Gruppo GFT

[neyus]

Today I bought a navy Valentino suit jacket from a thrift store for $20, I intend on using it as a blazer or just a spare jacket so i can leave at work.

This garment was manufactured by Gruppo GFT.

I know that Gruppo has manufactured in the past Armani and Cerruti and other designers.

Does anyone know about the quality of the suits that are made for Valentino by Gruppo?

I think this the suit is fused and probably representitive of most of Gruppo's manufacturing.... Feels almost like cardboard is inside it.

 

[rach2jlc]

Gruppo is a good middle-of-the road maker. Nothing special, but certainly not Men's wearhouse either. They made for many of the diffusion lines or middle lines of many different designers (all fused, all with fair but not great fabrics). As you mentioned, they manufactured the "Mani" line for Armani. Also, until about 2003 or so, they made the garments for Calvin Klein Collection. Depending on the designer, they are a little overpriced for their quality, but for $20 there's nothing to worry about. Overall, I would compare them to something like Ittierre SPA, which makes for D&G, Versace Jeans, Just Cavalli etc.

As for Valentino, even within the Valentino umbrella, there are about 1000 levels of quality (and nearly that many lines, from Valentino Uomo, RED Valentino, Valentino Roma, Valentino Garavani, Valentino Jeans, Oliver by Valentino, Valentino for Valentino Children's Chewable Vitamins, etc etc etc).

At the VERY top quality is fairly good, but it all goes down from there. A top level suit will run you nearly $3000, but towards the bottom, the suits are manufactured in places like Egypt but STILL are priced at $1400 or thereabouts.

At full retail, Valentino is one of the most overpriced designers alive, but still the styling and fit of Valentino is nice. So, for $20, you did great, but it sounds to me like this is one of the middle to lower-end Valentino items.

John

 

[kitonbrioni]

Sounds like you got a great bargain.