Fashion Talk
Francesco Pesci

Francesco Pesci

CEO
Brioni

The company represents the cutting edge of the sartorial expertise and tradition of Italian design. The company continues to grow thanks to the descendants of the founding families who remain committed to ensuring the highest standards of excellence in made-to-measure.

The company represents the cutting edge of the sartorial expertise and tradition of Italian design. The company continues to grow thanks to the descendants of the founding families who remain committed to ensuring the highest standards of excellence in made-to-measure.

Fibre2Fashion : What does Brioni stands for today in terms of design?

Francesco Pesci:

Elegance is proportion and we still are deeply committed to follow this principle. Designs are not just about the shapes and colors, but also involves - function and style. The Brioni collections nowadays enclose a wide range of exclusive items: each of them is projected and hand-crafted to satisfy the customer’s needs and our elegance’s codes. Research and innovation are very important always respecting our identity: the most important thing is the balance among innovation, tailoring tradition and impeccable elegance.

Fibre2Fashion : What is the relevance of the “fabrics” in designing at Brioni?

Francesco Pesci:

Fabric research plays a very important role and of course is our first step. Every new season 50 research studies on design quality are carried out for coats and jackets alone and about 30,000 varieties are considered, of which only 800 are selected for the Collections. Almost all of them (about 95%) are exclusive selections, both In terms of pattern as well as material, made by the best suppliers about 90% of these exclusive varieties are from the Biella district in Italy, the rest from UK, Ireland and New Zealand.

Fibre2Fashion : The body – The jacket, like a “second skin”, represents the images of perfection, how is this achieved?

Francesco Pesci:

The Brioni process is like no other: it takes between 18 and 22 hours to make one suit, 220 steps, equalling 440 hands working on one article, because each operator performs a single step, including 80 for ironing alone. Stitches sewn by hand for each jacket vary between 5,000 and 7,000, depending on the model and the type of construction required. The sophistication of these pieces has surpassed all basic principles of tailoring and highlights the research, optimization, and development to the industrial plane of a timeworn tradition. Ironing is perhaps one of the most distinctive elements of this perfectionism: each stitching phase is followed by a careful run under the press, which in turn requires a certain period of rest depending on the type of fabric and how long it will take the living fiber to settle. Some fabrics, depending on the climate of the target location, undergo additional treatments so that the garment will react appropriately to the local weather. Moreover, Brioni conducted a global study of fittings and models to fully understand the varying national characteristics in terms of proportion. These processes go through iron-clad controls, starting as soon as the fabrics are received (and placed under strict observation). This involves meticulous inspection of tiny defects visible to the naked eye, irrelevant as far as the market is concerned, but necessary for Brioni’s standard of perfection. All these elements (and many others) are essential to obtain “a s

Fibre2Fashion : With Brioni being named as one the most prestigious Men’s fashion luxury brand, what according to you are the biggest challenges considering the highly competitive fashion and design industry?

Francesco Pesci:

It is challenging for many reasons: one of those is the fact that Brioni is considered a real point of reference in terms of technical know-how and styling approach, so in our daily job we have to consider it and its powerful!

Fibre2Fashion : Made to measure is a unique relationship between tailor and client. How is this ideology conceived at Brioni please elaborate the process?

Francesco Pesci:

“Made-to-measure” as expression itself is more than ever relevant in today’s society: everyone would like a customized product, from a car to a watch, from a chair to a suit. Tailoring speaking a piece created just for you is something different, something special. The made-to-measure experience is still a rare tradition in the luxury world: the bespoke garment is made by definition “on a person, by a person, for a person”. For a true made-to-measure it is very important entering in the psychology of our clients, understand their needs and expectations: we can consider their approach in terms of behaviour, movements, way of sitting or walking and of course the kind of daily life. All these elements need to evolve together with our society.

Fibre2Fashion : 6. How important are trends for a particular fashion season at Brioni, What new styles and trends can the Brioni fans expect to see in seasons to come?

Francesco Pesci:

Brioni fans are very demanding and we work not only to satisfy them but also involve them in our processes of designing as a part of our customized approach: it is this exception that brings them back to us time and again season after season.