Eidos Napoli

[Nbarbar]

Other than color and the hood I don’t see much similarity. Antonio’s has raglan shoulders, completely different placket, the quilting is bigger, no strings ....

Totally, no disrespect to Antionio but some of his champions here think he invented the t-shirt.

 

[NickPollica]

I don’t think anyone at JCrew knows who I am.

 

[upflup]

Other than color and the hood I don’t see much similarity. Antonio’s has raglan shoulders, completely different placket, the quilting is bigger, no strings ....

I see what you're saying but doesn't some of it have to come down to cost and factory capabilities? A lot of what Antonio did isn't able to be done in a large, cheap scale

 

[NickPollica]

I see what you're saying but doesn't some of it have to come down to cost and factory capabilities? A lot of what Antonio did isn't able to be done in a large, cheap scale

If I could have made outerwear in Asian JCrew factories I would have done so in two seconds.

 

[upflup]

If I could have made outerwear in Asian JCrew factories I would have done so in two seconds.

Well this gives me a new perspective

 

[NickPollica]

The best product in the world is made in China. By a long shot.

 

[Mariokartfever]

The best product in the world is made in China. By a long shot.

Can you elaborate on this?

To someone outside of the clothing manufacturing industry, this is one hot take.

 

[clee1982]

I have no idea who RL and JCrew are using, but I would prefer the one RL uses over the one JCrew uses (or at least the quality RL is asking the factory to make to)

 

[NickPollica]

J Crew and RL use a lot of the same manufacturers (or at least they did when I worked at RL). The head of Rugby design used to complain that we could never compete with J Crew on the price of our core chino (despite the fact they were made in the same place with similar make) simply because they were ordering 5x more than we were. These places have invested insane amounts of money and hours to develop a incredible, consistent product. Their washing techniques are unrivaled. I’ve said this repeatedly, but in Italy I tried and failed for 5 years to replicate things we did at RL in Asia. I would argue that RL product is technically the best in the world (a lot of that comes from design approach) and designers and sourcing people at Polo often complained we didn’t have the units to get into JCrew factories.

In my experience, the concept of made in Italy or Made in America as a signal of the best quality is largely a myth when it comes to non-handmade, industrialized clothing.

 

[clee1982]

I love my RRL pants I have to say...

 

[NickPollica]

I love my RRL pants I have to say...

RRL manufacturing is the best of the best. Also, just a bit of info but the herringbone gauze single pleats we ran and developed for 18 East - that fabric was redeveloped from a J Crew women’s cargo pant fabric that my wife has had for 15 years and has washed and aged beautifully.

 

[dfagdfsh]

RRL Made in China knitwear is amazing and is better than much more expensive knitwear. Their handmade cardigans are the best I've seen and would probably cost $10,000 if they were made in Italy.

 

[NickPollica]

Luenthai and Esquel are both world class makers that I believe work with both. Vertical companies that develop yarns, fabrics, washes and do all manufacturing on site. I have been to both and Luenthai was the most impressive manufacturing facility I’ve ever seen.

 

[dfagdfsh]

@NickPollica what would something like this cost made in italy? 100% knit by hand

 

[Mariokartfever]

I'd love to see a thread where industry insiders can recommend the best value products using their supply chain and materials knowledge.

This thread is currently the closest thing because Antonio is so transparent. An average joe like me can't tell the different between a well-made sweater and a crappy one at a glance.