Tailoring in Florence

When the French writer Stendhal arrived in Florence in 1817, he visited the Basilica of Santa Croce to see the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo. Upon seeing the resting place of these great men, he was overcome with emotion, suffering palpitations and dizziness he fell down on his knees in ecstasy. The condition came to be known as Stendhal Syndrome, after the author, something experienced when an individual is exposed to immense beauty or art, and can’t contain themselves.  

Florence is as good a place as any to undergo such a vertiginous rapture. Every corner you round reveals some delight. From the littlest alleyway to the grandest piazzas, from the first time you see the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in the morning, to the sun setting over the Ponte Vecchio in the evening, every vista is more beautiful than the last. 

A list of Florence’s delights could run on and on. This cradle of the Renaissance offers just about everything civilization requires. Generations of pilgrims have made their way here to pay their respects to the early works of Da Vinci and the masterpieces of Michelangelo, and to see the architecture of Brunelleschi and Vasari.  

They still come, enticed now as much by large plates of Bistecca, Lampredotto, an affogato for desert, an aperitivo of a spritz or two. Florentine food is hearty, rustic and generous, the perfect accompaniment to a day spent pounding the city’s cobbled streets in search of inspiration. 

We couldn’t think of a better place to show off our latest tailoring collection, photographed across the city’s piazzas and palazzos, under the marbles and stones and statues. We helped ourselves to a few fiascos of Chianti (of course), a couple of long lunches and some longer dinners. 

It marks a renewed collaboration with one of our earliest tailoring partnerships, reflecting a longstanding relationship first championed by our founder, Michael Drake. It revisits that collaboration with a renewed focus on what made it so compelling in the first place: ease, refinement, and an instinctive understanding of soft tailoring. 

The fabrics are lovingly sourced from a variety of Italian mills, as well as a handful of British ones. We have some new styles of heavy linens, alongside Canapa, which is similar, if superior, to linen, stronger and with a better drape, and will wear in beautifully with use, and a Canapa silk blend, as well as some traditional British frescos. The silhouettes are classic Drake’s, full of relaxed elegance.