrying something made of wood. But on those days when I carry it I'm really thrilled to own it and I think it will develop a beautiful patina over time.

 

[SeamasterLux]

The concave side avoiding the knee when waking is ingenious and really nice. I generally tend to wear things and enjoy them, but the limousine is so beautiful that i fear damaging it and tend to be very careful when I carry it. The only drawback is that it is extremely heavy. You can tell you are carrying something made of wood. But on those days when I carry it I'm really thrilled to own it and I think it will develop a beautiful patina over time.

To be honest, that's typically the kind of suitcase for which I would expect to have a valet carrying it for me.

It reminds me of a great-uncle I had in England who was adorable with me albeit slightly snobish and once offered me a wonderful custom-made travel suitcase in full grain leather from Tanner Krolle. It was a wonder but unfortunately awfully heavy. I was very thankful but joked about the fact that I'd have to do some exercise before being able to walk proudly with it and his answer was wonderful: "but my dear Paul, who asked you to carry it by yourself?"

Of course, when you have a manor and a lot of staff, you kind of lose the sense of reality

 

[Kuro]

Comments on the offerings of Scavini?

 

[lysandar]

Valid question: Shirts are indeed pretty good and fit well. MTM suits are rather disappointing as far as I'm concerned. I've had to work around the suit with my alteration tailor so that it would look decent. The balance of the jacket was completely off...

Foreign languages is not his strongest asset but as every Italian, he explains with his hands very well

I visited Profilo today. It's as you described it - Beppe doesn't do English, but between my broken understanding of French, plenty of hand gestures, plus a good knowledge of terminology built from lurking StyFo, it's pretty easy to work things out. Plus I have the good fortune of fitting almost perfectly into a size 46, sans an inch of sleeve shortening and need for a slight tuck in the back.

I also visited Lafayette Saltiel Drapier. It was incredible and my jaw literally dropped.

 

[poorsod]

Did you buy anything at Lafayette Saltiel Drapier?

 

[Kuro]



I also visited Lafayette Saltiel Drapier. It was incredible and my jaw literally dropped.

Agreed, but not being a fabric sourcing guy I don't know how to evaluate their prices.

 

[HighToned]

French tv channel "M6" bought the tv show "Great British Sewing Bee" of the BBC.
They selected tailor, Julien Scavini.

 

[dirnelli]

They approached Cifo & Camps de Luca first about being on the jury, both declined as they would have had to step away from their business for a full two weeks of shooting.

 

[lysandar]

Did you buy anything at Lafayette Saltiel Drapier?

Not yet, but only because I spent over an hour chatting with Virgil on various cloth-related topics, and had no time to peruse the shelves bolt by bolt. I'll probably make several more trips to draft out my want-list.

During our chat it was mentioned that some items will be a good deal cheaper than buying direct from manufacturer (we were discussing Zegna cashmere I believe), but I'll need to do more recon to get a better sense.

 

[HighToned]

They approached Cifo & Camps de Luca first about being on the jury, both declined as they would have had to step away from their business for a full two weeks of shooting.

Yes, I talked to Julien de Luca.
They recorded this show from 6 in the morning to 10 at night... That's pretty intense !

I'm wondering how Patrick Grant manage to escape from Norton & Sons for that long. ; )


Small pic from yesterday at Camps de Luca.

 

[Kuro]

^I need to stop procrastinating and visit them again...

 

[Kuro]

 

[Griffindork]

Fantastic! Details? ^