A Century of Perfection

Devoted customers to the century-old Borrelli menswear label include famous names such as Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras, Harrison Ford, and Richard Gere. Al Pacino owns nine of the design house's distinctive overcoats in a variety of colours, and Tommy Hilfiger is also a loyal customer. On the screen, Oceans Eleven featured screen idols Brad Pitt and George Clooney in Borrelli suits throughout the whole movie - take a close look next time you hire the film - you'll recognise the distinctive cuffs on both jackets and shirts.

The history of the company is a fascinating one. In 1900 Anna Borrelli started making and selling shirts, first from her home in Naples, and then from a small atelier she ran with help from her son, Luigi. This brand, once a favourite of the well-dressed Italians of the 1900s, is one of the last in the world to remain committed to fully hand-made garments.

Luigi Borrelli is a fashion house with a difference. Carrying the crest of the Italian royal family, and housed partly in the family's residences in Naples, Borrelli remains under the direction of Anna's grandson, Fabio Borrelli, a fashion leader in his own right, who boasts 200 suits and 300 pairs of shoes in his personal collection.

Borrelli suits are the choice of the truly discerning. Though the company employs 800 people and has been around for more than a century, many people are unaware of the name. This reflects the fact that, unlike many high-gloss, big-name competitors, the Borrelli family spends no money on advertising or on camera-friendly runway shows with supermodels. Fabio Borrelli prefers to invest in quality fabrics and workmanship rather than magazine advertisements and Paris fashion parades, and as every coat, suit, and shirt is completely hand-made by master tailors in Naples, supply is carefully controlled. In a world of computer-programmed manufacturing and mass production, the work that goes into a Borrelli garment is truly mesmerising. In Naples, the master tailors continue to cut suits by hand.

Luigi Borrelli and his wife continue to live in the Borrelli estate where all production takes place. Often they invite staff to share coffee and antipasto during the working day. The intimate approach of a family business has always been the hallmark of the label still continues today.

Ties are hand-made using fine silks. Laborious traditions characterise this company. Armholes are still stitched by hand, as are all buttonholes. Six hundred shirts are hand-produced each day- in a process that is unique in its combination of human skill and volume.

Often when new stock arrives in-store, it still carries a light scent of tobacco, a reminder of the cigar-smoking tailors who make the garments. Visitors to the factory comment on how cheerful the staff are - a stark contrast to many of today's fashion industry practices.

The world of Borrelli is hard to really get across in words. You need to sense the snipping of the shears, the steam of heavy irons, and the fastidious movements of hands as they sew, embroider, bast, and shape. Borrelli embodies a philosophy of luxury created by human hands. A philosophy that makes absolute quality its top priority.