Finollo, shirt and tie maker - Genoa - Italy

[marcodalondra]

I decided to start this thread to condense some info on this maker and also move some post regarding Finollo from other threads.

Apparently founded by Emanuele Finollo in 1899 in Genoa, it quickly built its reputation by making shirts for the Duke of Windsor, Aristotle Onassis, Gianni Agnelli and Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. They still have the pattern of the Duke of Windsor's collar framed in the shop.
(Still from the video below)

Finollo trademarks were and are:

1- the collar outline, with a sharp angle just passed the collar bone to reach the long collar point to allow the front of the collar to remain under the jacket at all the time

2- The scudetto or badge, within which they embroider both the initials and the month/year of manufacturing

3- the horizontal bottom buttonhole (this feature is actually quite common and done by many RTW shirt makers as well as bespoke makers)

All of the above can be seen on pictures from the Finollo website http://www.finollo.it/gallery.html

The shop was managed until August 2012 by Roberto Linke, housband of Daniela Finollo, the niece of the original founder. As far as I understand, after the passing of Linke, the wife (always involved with the production in a workshop outside the city centre) and the daughter are now managing it, but the fitter is still the same guy.

[VIDEO]http://bcove.me/1nnmfvqn[/VIDEO]

Finollo is apparently included on the Treccani encyclopedia, the most respected encyclopedia in Italy, and also became famous nationally when news broke that they were charging 1 million lira (about €500) back in the days when it was really unheard of. Prices are now reportedly around €375 for RTW and €650 for bespoke (as of 2010)

The ties have been highly regarded for some time as some of the best in Italy, but probably considered just a step below Marinella.

Hopefully any additional information, picture or discussion can now be posted under this thread.

 

[marcodalondra]



I haven't paid yet!

They couldn't make my first shirt before Christmas so we agreed that I would have 2 shirts in January 2014:

1 Carlo Riva light blue Popeline Super Oxford

1 DJA 240/3 blue Popeline

It will be an expensive month as I have Anna's last ordered shirt to pay for too!
Plus a deposit to Huntsman!
Then I'm locking up my credit cards until February!

Oh dear ,

I've changed my order!!!!!

Finollo are very expensive and hardly speak a word of English!

As I can't afford huge mistakes I changed my order to one Finollo.
....

Half of my entire wardrobe will be shirts!!!

....

Luckily you only live once, I couldn't afford to buy this lot again!,,,,

I bought 4 RTW shirts from Jemyn. street but it's not the same

I agree TMLewin are rubbish - they're just my fill in shirts


Thanks for the info regarding Finolllo, it explains a Lott

They're copying a shirt of mine (changed order fromm2!). And don't have high hopes. Having read your post
Sounds like I've made an expensive mistake
....

I'll
Find out about Finolllo in January, but it's now just a one off ...

I'vejust cancelled my order, asked that they return my shirt, ...


I hope. They return my shirty safely!

I think first of all Hirsh made the mistake of idealising shirtmaker based on internet fame. He then made it worst by ordering two shirts from one of the most expensive shirtmaker in the world asking them to copy a shirt he sent (???) the true test of a bespoke shirtmaker is how he fit your body not on how much handwork or less there is (and that is why I do not consider AM to be the bet one, as for the fit shown of clients).
Then few weeks before the order was due for delivery (I guess they had already cut the fabric and send it to the workshop queue to be finished) he cancel first one shirt and then the second one. This is not on them Hirsh, you have made a mess from point one and if they have started the order and will make a loss (I would have charged you a deposit before starting, especially due to the strange request (copy a shirt????) are right not to return your shirt so that you are at loss to. I bet the exchange of emails would be amazing for anyone on this forum to read.

You have demonstrated not to have a clue and if you really want the stuff back should at this point go ahead with finalising the first shirt and pay for it. From their side I am sure they will require deposit next time.

Do your reaserch properly and stop stating this or te other is the best as you do not know what you are talking about...

It had to be said

No, I hadn't even chosen the shirting fabric!

Luca said he didn't have time to deal with any new ordered before January AFTER I HAD SENT MY SHRT!


They have now stolen my shirt at no cost to themselves


Finollo are in the wrong, not me!

let's continue here about your Finollo experience. You first said that you had ordered the above two shirting... Let's assume that you had not told anyone about your shirting choice, I guess they had to send you shirting sample after you agree to make an order (there is a cost for this, Thomas Mason charge you 300 Euro for their books).

 

[Hirsh]



let's continue here about your Finollo experience. You first said that you had ordered the above two shirting... Let's assume that you had not told anyone about your shirting choice, I guess they had to send you shirting sample after you agree to make an order (there is a cost for this, Thomas Mason charge you 300 Euro for their books).

No, I had done my groundwork and new exactly which DJA shirtings I wanted


Finollo said I was to write back in January as nothing would be done before then

I would never have sent my own shirt in Novembet otherwise

Btw Anna's pattern has been made from a bespoke fully measured toile- it. Is not a copy


Next year I will top up the order I pave with her for 4 shirts by another 2 so that I have. A good rotation of 15 shirts......

 

[marcodalondra]



No, I had done my groundwork and new exactly which DJA shirtings I wanted


Finollo said I was to write back in January as nothing would be done before then

I would never have sent my own shirt in Novembet otherwise

Btw Anna's pattern has been made from a bespoke fully measured toile- it. Is not a copy


Next year I will top up the order I pave with her for 4 shirts by another 2 so that I have. A good rotation of 15 shirts......

Ok so why would they refuse to send you back the shirt? Did you tell them that you would pay for shipping it back to you in advance? Obviously via recorded delivery (raccomandata) so that they can prove to have shipped the shirt to you.

Why did you cancel the order? (what did you tell them the reason was?)

 

[Hirsh]



Ok so why would they refuse to send you back the shirt? Did you tell them that you would pay for shipping it back to you in advance? Obviously via recorded delivery (raccomandata) so that they can prove to have shipped the shirt to you.

Why did you cancel the order? (what did you tell them the reason was?)

Of course I offered to pay postage (although flat rate would cost them less than £10!!!!

The reason I gave was that they were obviously very busy and I needed new shirts ASAP

They had no right or reson to keep my shirt, an unworn Alumo Soyellla 170s

If it had been one of Annnas creations I'd have been on the next. Plane

But it was still
An expensive Savile Row made shirt

I am not amused

 

[marcodalondra]



Of course I offered to pay postage (although flat rate would cost them less than £10!!!!

The reason I gave was that they were obviously very busy and I needed new shirts ASAP

They had no right or reson to keep my shirt, an unworn Alumo Soyellla 170s

If it had been one of Annnas creations I'd have been on the next. Plane

But it was still
An expensive Savile Row made shirt

I am not amused

So why they want to keep the shirt? I would not send anything flat rate as if it get lost you would then say that it was their fault and/or they never sent it.

 

[sangiuseppe]

1) During your exchanges, did the price for each shirt ever come up?
2) why exactly did you change your mind?

 

[marcodalondra]

This article from 2007 was published on Nautica, an Italian yacht magazine, where readers could easily afford luxuries such a Finollo shirt
http://www.nauticalweb.com/superyacht/539/style/finolloeng.htm

Finollo, 100 years of life and ties
A style to learn from

Article by
Franca Urbani -Superyacht n. 539 - March 2007

Genoa is one of the most beautiful sea towns in Italy, Via Roma (Rome Street) is one of the more attractive roads in Genoa and Finollo is one of the more famous shops in Via Roma, in fact, more than just a shop, it's a Tie & Shirt Maker.

The shop window has a wonderful liberty style engraved wood surround, and once inside, I find myself in a small but charming room which happens to be the reign of luxury ties of an elegance appreciated world wide and even more so, by that world of yachting which we all love that has always tied Genoa to the Anglo-Saxons. I am warmly greeted by Roberto Linke Finollo's son in law in the small reception area come fitting room. He currently runs the shop whilst his wife Daniela Finollo manages the famous workshop and its precious and rare to find embroideresses.

Mr Linke, who was Finollo exactly?

A very clever man, a true Genoese at heart who loved the sea and his boat "Tipperary". He designed this shop himself some 107 years ago now. It initially started as a gentleman's underclothing shop before specialising in manufacturing shirts and ties.

Is it true that Finollo was visited by a plethora of famous figures who used to come hear as if they were visiting The Temple of the shirt and tie?

We certainly had quite a collection of well renowned characters who used to come and be fitted in this very room or whom we sometimes attended in the comfort of their homes. I remember Prince Ranieri of Monaco amongst others, Gianni Agnelli, Guglielmo Marconi who often used to come to Portofino aboard his yacht Elettra, as well as the Duke of Windsor with his Wally. Then came Beppe Croce, the founder member of the YCI and many other figure- heads from the yachting and business worlds as well as your normal middle-classes of course.

Briefly, what is the history of this accessory?

The tie already existed at the end of the last century even though it was only worn by a few. Let us consider the British Regiment ties which after all offer the base onto which the colours or the crest of the regiment are reproduced. They were smaller in shape and lighter in weight. By the end of the 20's a small embroidered cord-like accessory made its way into fashion. The accessory itself was created to break the monotony of white shirts and is thus closely connected to the evolution in gentleman's fashion. At that time in fact, men wore coloured or striped shirts in the morning but white ones in the afternoons or evenings.

Where did the materials come from?

The British weavers were the best. Finollo used to design his materials and he then had them made for sale to the United States.

Is there a relationship between tie knots and those used on boats?

The same applies to ties as does to lines and warps that have many different functions. Actually one of the simpler ones was perfected in this shop and later became the Finollo knot. Then we have the Windsor which works the opposite in the sense that the longer side of the tie goes from left to right. This knot started life in front of our mirror too. We even have a man's shirt model which was inspired by the Duke of Windsor and another, a lady's model inspired by Wally.

I was under the impression that ties and thus this shop had nothing to do with lady's fashion

You are mistaken actually. In fact one day in 1910, a very important client walked in and wanted to create a lady's tie model for his wife, a very feminine lady no sergeant major for sure. Thus our lady's tie was borne, I will show you. It is made of very light plain coloured silk, a cross between a scarf and a head scarf: no need for the knot.

I am quite enchanted as I watch Mr Linke produce small and quaint ties out of a large draw which I find simply delightful and quite chic in their bright colours: white, black, pink, pastel green, yellow, light blue.

How is your workshop currently organised?

My daughter and I design the ties, my wife works with six ladies in our workshop in Piazza Lavagna in the historic part of town. Workshop as you say, because I in fact consider myself a craftsman in that I sell what I produce and I teach the art of working, so in a way, I would say that a craftsman is also a teacher.

What do you remember of Gianni Agnelli's and Beppe Croce's styles?

Beppe Croce was just naturally elegant, he new what to wear and when. Instinctively. About Agnelli I remember he used to send us his tails' shirt to be ironed: this happened quite often as nobody appeared to please him as we did. Tails have now gone out of fashion of course, because our hectic style of living has done away with the custom of changing very often in the day in accordance with time and occasion. Men's fashion reached its splendour in the 20's and 30's when men who could afford it followed this ritual from morning to evening. The morning would favour a more casual choice by way of jackets , shirts, waistcoats and trousers all very coloured: the ability lay in the very coordination of all those colours. Men used to drive a car, play golf or polo dressed like that. In the afternoon, they would change and wear trousers, jackets and waistcoats of the same but more sober colour , with a tie to match. Many paintings of that era depict men's clothing in some detail. In the evenings men would go out wearing tails whereas the morning suit was kept for ceremonies during the day and comprised striped trousers and a light grey jacket.

Dinner jackets were used solely for having dinner and men would change after dinner into tails ready to go to the theatre or to a ball . Can you imagine, for many years we used to keep our shop open until the theatres opened so as to offer our clients white bow-ties.

What about the bow-tie?

We have some 10/12 models of bow-ties. Preferring it to a tie is just a matter of personal taste. Going back to ties again, we have produced those for the YCI, with the garter at first, on a blue backround which is the club's crest, now produced with the small YCI flag hand-embroidered on a blue background. In the old days embroidery was done using a silk thread and it took 200 minutes, nowadays using a cotton thread it takes 20. There are now only two ladies who do the embroidery because young people are not interested in learning. We also produce ties for the Circolo Canottieri Napoli (Naples Rowing Club), the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia, (Oar & Sail Club Italy) and those of the Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, the Olympic Committee and America's Cup.

What is your annual production?

We don't do more than 6000 ties per year.

This is also a luxury item in that not everybody can have it, not even if they are very well off. Should one wait and desire to have it?

In fact, a personalised state of the art tie, could be a gift fit for kings and state leaders. We have made ties for the G8, ties to commemorate the 60 years of the Italian flag where the Savoia blue becomes the blue of Italy. An owner of some relevance has even wanted the logo of his spinnaker on the front of a tie and the ID number of the boat on the back so as to make a present of it. Ties are very much tied to the tradition of a gift.

Which are the more commonly embroidered patterns on your ties?

Literally anything: from a compass rose, to a sailing boat with the spinnaker's colours, to the sea horse, the octopus, the siren. Since I do so love sailing boats, I always try to draw the sails in exactly the right position to reflect direction and wind.

I am just astounded at the world that has unrolled before my eyes and I am really in two minds whether to buy a pastel green tie or a Wally shirt. Thank you Finollo and good bye.

For information: Finollo, Via Roma, 38R, 16100 Genova, Phone. +39 010-562073

 

[marcodalondra]

Some evidence that Finollo had a reputation well established before the igent era, here is an article from the TIME magazine-2001:

http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,166682,00.html


A Side Trip To Portofino

By Gregory Burke/Portofino Sunday, July 08, 2001

...

The Genovesi are considered among the most elegant of Italians. While shirts at Finollo, a small store on Via Roma downtown, cost a whopping $315, the handmade silk ties are a good deal at $75. Just the thing to brighten one's outlook during an economic summit.

 

[marcodalondra]

With regards to Finollo history, I have found an interesting publication of a 1940 italian official gazette (where court sentences have to be published). In November 1940, due to the status of war between Italy vs France & Great Britain, the Italian Government would confiscate any outstanding sum due to Finollo's foreign fabric suppliers listed as :

Holiday & Brown - London
Welch Margeston - London
Delame Lelievre Fils - Paris

 

[Hirsh]

I'm very happy to say that Finollo have kindly agreed to return my shirt in January at my my own cost.

THANK YOU FINOLLO

 

[marcodalondra]

(4 October 1999) - Corriere della Sera

THE SAMPLES ON DISPLAY AT THE GRAND HOTEL ET DE MILAN: COMPARING NEAPOLITAN AND GENOVESE SCHOOLS

Marinella and Finollo, the duel between the masters of the tie

-------------------------------------------------- --------------- The samples on display at the Grand Hotel et de Milan: comparing Neapolitan and Genoese schools, Marinella and Finollo, the duel between the masters of the tie scene, for those who want to imagine, is apparently the same as any remnants stand: a crowd that throng, hands rummaging through mountains of material, people who put aside a bit by the' other, people watching for hours in the supreme effort to choose. Except that this is not 'the local market, but a room of the "Grand Hotel et de Milan" Via Manzoni. The hands that buy in the end, write check off up to six digits. And the thousands of fabric roll piled up on the bench are not old cloths but unique cuts of twill and English silk which, since 1914, the lineage of Don Eugenio Marinella continues to make the ties "Made in Naples 'most' famous in the world. Because is this how it works: you choose the fabric, leave your details and measures, and for 140 thousands lira you get home your own "handmade tie - repeats Maurizio, the grandson of Don Eugenio - unique and tailor-made" . To be able to say that these are the ties of Clinton, D 'Alema and Berlusconi' is nothing, what is really impressive is to notice how many people buy them: to arrive at the till counter yesterday was a great achievement and there was who, crisis or not, also ordered ten of them. The context, however, was not the one for who has to be careful to each lira spent. And it 'was the' opportunity, indeed, for a clash between high school teachers of the' classic elegance. On the one hand, in fact, the Neapolitan Marinella ties, along with the cuff-links maker Villa jeweller and fabrics of Barbera brothers on display and for sale until half past seven this evening, at the hall of Puccini " De Milan. " On 'the other side, upstairs, in the same hotel room Verdi, the review of the Genoese Finollo shirts: six hundred thousand lira for a sport model like the Duke of Windsor’s, from one million lira and up for a made to measure. And here, too, the line to enter. Rivalry 'between the two schools? Daniela Finollo’s husband, Roberto Linke, the current head of a family business that celebrates a century now, says with a smile that "we're friends with Maurizio Marinella. Of course – winkle his eye - I do not know how he manages to do ten times my turnover, with the same number of workers I have: maybe is that 'I do everything by hand for real... " Maurizio, downstairs, is too overwhelmed by the crowd to respond. But an 'insider within his team 'who does not mince his words: "The truth' - a lady laughs - and 'that Marinella has more' workers. Either that, or, of course, he pay them a little 'better than a Genoese ... ". Paolo Foschini
Paolo Foschini

Page 47

 

[sangiuseppe]

Marco is on a mission!
Keep it up!

 

[Hirsh]



1) During your exchanges, did the price for each shirt ever come up?
2) why exactly did you change your mind?

The price was given as a basic for the sewing, plus the fabric chosen cost

I changed my mind when I heard the owner had died because I thought that the quality would drop for such a huge outlay for one shirt, but now I've found out that it's still the same Head Cutter, I've just written apologising and asking to make the shirt I originally ordered.

Hopefully it will be worth the €€€!

 

[marcodalondra]



I've apologised to Finollo and hope they will make me an amazing shirt, if the head cutter remains the same

It will be interesting to see whose fits better!

I think it a sensible course of action, but just to clarify your expectation, the shirts can only fit as well as the shirt you are asking them to copy. The artestry of the cutter, and in particular at Finollo where their history and website pictures prove it, is to build a shirt on the client body, and this cannot be demonstrated through copying a shirt