mebiuspower
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He already posted on his IG...
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Today's Slaughter.
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I’m going hold off on finishing my former deconstruction post due to some pretty fresh open wounds that may need a couple of weeks to heal properly. I posted it on Instagram, an I may decide to leave it at that, but, we’ll see what the future holds.
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Back in the day, when I knew nothing but began to become curious, Zegna seemed to be a name that just kept popping up everywhere (Hugo Boss, was another, but that Historical research didn't result into much of a positive dive...). Anwyays, I looked Zegna up on Wikipedia, which seemed to have a lot of great things to say over a decade ago... but mostly about its fabrics. I don't remember nor know much about the company, but it seems to now be a company that buys brands that may have been better off prior to having their new owner.
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All finishings were done by machine. Buttonholes, edge stitching, collar attachment, etc..
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This garment was tough to judge based on several qualities, because it had two previous owners. The most recent owner, had an adjustment made to lengthen the sleeves and had the waste taken in at the side body seam (this is mildly important to know, because the sleeve inseam matched the side body seam, which is quite unusual, though not entirely unheard of. I didn't figure out about the alteration until I had opened the jacket and looked beneath the lining. Additionally, Zegna alternatively cuts their top and bottom sleeves almost the same width; most tailoring companies commonly cut the top sleeve wider.)
The lining hem and sleeve felling at the armhole were hand-stitched, unfortunately, due to the alterations that had been done before receive it, I have no way of telling whether or not this was original. Below, you can see where the machine stitch transitions into a hand-stitch that would have been done due to alterations:
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Armhole construction. Sleeve was basted in by hand, as were the many layers that contribute to the shoulder construction, but each layer was all finished by machine.
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At the top, you can see the bastes from hanging the sleeves by hand. Along each of the sleeve seams, there are remnants that the sleeve lining was once attached to the sleeve, I'm presuming the lining was removed by an alterationist.
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E. Zegna sleeve:
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The demolished armhole:
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The former owner of this jacket didn't say anything about needing to adjust the collar. The collar edges are always turned back by hand, but this only takes a couple of minutes, and doesn't add anything to the overall quality of the garment. However, it's apparent that the collar was attached by machine originally, but must have been removed at one point maybe for a squared shoulder adjustment. Makes me wonder for those of you that buy secondhand, do you ever ask sellers about alteration history?
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The shoulder is raised, which I always enjoy seeing. It's much stronger than an open seam, and this shoulder seam is fortified with edge tape. There is only evidence of prick stitching along the edge of the lapel and the lining, I like seeing it attach the raised seam, seals it more in place. The back of the shoulder seam is reinforced with silesia, which is a lightweight cloth used for pocketing.
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One thing I have not seen before, though I find rather intriguing is this floating reinforcment throughout the waist. Same as the back of the shoulder, this floating fabric is also silesia. My presumption is that they did this to prevent of the soft, flexibility of the wool/cashmere fabric to stretch.
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Similar to the Attolini, the canvas is all constructed by machine, but at least the canvas runs throughout the lapel and has a sturdy bridle that runs directly into the fastening button.
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The dart construction was fused at zero, with self fabric on bias stitched to the dart. This prevents any puckering at the top of the dart which would be seen on the front of the jacket.
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Overall, it's an entirely machine-made garment. It's a nice fabric and it has been minimally fused. I know that Zegna has many tiers of offerings, and that makes me hesitant to approach anything of lower quality than this, but I'd definitely be interested in checking out something of a higher tier, if one exists. This construction isn't terrible, but there wasn't much that impressed me either. The only fusing I can see is at the cran of the lapel and at the bottom corner of the quarters, which is normal as these areas of the jacket need the most durability. In all honesty, this garment is exactly what I would expect from a rtw brand that advertises 'full canvas' and 'made in Europe' and doesn't mention anything about being 'fatto a mano'. No misleading advertisement, which I respect; but lacks a bit more in what could be exciting aesthetic details.
I feel like I might need to explain that just like most companies, this one garment may have been made differently from other Ermenegildo Zegna garments that have been made throughout the extensive history and different eras the brand has contributed to. All brands change manufacturing cultures constantly and there are always different production methods being executed.
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I'm not sure going forward, if there are certain things I should be highlighting in these posts, but if you have questions or suggestions, feel free to let me know. I have several other garments on the way, some with pretty high reputations, so I'm pretty excited to tear into them when I get the chance. For me, this is fun. It’s educational. Teaches me a lot about manufacturing and production and can provide great ideas I can try out for myself or just reassure me that I’ve been learning the right things all along. I’m blessed to work alongside people that have both worked in garment assembly lines and factories and also on savile row. We look at a lot of this stuff together and discuss the processes and try to understand the different techniques and ideas. These posts are just summaries of much more thorough discussions that we have everyday at the studio.
The Couture line is pretty nice, and there are hand-made details that are apparent externally (hand-sewn buttonholes, collar, flap pocket, etc...). But I've never opened one up - @induere_to would be better qualified to look at that.Believe it or not, these Swiss-made Zegna jackets retailed for $3000+ CDN (and currently retail over $4000 CDN) from stores like Saks 5th Ave.
But they were frequently and heavily discounted. I bought 2 for myself about 5 years ago from a clearance at a Saks Off 5th Outlet in Canada for $149 CDN each.
I'm thrilled with the ones I bought for $149 CDN. Would never touch them for anywhere close to full retail.
There purports to be a higher end line called Zegna "Couture", which is made in Italy. Just saw one such Zegna Couture jacket on a retailer site that boasted "Handmade"...no clue to what extent that might be so...
JeffreyD inspected one ages ago but I don’t think he was able to cut it apart - It’s interesting to see some of the similarities he noted in the Couture jacket as the one @induere_to dissected - specifically the silesia reinforcements.The Couture line is pretty nice, and there are hand-made details that are apparent externally (hand-sewn buttonholes, collar, flap pocket, etc...). But I've never opened one up - @induere_to would be better qualified to look at that.
Zegna also owns the licence for Tom Ford suits. Although Tom Ford suits are priced at Zegna Couture levels, the construction is actually closer to Zegna Mainline. That said, you can get a Tom Ford suit made to Zegna Couture specs for a 50% upcharge.
The economics of it is interesting. I guess for Zegna to make money on Tom Ford tailoring, they have to include a significant markup on TF items to cover the licence cost.
I stopped by the Via Cavour outlet last week. If it's still open, you should check it out. Stile Latino suits and sport coats for about $1k, and Cucinelli ties for under $100. They also had some nice Barba Napoli sport coats for about $500 (fully canvassed).
They are just ceasing operations in Canada, right?
So wouldn't they just move all their high-margin (i.e. worthwhile) stuff to US stores and/or their online shipping warehouses in the US?
This isn't like a stand-alone carpet importer shutting down. no 10k Kilims or Tabrizis discounted to 500.
ie. no one is going to get killed in the stampede, indulging in the thrill of the chase...
Just the thrill of going to see another brick-and-morter store as it bites the dust