I have a few mantras in life, but there are two I feel are especially relevant to fashion:
- Always buy the best you can afford.
- Use beautiful things every day.
Basically, my philosophy is that you shouldn’t keep your best china, crystal or silver locked away, but enjoy them all the time. Beauty makes daily life a lot more pleasurable. It may seem snobbish, but the idea is actually quite the opposite when you think about it. We should all surround ourselves and our loved ones with the best quality that we can afford. Why have nice things if we don’t use or enjoy them?
This is especially relevant when it comes to our wardrobes. When we purchase fewer “disposable” pieces and focus more on quality, we have more to spend on those higher value items, and we tend to keep them for longer and appreciate them more. This message resonates with our Clients and Stylists alike, because every J.Hilburn garment is not only of impeccable quality, it’s also custom-made for its owner. You can always rely on your J.Hilburn wardrobe to help you look and feel great, and that sets our brand apart.
One of the many things I love about our brand is being able to offer some of the most beautiful menswear fabrics in the world. You can enjoy owning and wearing these incredible fabrics every day, because at J.Hilburn, we want you to feel special and confident in everything you do. That’s not just a nice soundbite, either—it represents a deeply held belief in our ability to bring you the very best value at every price point.
Our selection of fabrics is truly unique, featuring wools, silks, cashmeres and other precious fibers that are manufactured in the foothills of the Italian Alps by partners like Vitale Barberis Canonico, Colombo, Zegna, Reda 1865, Trabaldo Togna and Loro Piana. Each season, I review the new and ongoing collections from these mills to select the very best sportcoat and suiting fabrics, using my eye to filter color, pattern and innovation. These legendary mills are steeped in textile history and know-how, while also being at the forefront of market trends in color, pattern and technological advances. Behind each mill is a family-owned business operating through inherited textile dynasties, and we are proud of our partnerships with the storied names that have shaped the Italian and worldwide textile industry for hundreds of years.
One of the exceptional mills we currently partner with is Loro Piana. Over the last half-century the two Loro Piana brothers, Sergio and Luigi, have transformed the textile mill into a luxury brand. They’ve developed apparel and lifestyle collections that sit alongside the textile operation, creating a superlative halo of luxury over the name. After Sergio’s passing 10 years ago, Loro Piana passed hands to the LMVH group, which has continued to build the brand on its founding pillars.
If I were asked to describe what makes Loro Piana unique, I would immediately respond that it’s all about color. There’s a particular softness in the brand’s color sensibility that is quintessentially Italian. Their colors are never shocking or overt, but rather luminous and bright. They’re never cheap or superficial, but deep and thoughtful in tone and saturation. They obtain this quality of color by using the finest of yarns, blended with softness and harmony and a sensitivity to color built over years of experience. Perhaps because Loro Piana has always embraced womenswear and never allowed gender to limit the influence of color, they have always mixed palettes that are very distinctive.
When it comes to suiting, Loro Piana fabrics always seem purposefully patterned, with subtle variations in the designs: A Glen plaid that isn’t quite traditional and so fine that it almost disappears, or a Hopsack that is fractionally smaller in scale with a camouflaged accent that you can’t quite define. These examples illustrate how Loro Piana makes artful choices to produce cloth that highlights the quality, rather than masking it with vulgar colors or patterns. These are the choices that make a brand like Loro Piana synonymous with luxury.
In our current collection, we offer Loro Piana suiting and sportcoats for Clients who appreciate modern Italian luxury. Some of you may choose Loro Piana cloth for special occasions, splashing out in a particular suit for a wedding, whilst others prefer to wear Loro Piana every day of the week. Maybe you’re one of those men who enjoy wearing luxury for every occasion when a suit is required, from business and board meetings to social events.
Of note this season is a new knit quality we have introduced as a sweater replacement, and it’s proving very popular with Clients. This honeycomb fabric uses a super soft wool and cashmere blend for custom-made knits unlike anything else. Zip styles, crew necks, and even hoodies if preferred, offer fresh options for Clients with a true taste for luxurious sportswear.
To complete the lineup and finish the outfitting, we’re also offering a new fabric from Loro Piana in pants. This beautiful cloth is a diagonal weave wool stretch in soft melange colors, which wears so comfortably because it combines extra-fine wool with the technology of stretch. The three melange color ways are perfect examples of the rich, deep colors that Loro Piana is known for, because they truly are unlike anything else.
This kind of luxury is created to last beyond a single season, which just proves my point about owning and wearing the very best that you can afford—because good taste is really quite timeless.
