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

[mans72]

I am learning at almost every post in this thread, it is just fascinating. Thank you everyone for making this one so interesting and educational.

 

[poorsod]

Thanks jefferyd! That was very educational.

 

[gambit50]

jefferyd is wise.

 

[dopey]

Subscribed

 

[lasbar]



jefferyd is wise.

He knows his stuff ..

 

[Kuro]

smalto

 

[fassbinder]

Here is a link to some photos of a less well known Parisian tailor Marc di Fiore. Alden and RJman once did a report from his shop but that seems to have disappeared from the LL. Too bad those guys most likely aren't going to participate in this discussion.

http://chatolufsen.blogspot.fr/2008/07/reportage-photo-chez-marc-di-fiore.html

 

[SeamasterLux]

Finally a post on French tailoring! I am in the train right now but will contribute over the week end with pictures of my suits by diagne, CIFONELLI, Camps de Luca and smalto as well. I also have a Claude Rousseau who used to cut at Cifo just like Gabriel Gonzalez and who also happened to be a student of Joseph Camps as well.

My friend Dirnelli might contribute as well as he owns a lot of pieces realized by French tailors.

Indeed the attention to detail is second to none as pointed out by an ex G&H cutter that is now working by himself and who told me that no one could match Camps level on the Row or anywhere else for that matter. Of course I'll post pictures to illustrate.

 

[dirnelli]

SeamasterLux -- you beat me to it! I too am on a train typing this on an iPhone...

Guys,

I am positively thrilled to see SF finally talking about French tailors, the unsung heroes of the global sartorial arms race IMHO (e.g. a selfie of my Camps de Luca suit, the only CdL pic EVER posted on SF, went virtually unnoticed on the WAYWRN thread; as a result, I've snobbed SF since, but RJMan coaxed me back by flagging this long-awaited thread.)

Don't hesitate to ask me or SeamasterLux any questions about the French tailors, between us we have experience with almost all of them. For pics, see my WIWT Tumblr dirnelli.tumblr.com and use the search box to call up pics of items from just about any tailor, including hard-to-find vintage ones such as Claude Rousseau, or even some vintage Cristiani and Lanvin coming up, as soon as I get them back from alterations.

The young guns on the French scene Suzuki Kent and Brano also seem very promising.

Another house worth knowing about, one that you won't read much about online, is Marc Di Fiore -- which is at the top of my list to try next, given the 2500 euros starting price and the quality of the work I've seen.

BTW -- Camps de Luca starts at 5900 euros and Cifonelli at around 5300, if memory serves.

I read a comparaison with Huntsman above. I would hesitate to draw such comparaisons between SR and the Parisians. If I were to sum up, the French tailors fall somewhere between SR and Italy, as their geographic location would suggest, striking a perfect balance as they do between the somewhat 'armoured' design of the Brits and the fluid construction of the Italians. On top of that, the French tailors have a quality of needlework that you simply won't find anywhere else -- the most consistently perfect stitching, embroidering and buttonhole work worldwide, bar none.

The main issue is getting ahold of this stuff while you still can. It's my understanding that no one knows how to work like that anymore, and the ones who do are all retired or close to retiring, so there's a real question mark about whether the younger generation will be able to keep the tradition alive. In Paris, contrary to what I've heard re SR, none of the tailors share workers with eachother, so there can potentially be marked differences in quality from one house to the next.

 

[Eustace Tilley]

e-reviews seem to suggest that Camps is at the very top of the heap. Are they better than Cifonelli in your opinion?

Thanks,
ET

 

[SeamasterLux]



e-reviews seem to suggest that Camps is at the very top of the heap. Are they better than Cifonelli in your opinion?

Thanks,
ET

I think I can speak for both Dirnelli and I. Camps is indeed ahead of Cifonelli, both in terms of experience with the tailor (refer to RJman post on ASW to understand why Marc de Luca is so special) and of comfort while having a perfect cut.
Even with the higher price tag, it's a no brainer for me. If I had the means, I would only go to Camps de Luca. It's the ultimate experience and I have tried two dozens of places.

 

[Kuro]

^could you elaborate a bit more please. From what I can see Camps appears to have a bt more air than Cifo, but still fitted. Is this fair to say? Also the lines are longer.

I think the Camps price (incl. VAT) is a bit higher now I'm afraid..

Re: Suzuki he trained at Camps IIRC and was a cutter at Smalto.

 

[JL724]



I think I can speak for both Dirnelli and I. Camps is indeed ahead of Cifonelli, both in terms of experience with the tailor (refer to RJman post on ASW to understand why Marc de Luca is so special) and of comfort while having a perfect cut.
Even with the higher price tag, it's a no brainer for me. If I had the means, I would only go to Camps de Luca. It's the ultimate experience and I have tried two dozens of places.

Any idea on pricing for both for a 2-piece suit?

Thanks.

 

[Kuro]



Any idea on pricing for both for a 2-piece suit?

Thanks.

iirc now cifo is 5500 and camps is 6500 (both incl. vat).

 

[Eustace Tilley]

I think I can speak for both Dirnelli and I. Camps is indeed ahead of Cifonelli, both in terms of experience with the tailor (refer to RJman post on ASW to understand why Marc de Luca is so special) and of comfort while having a perfect cut.
Even with the higher price tag, it's a no brainer for me. If I had the means, I would only go to Camps de Luca. It's the ultimate experience and I have tried two dozens of places.

Thanks