A NAPLES OUTPOST IN LONDON

Savile Row has always attracted the international jetset even before there were jets  – Napoleon lll,  Hirohito, General de Gaulle, J.P.Morgan and Fred Astaire are just some world famous names that have shopped here over the past couple of centuries. It continues to attract an international clientele that includes European royalty, Middle Eastern potentates, Oriental shoguns, as well as Hollywood stars, drawn by its classic English tailoring.

But few of them may have appreciated quite how cosmopolitan this centre of excellence is behind the scenes, attracting skilled workers from around globe. Long before the present crop of immigrants to the UK, Savile Row employed many Eastern European tailors, as well as others from the colonies, the rest of Europe and the Middle East, some leaving their homelands with little more than a needle to support them at the end of their journey.

This international aspect continues today, both in those employed by Savile Row houses and also in the many applications from young, would-be tailors from other countries, eager to train at this tailoring mecca.

But it is perhaps particularly gratifying to Savile Row that tailors of excellence from other countries should wish to join their London environs. Especially when they are of the stature of Rubinacci, a master tailoring house that hails from Naples but has extended its operations to shops in Milan, New York, Tokyo and London.

The London shop is in Mayfair, not far from Savile Row, and is dedicated to similarly high bespoke standards as Savile Row – but with a difference.

“The Neapolitan style is what I call ‘imperfectly perfect’,” says Luca Rubinacci, a young man with the ineluctable style of the Italian. “I think that sums it up perfectly. It is unconstructed and light, because Naples is a very warm place. A Neapolitan jacket is very soft, with little and light canvas, a comfortable jacket.”

Above, Luca Rubinacci with some of the colours he thinks so important for men. At top, a striped d.b. suit with wide peaked lapels. Below, a cashmere tweed jacket, and bottom, the shop front.

This may seem anathema to Savile Row purists, steeped in the tradition of padding and stitched canvas. But as Luca points out, bespoke is all about what the customer wants and if he wants a soft, unconstructed jacket then that’s the Neapolitan style that Rubinacci can provide.

“But now we also do the more formal construction. We will do whatever the customer wants,” he says with a flourish.

Rubinacci started life in Naples in 1932,  a city with a long tradition of tailoring. It was established by Luca’s grandfather, who recognised London as the capital of fine tailoring and so called his new shop London House. It continued under that name until the 1990s when, having opened other shops in Milan, New York and Tokyo as well as London, it was thought a more personal name would be better and hence the family name of Rubinacci was adopted.

From the start, it has been dedicated to high quality both in the bespoke tailoring that is its hallmark but also in the accessories and knitwear and now a ready-to-wear collection that it sells. Such discerning shoppers as top designer, Valentino, who lives near the London shop, appreciate its exclusive, Italian style.

“Yes, our Italian customers love coming to shop at our London base, while our London customers love coming to Italy and visiting us in Naples and Milan. They come from all over the world."

All bespoke garments are made in Naples, in a workroom with three cutters and a team of 45 tailors, including upwards of 20 trainees.

“We can produce just 1200 bespoke suits a year,” Luca explains, “which means 250 available per shop. They are entirely handmade and take around six weeks for completion, though we can do in a month.  The customer says,' oh, that’s good', and then they can’t make a fitting date, so it may take longer – but we do what the customer wants,” he smiles.

Born into this tailoring empire, he always intended to join the family firm but enjoyed a decade of sailing success at a top level before switching to tailoring. He spent a year at Kilgour learning about Savile Row - "the other staff used to criticise my Neapolitan jackets," he remembers - then returned to the family fold.

He believes firmly that a tailoring business in 2011 must be able to make in whatever way the customer wants."Our customers, especially the younger ones, may want a jacket to wear with jeans, or something more colourful. We pioneered more colour in elegant men's clothing. It can still be classic but with colour. "

The shop is a few doors along from Douglas Hayward's, the noted tailor who died in 2008. "He was a very nice neighbour to us," says Luca. "If we had to just alter a trouser length for a customer, rather than send it back to Naples, he would do it for us." Since Hayward's death, some of his old customers have switched their allegiance to Rubinacci.

Luca sees evidence of a younger generation of customers coming back to classic tailoring and is keen to teach them about bespoke advantages, the enjoyment of wearing a beautifully tailored suit.

Heavier weights he also sees returning to favour, though still lighter for Italy. Star number in the Rubinacci ready-to-wear collection is a splendid 650gm cashmere jacketing made up into a unlined jacket. The rest of this collection is now sold in Harrods, the only retail outlet outside Rubinacci's own shops.

"In the last two years, we have seen an increase of 40-50% in customers wanting bespoke," he reveals. "And the age level has gone down. It was upwards of 40 years for bespoke, now they are from 25-28 upwards. They want to spend money on quality. And we are happy to tempt them."