DNA
FUROSHIKI
[noun] fu / rosh / iki
The Japanese tradition of wrapping gifts and everyday goods in carefully selected squares of cloth. The square format easily adapts to different shapes and sizes through various folding techniques. This simple form with its naturally folded handle allows for easy transport, reusable packaging and a thoughtful gesture of good fortune. In a similar way, the straight lines of the traditional Japanese kimono and yukata provide a very versatile fit across different sizes and body shapes by their generous drape.
OVERCOAT
A form of practical shelter that draws a direct line back to the origins of cloth and the first primitive garments arising from the need for portable shelter. From this early prototype, outerwear remains a form of collapsible architecture. Though the exterior is understated and classic through generations of evolution, much like a rounded pebble, the interior of the garment is shaped by day-to-day utility with attention paid to storage pockets, a durable finish and generous amounts of ease for versatility and movement. Though the cloth and proportions shift with each generation, the spirit and DNA of the original remains intact.
Story
We are Savile Row trained tailors inspired by the effortlessness of Italian soft tailoring and the attention to detail and affinity to nature of Japanese architecture and aesthetics.
In 2018, while I was working as the head cutter of a tailoring company in London, I would spend weeks at a time in our partner workshop in Italy. After a long work week I would often hop on a train and explore different parts of the country. One particular weekend I was visiting the old town of Trastevere in Rome - a bohemian quarter on the banks of the River Tiber that is all cobblestones, pizzerias and late night coffee bars. On certain Sundays a vintage street market winds around the nearby Porta Portese neighbourhood. It was a chilly October morning and I was on the hunt for a new overcoat - a relaxed, open cut that I could slip on over just about anything in a versatile cloth, probably wool, maybe with some pattern. I'd had enough of fitted overcoats with their boxy shoulders, suppressed waist lines and restricted movement. I was also tired of the fragility and fussiness of 'luxury' cloths. I wanted ease and drape, freedom of
movement and a low maintenance cloth that just worked.
I hadn't had much luck amongst the antique furniture and high street cast-offs but then I came across a stall run by an old Italian man. Rack after rack of men's overcoats that looked like they had come straight from the costume department of a 1950's De Sica film. I started going through them one at a time, knowing that the perfect coat must be there somewhere. Too big, too small, too padded, too bulky, tricky colour, awkward proportions, and then I found it - a charcoal herringbone with dark teal and chalk grey overcheck. I checked the label to see that it was made in Italy and of a wool/cashmere blend so the hand was soft but the durability was there too. I slipped it on and straight away it floated on my shoulders. I knew the fit was perfect, even before I looked in the mirror. The classic Scottish Balmacaan via Italy with all of the authentic details - raglan sleeves, fly-front, slanted welt pockets, Bal collar, single vent, removable belt, wrist tabs. The only thing missing was the storm guard for rainy weather, I guess not a huge concern in Italy. As I walked away to find a coffee the cloth flowed beautifully, occasionally catching the wind. It was a rare sensation that I wanted to recreate and share.
I've been wearing that coat ever since and it was the seed of the idea behind Furoshiki Overcoat - to take the DNA of classic men's overcoats to make simple, timeless outerwear with a focus on lightness, ease of fit and movement. Alongside this love of classic overcoats and Italy lies a deep affinity with the clarity of Japanese architecture and aesthetics - a vision of minimalism that has for centuries worked with the grain of nature, not against it.
Prototyping
In a meeting of craft and industry, we prototype our samples in our London workshop and manufacture our garments in Italy.
Realising that bespoke tailoring is essentially prototyping, we developed a kind of 'industro-artisanal' process of handcrafting and more importantly wear-testing samples. After making several bespoke prototypes in our London workshop we transfer the model to our Italian partner workshop.
This lightweight approach marries the efficiency, consistency and value of the industrial process with the insight and traditional techniques of bespoke tailoring.
We like to develop a single model at a time, drawing from our archive of vintage outerwear to distil its particular DNA. This insight isn't found in a sketch or a spec, only by working directly with the cloth and by living with the garment. Only by wearing a garment do you begin to understand it from the inside-out and feel how it interacts with the body and responds to the environment. We want to work out what makes it tick, what makes it a classic and then explore that form in various cloths.
Manufacturing
Set on the edge of the Italian Riviera, our partner workshop specialises in soft, unstructured tailoring.
This is a workshop that we have collaborated with for almost ten years as consultants for different tailoring houses around the world. They offer a unique balance of hand finishing and industrial-scale making with a significant investment in innovative new technology and machinery. The benefit of making outerwear in a workshop like this is that it goes through the
same hands and processes as a full canvassed made-to-measure suit. This introduces a three dimensionality and life to the garment with an added layer of invisible craftsmanship. This is a different level of finish and attention to detail than a ready-to-wear outerwear factory, which is almost always a completely machine-made product down to the button attachment. We find balancing a machine make with handwork and know-how at the important stages adds a huge amount of value to the finished garment and its lifespan. As the workshop is set up to produce custom made-to-measure suits we are able to produce small batches or even single orders at a time which means we can be more responsive to customer needs.