Ermenegildo Zegna

Bielmonte

Ring Jacket MTO

A new palette added, although still well within the realm of what I would call brown, Bielmonte was not just a step away from my beloved high-twists, but a big step into the unknown on quite many levels.

Before eventually choosing this cloth I went back and forth, deciding, “un-deciding” and consulting with friends and myself. There were two reasons for that which I’ll get into in this presentation.

Cloth Properties

Ermenegildo Zegna
　→ Bielmonte 1320 / 0112
90% Wool / 10% Silk
250g
Plain Weave
Bielmonte was completely new to me. In fact it’s been years since I even considered cloths from Zegna, which I used to put quite high in the Mill hierarchy.
I came across this cloth in a special bunch book and was quite intrigued by both the colour and look of the thread composition.
I initially chose the cloth as the properties looked very promising on paper; a wool and silk mix at 250g. But as I wasn’t quite sure, I did some consulting which left me none the wiser.

The problem with cloths is that although properties might seem objectively good, there’s a preference aspect to them as well. Some meant it wasn’t for them and others recommended it.

My biggest worry was the weave, as it had been mentioned that it was not overly breathable, which to me is quite an important factor.

Now, skipping the rest of the process before eventually deciding, upon first wearing the suit I finally got some relief. It’s far from a high-twist, but quite close to the Classic Mohairs in how the weave feels in lightness and flow.

The inherent difference with the latter is that the mohair provides some breathability that this wool/silk doesn’t.
Also, you have to take into account a second factor; this cloth is immensely coarse. I mean, Fresco is smooth in comparison. While in my case I actually like coarseness because I think it provides a certain moisture-wicking property, but it’s definitely something one should be aware of if picking this cloth.
Another factor in which this cloth doesn’t excel is holding shape. It’s not horrible, quite a normal level to be honest, but comparing it to say Fox Air or Crispaire, it is miles apart.
This was also something my friend whom I consulted mentioned, but honestly, my routine for after wear care has alleviated most of my worries concerning this. I have never pressed a pair of trousers and they still drape as if they were brand new.

So, I should probably relieve some of the tension now that the not so great parts are out of the way.

As mentioned in my Crispaire presentation, when the mid-summer heat hits, there is really only one cloth for me, which is Fox Air. I can wear other fabrics, but none of them can stand up to what Fox Air provides in every aspect. Mind you, I’m talking about suits now. Sports coats is a different story.

With this in mind, as much as I wish all my suits to perform as well as my Fox Air’s does, if I want a certain variety some compromises will have to be made.
The Bielmonte cloth wore fairly well in 35°C and high humidity.
There’s most definitely air flow through this cloth and obviously with such a light cloth, it wears nice and light around your legs and over the shoulders.

Although it doesn’t crease easily on a whole, I do notice that it creases more easily in areas that usually does.
Like over the elbows and behind the knees. However, although very visible at the time of wear, those parts actually snapped back quite quickly when hanging the suit, even before my rigorous air heater session.

Seeing that I did have that consultation about breathability with my friend, I did quite a thorough check of the fabric after the first wear and although the lining, especially the armhole protective lining, had taken a beating from perspiration, there was no sign of moisture collecting in the weave. Not even in the seat of the trousers.

Cloth Look

Now we have finally arrived at the second reason for my rigorous consulting.

What piqued my interest in this cloth was the look and upon seeing it I initially booked it while immediately starting to research whether any of the mills and merchants I am familiar with had something similar. They didn’t. I looked at Fox Air, Fox City, South Pacific Linen, Mare end so on, and although some were close it just wasn’t quite the same.

It would benefit producers to gather as many photos of garments made of their cloths as possible, because as a consumer trying to envision how a tailored garment is gonna look can be quite difficult.
And this cloth is a good example of that.

I’ll just preface that I really love the look of this suit although it did not end up looking the way I had imagined it.
Since we’re on the subject, although this might be due to how the lighting in the room I view bunch books is set, the cloth will look lighter than the swatch suggests.
But in the case of this Bielmonte cloth it was more about how the almost pattern-looking cloth would actually look in a larger format.

It’s a lot more distinctive than I thought, but as I mentioned, I actually am glad that’s how it turned out.

Besides the pattern, the colour is also perfect, leaning more towards a brown beige than a gray beige, and you know what I think about brown.

These two last parts takes us to the next, which was my reasoning behind this choice.

Suit

I initially wanted a beige summer jacket but then realised it would be a more efficient solution to acquire a suit in which I could wear both the trousers and jacket as separates. Obviously I’m more than familiar with spezzato, but as opposed to that being an option, it was actually the purpose of this order.

With regards to trousers, because I often go jacketless in the summer, creating interest in the few garments I wear is a good way to elevate the look.

In a similar vein, I’m not known to wear solid and rather bland looking sports coats, summer is supposed to be more colourful than that in my opinion.
And I think this jacket hits the sweet spot in being a beautiful brown beige that pairs well with almost all my wardrobe, while at the same time has a stunning interesting look to it.

As for the details, there were a couple of changes made.

The two most significant being that I resorted to base the jacket on the No-286 model, which is the first for a summer suit (but second, considering the flannel pinstripe suit).

The second part being that I increased the rise. Yes. Even higher.