Roman/English styles

[aarghh]

I've read a lot about it, but I'm still not able to pin it down - what are the essential differences between the house styles of Huntsman and Brioni? Both seem to have severe waist suppression, structured shoulders and chest, with high gorge, and favor the lean, clean, look.

 

[Manton]

Brioni makes more than one silhouette, and I am not as familiar with the differences as some other posters are. I would say (generally) that Huntsman's origins are in equestrian tailoring, and their suits are very much inspired by "hacking" clothes. Â Brioni is pure "city," all the way. On the Brioni coats that I have seen, the waist suppression is not as dramatic as on a Huntsman coat. Â Huntsman also makes a longer coat (the English generally make a longer coat than the Italians). Â A Huntsman suit will be a little more "angular" rather than "hourglass," and the skirt will be more flared. The shoulders will be padded, but not pitched, and not exactly square. Â (I think they vary the angle and "lift" of the shoulder depending on a customer's height. Â Can anyone confirm this? Â Scott Sullivan?) The trousers will have a much higher rise, and a fuller leg. Â Finally, Huntsman SB coats famously have only one button. There is a great picture of a Huntsman coat in that Forbes article linked earlier.