From Roman Holiday to The Talented Mr Ripley, La Dolce Vita to Roma, the Eternal City has provided sumptuous backdrops for numerous style-rich films. Inside and outside its famous studios, Rome has always been a cinematic city, with generations of filmmakers captivated by its ancient, decaying grandeur and gradual evolution. “Rome does not need to make culture, it is culture,” Federico Fellini famously quipped in response to being asked – provocatively – if he thought his adopted city was “culturally dead”. Inspired, we enlisted longtime creative collaborator, friend of the brand, and seasoned life traveller William Gilchrist to pack a suitcase of our summer tailoring and explore the hidden gems of the city.
A Weekend in Rome
“Rome is overwhelmed by its own greatness, a truly magical city by day or night,” William tells us upon his return. “We’re quite accustomed to buildings and monuments being garishly overlit in many cities, ironically for a country whose lighting in restaurants is not dissimilar to an operating theatre, Rome’s urban lighting is subtle, intoxicating and gentle it really is dreamlike” he continues. Providing both fantasy and reality in equal measure, the city provides the perfect setting to show off our relaxed linen silhouette.
Double-Breasted Jacket Padworth Stone
Double-Breasted Jacket Padworth Stone
Designed with every variety of summer occasion in mind, our suiting collection features new iterations of Oli's tailoring vision, offering contemporary comfort and sleek, unstructured silhouettes in an array of soft, sustainable lightweight fabrics, such as linen and organic cotton. Seeing them as an extension of our casualwear wardrobes but with lapels, our suits are designed to be worn in a laidback way that doesn't presuppose the combination of a classic shirt and tie, yet look equally at home if you do embrace a slightly more formal finish. If a dress code isn't a problem, then we particularly love pairing our unstructured suits with soft-collared polo shirts and tees for more of a chic resort vibe that you can wear with sneakers, loafers, or sandals. Whichever way they are worn, they are wonderfully suited to modern day flâneurism.
“We shot in an area called Trastevere (which means ‘across the river’) home of Rome’s oldest fountain, Santa Maria, which is on the site of a spring of oil. Talking of fountains we also shot at Acqua Paola overlooking Trastevere, an amazing spot that’s appeared in many a film, such as The Great Beauty by Sorrentino.” William Gilchrist
Wyndhams Jacket Arnold Black
Wyndhams Jacket Arnold Black
Belted Trousers Arnold Black
Belted Trousers Arnold Black
Perhaps the reason why the Italian sartorialists have stolen a march on us is simply the weather. Predictably warm days for the best part of the year does help somewhat when it comes to dressing down tailoring. Suit fabrics become lighter, with less and less structure, and separates really come into their own, allowing you to integrate a multitude of different linen and cotton options on both halves of your body. We design all of our tailoring with this in mind. Even our suits often have more than one style of matching trouser, whether it's a drawstring, judo, or fishtail style. But the beauty of the tailoring collection is in the way you can mix and match the jackets and trouser styles.
“The Baths of Caracalla are a must if you want to get an understanding of the sheer scale and bravura of ancient Rome. For a glass of wine and some simple fare head to Il Bucone. while Monti is a great area for a stroll and Sacripante is a perfect mix of art, good hosts and a perfect Negroni. Trionfale Market is an absolute pleasure and is as rewarding as the Pantheon, my other favourite place in Rome. Like all great cities, there’s far more to Rome than the postcards. Do get lost, you’ll discover great things.” – William Gilchrist