For the love of d'Avenza

[comrade]

*Disclaimer: D'Avenza has a rich history that speaks to the business genius of Simon Ackerman - who melded British and Italian tailoring. It's a mystery why d'Avenza so badly failed to market its goods since the 1950s - it could have been Brioni or Kiton - and should have been on par with those "brands" - but it never achieved even a 10th of their market-share. Jonathan Clay could write a novella about the company. Bill White could also tell you a great deal about the final years of d'Avenza (and his own efforts to introduce it to America which failed miserably). There's a lot about the company that we'll never know because there don't seem to be good records or archives (I've looked!), and most of the head cutters are dead. The company has been in bankruptcy multiple times, and is now - essentially - dissolved (so there's no "keeper of the archives" --- the various owners over the decades have lost their proverbial shirts, so they weren't particularly concerned with keeping the heritage alive the way Zegna has, for instance). Whether Clay will do anything with the name remains to be seen (as he has allegedly bought the trademarks associated with d'Avenza).

Is this the same Simon Ackerman that sold mid- level "sharp" suits to clueless New Yorkers
in the 1950s? I had relatives who swore by the non- Ivy dreck they purchased from SA during the
height of the Ivy Style era. The stores folded in the mid 1960s:

LIQUIDATION SLATED BY SIMON ACKERMAN

Six Simon Ackerman men's clothing stores will reopen tomorrow after having been closed three days in preparation for a liquidation sale.

timesmachine.nytimes.com

 

[thegreatgatsby]

@monkey66

You've done quite well for yourself. I can't tell the year for sure, but it's probably early 2000s. But with a flat front pant, and a delicate pinstripe, it really doesn't matter what year it was made. It will simply never go out of style. I would spend $300 - $400 USD to get that suit "just right" tailoring-wise.

Remarkable price. Value-for-money is second to none.

Enjoy it!

 

[thegreatgatsby]

@comrade

I saw this Ackerman article in the archives as well. Thanks for sharing it. D'Avenza was begun around the same time as Brioni, in the same part of the world. What Ackerman accomplished at d'Avenza and Chester Barrie was nothing short of alchemy.

As to his sustained business knowledge (or business model), I can't speak to that.

All I can tell you is that no one really made d'Avenza work long-term...not Ackerman, not Brand Amour, not Bill White, and (in all likelihood), not Jonathan Clay.

It is interesting that some of the best minds in under-the-radar menswear have gone through the d'Avenza pipeline: including the man who currently runs (or is second in command) at the best outerwear brand in the world that few people even know (outside of Asia or Russia, anyway)...Moorer Verona. His name is Lucio Innocenti. https://it.linkedin.com/in/lucio-innocenti-609353b

Not sure if you're Russian, but Simon Ackerman was Russian, as was the most recent man who tried to bring d'Avenza to the United States, but failed: Michal Sestak.

Again, these are great menswear promoters and designers/consultants: White, Sestak, Innocenti, Clay, etc.

It's incredible to me: you have the best made RTW product in history in the hands of great minds...but it didn't scale.

 

[mangonboat]

it's gone....I realized there was some extra fabric where the jacket and pants had been taken in..its mine now

Any guesses on when this one was made? The tag is in the right inner breast pocket, just initialed. The style suggests late 1960's. Amazing condition.

 

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[ViatoremDiEfa]

That would be fantastic if you could.

I saw that some overcoats on offer at Archibald London are made in Carrara. Does that production line have anything to do with the craftsman who used to work for D'Avenza?

 

[tbaja27]

My only D'avenza piece is a very long, black, cotton trench coat. It is absolutely fantastic!
Ever since been scouring the web looking for suits/sports coats in my size (36US) - no luck so far...

 

[kbadgley84]

Thrifted this, unfortunately no tags except the main one

 

[comrade]

Anthropological observation:

Not sure if you're Russian, but Simon Ackerman was Russian, as was the most recent man who tried to bring d'Avenza to the United States, but failed: Michal Sestak.

From on my own studies and my heritage, Simon Ackerman was not Russian
as such but a "Russian Jew" based his non- slavic surname. " Russian Jews"
in pre- revolutionary times were from the RussianEmpire and mostly came from
the Pale of Settlement, a region where jews were permitted to live, eg Lithuania,
Latvia, parts of Poland, Belarus, and the Ukraine. Think "Fiddler on the Roof".
Such Jews existed as a despised minority with a separate culture and
language- Yiddish.Often not fluent in the local language.They were
subject to systematic prejudice and periodic "pogroms". In the latter third of the
19th centurury through the 1920s a great percentage of this population emigrated
to the US, Canada, the UK, France, South Africa, Argentina, and Australia. After the
Holocaust many of the survivors went to Israel.

 

[monkey66]

Finally got this suit sorted, full outfit and story here.

 

[act225]

Thrifted this, unfortunately no tags except the main one
View attachment 1567596 View attachment 1567597

Dear Sir, I believe by coincidence I've managed to find my hands on this very garment last month...did you sell it on eBay at some point?

(If anyone would like photos to confirm, I am happy to.)

 

[kbadgley84]

Dear Sir, I believe by coincidence I've managed to find my hands on this very garment last month...did you sell it on eBay at some point?

(If anyone would like photos to confirm, I am happy to.)

Yes i sure did. How do you like it? I beleive I sold mine mire than a month ago tho. Maybe it has changed hands to a more recent seller?

 

[act225]

Yes i sure did. How do you like it?

Great, thank you! I plan to get it taken in at the waist to fit me, but I'm excited about its gauntlet cuffs, it's the first kind of garment I own to have it.
One side of the lapel looks like it needs pressing back, I'll ask my tailor whether he can do something about that/steam/press it.

Anyway, what a coincidence to realize this was what I ended up buying!

 

[kbadgley84]

Great, thank you! I plan to get it taken in at the waist to fit me, but I'm excited about its gauntlet cuffs, it's the first kind of garment I own to have it.
One side of the lapel looks like it needs pressing back, I'll ask my tailor whether he can do something about that/steam/press it.

Anyway, what a coincidence to realize this was what I ended up buying!

Glad you like it! Love the deep red color. Enjoy!

 

[act225]

Glad you like it! Love the deep red color. Enjoy!

Thank you! It is a very nice color. Though there's no fabric composition label anywhere. I do wonder, is it either silk, or a wool/mohair blend?