In the heart of Barcelona, just yards from the Plaça de Catalunya on the Passeig de Gràcia, the boulevard that is home to the city’s prime luxury retailers, is a tailor of great distinction and renown. Bel y Cía was established in 1842 as a bespoke outfitter for the best-dressed and most distinguished Catalan gentlemen. A full-service tailor and shirtmaker, the firm is particularly known for their Teba jackets – an unstructured, notchless blazer designed as a shooting jacket and which has become an iconic piece of casual, tailored menswear. The house, commonly known simply as Bel, stocks all manner of accessories and menswear, including the finest quality cashmere and knitwear, ready-to-wear tailored pieces and shirts for both men and women.
Tag Archives: OUTFITTERS
TOM FORD
Tom Ford is a modern icon, an American fashion designer who is considered to be one of the world’s greatest couturiers and a leading tastemaker. He founded his eponymous label in New York City in 2005 having previously been the creative director at Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, where he transformed the brand into the global powerhouse it is today. Ford first emerged as a serious design talent whilst at Perry Ellis where he worked alongside his peer, Marc Jacobs. His signature style is overtly modernist, embracing sharp lines and angles, minimalist colour palettes and defined silhouettes, however Ford manages to pay homage to traditional methods and drapes in order to accentuate the figure. This style has won the label a great many admirers, with the brand being a go-to for the best-dressed members of High Society, silver screen stars and titans of industry. Indeed, Ford has regularly been sought out by Hollywood studios to craft bespoke pieces for their wardrobe departments, even dressing Daniel Craig’s James Bond – the manifestation of the British style, the Savile Row suited gentleman. Ford, a customer of Anderson & Sheppard, is an aficionado of the Row and its sartorial legacy. He has carefully studied the tailoring art and the English-style, borrowing heavily from the tradition for his own tailoring service. A full-suite fashion house, the Maison is now split between its beauty and cosmetic offer (owned by Estée Lauder) and the fashion business (under the Zegna group).
GIEVES & HAWKES
Gieves & Hawkes is one of the grandest of the Savile Row tailoring houses, an institution dating back to 1771. The house is renowned as a military tailor of distinction and a bespoke tailor of choice to many of the world’s best-dressed men. The firm has a long legacy as a tailor by appointment to various members of the British Royal Family and other royals, with the warrants to boot. The brand was formed in 1974 when two established tailoring houses merged, Hawkes & Co and Gieve & Co (pronounced with hard ‘G’). Hawkes & Co was founded in 1771 and had carved out a reputation as a preferred tailor to the most senior British Army officers and members of the Royal Household. Gieve & Co was founded in 1887 when it took over an older studio for whom James Gieve had apprenticed, with a legacy of dressing the most senior officers of the Royal Navy. The military tradition of both houses would come to define the Gieves & Hawkes silhouette and, indeed, the English style of defined shoulders and narrow tapered bodies. Today, the firm continues to offer a bespoke tailoring service together with a wide range of ready-to-wear apparel making them a go-to outfitters for their distinguished clientele.
KITON
Kiton is a revered brand, well known to the world’s best dressed men. The brand was established in 1968 by Ciro Paone who had already launched a successful apparel company in 1956 in his home city of Naples. He sought to build upon that experience and on the city’s legacy as a global epicentre of fine tailoring and shirtmaking with the launch of his own tailoring house, a house which would use only the finest materials and the most careful and precise craftsmanship. His mission was single-minded: to be the world’s pre-eminent tailoring studio. The brand quickly won over the most discerning Neapolitan gentlemen and grew to become one of the most coveted bespoke suit makers on the planet. Paone expanded his brand to offer a wide range of apparel, accessories and leather goods, with various off-the-rack pieces made to the same exacting standards and high quality as his bespoke options and, as such, Kiton is renowned as a top-tier, quiet luxury brand.
ARTLING
Opened in 2010 as a made-to-measure tailoring establishment, Artling has grown to offer a full bespoke suiting and shirtmaking service to the most dapper of Parisian gentlemen. Famed for their vibrant and quirky flourishes, Artling has developed a reputation as a go-to outfitter in the fashion capital.
MARTHA SU MISURA
Martha su Misura is a full-suite bespoke tailoring house just outside of Modena. Helmed by Martha Naudascher, the firm offers made-to-measure and custom shirtmaking, knitwear, suiting and more for men and women. The atelier also manages a small boutique with a range of ready-to-wear items and accessories to outfit their discerning clientele.
CHANEL
Coco Chanel began to ply her trade as a milliner of note when she opened her hat boutique in Paris in 1910. She soon expanded to include ready-to-wear tailored coats and sporting pieces to ensure the fashionable ladies of Parisian society were appropriately attired for their various sporting and leisure pursuits. Her designs featured elegant yet defined silhouettes and luxurious but practical materials which quickly came to define her house style and remain iconic and distinct today. The Chanel house would continue to grow, offering all manner of luxury goods, leather goods, perfumes and, eventually, couture designs. The brand is widely regarded as one of the world’s pre-eminent high-end luxury fashion brands.
GIANNETTO PORTOFINO
Giannetto Portofino is a luxury brand producing indulgent resortwear and comfortable shirting for a well-dressed client base from across Italy. A family-owned shirtmaker in the Italian tradition, the firm uses the finest materials and in-house patterns to cut beautiful shirts, sleepwear and accessories for men. The boutique is located Andria but takes its inspiration from the salubrious resort town of Portofino. The brand was opened as Camiceria Sanfort in 1979.
ABERCROMBIE & FITCH
Founded in 1892 as a premium gentleman’s outfitter and sporting goods supplier, Abercrombie & Fitch was a one-time rival to brands like Willis & Geiger and Airey & Wheeler. Their Manhattan store showcased a range of camp and safari wear, tailored sporting apparel, countrywear and equipment, including canoes, tents and guns. The firm was particularly well known as a supplier of fine sporting wristwatches and durable outdoors goods. The firm was also a pioneer in catalog business, dispatching across North America. However, the marque experienced a period of great decline following the Great Crash of 1929 which financially destroyed many of the brand’s most loyal and prominent customers. The Abercrombie name would begin a great resurgence in the 1990s when it was acquired by Limited Brands. The brand would become hugely popular as a lifestyle and casualwear brand as a consequence of a number of controversial marketing and management initiatives. Today, the brand continues as a lifestyle apparel brand, albeit with a heavy nod to it’s sporting and outdoors-oriented past. Vintage pieces, particularly those that pre-date the Limited Brands ownership, are highly sought after by collectors and connoisseurs.
AQUASCUTUM
A legendary outfitter, famous, particularly, for their trench coats which rivalled that of Burberry and DAKS, Aquascutum was founded in 1851 and introduced their iconic waterproof outerwear range in 1853. The firm grew to become cherished by London’s most distinguished clientele, including a great many royals whom bestowed their respective warrants upon the brand. Aquascutum expanded their range to include a full suite of fashions, menswear, womenswear, accessories and tailored items, many featuring their distinctive house check. The brand has undergone a series of ownership changes in recent years with varying degrees of success.
FITZGABRIELS 