neapolitan Japan

Since I was first introduced to Italian tailoring brands through the likes of United Arrows and Ships a couple of years ago I have increasingly been drawn to Italian tailoring and specifically the style and brands from the southern part. Gazing out on the surrounding scenery from my Kyoto apartment window it seems somewhat fitting, with the low houses covered in roof tiles, creating an almost Italian like atmosphere. 

It might have been a natural evolution in my style exploration, seeing as I like to wear tailored clothing more casually, and the Neapolitan style tailoring lends itself well to this ambition. The Scandinavian propensity towards British suit construction, with the rather unstylish addition of low rise trousers and skinny lapels, might have served its purpose earlier, as suiting up was a rather seldom event, reserved for formal events such as Christmas, weddings and funerals.

Needless to say, neither that style nor the seldomness is any longer the case.

In some sense it seems like my awareness and knowledge with regards to tailored clothing grew exponentially with items I found in either the stores or web stores of Japanese select shops. Admittedly, in the beginning I thought the jackets and neckties with Italian sounding names I came across were Japanese, but made to sound more exotic and appealing. The former would not have been such a bad thing, if true, seeing as Japanese makers are exceptionally good at quality and finesse, adding their own take on classical menswear.   

The latter presumption isn’t too farfetched either, if you look at a brand such as Camoshita; where founder Kamoshita Yasuto apparently changed the “K” to a “C” to have the brand sound more Italian.

Either way, running into brands such as Errico Formicola, Caruso, Salvatore Piccolo and Cesare Attolini in the respective Japanese select shops paved the way for my continuously growing passion and I am ever so grateful for that. 

While expanding my knowledge, which obviously is an ongoing and never ending endeavour, I quickly realised that being in Japan, far away from Italy, and Europe for that matter, is all but a fortunate coincidence. Aformentioned stores and brands aside, the interest in Italian style tailoring and Italian fabrics in Japan is just immense. In anything from RTW to MTM you’ll easily find a suit or a jacket in an Italian fabric like Loro Piana, with 3roll2 buttoning and a soft shoulder leaving nothing to be desired. Lastly, not to mention Japanese brands taking on Neapolitan tradition while still creating their own unique look. 

In the case of the latter, I see a lot of good stuff coming from Beams F’s corner and occasionally United Arrows’ Sovereign house does tap into this style. Beams F also offer tailored items from a certain maker in Japan, which one cannot fail to mention while on this topic; Ring Jacket. 

Crafting ready to wear pieces based on the Neapolitan style of tailoring, with the attention an detail and quality more or less unique to Japan. Ring Jacket is inevitably where I’ve set the standard in both quality and design, for suits, trousers and jackets within the ready to wear realm. To me their designs are the perfect combination of elegance and casualness, with impeccable quality and as such, right up my alley. In my opinion they are as close as one can get to the bespoke realm and for someone exploring tailored clothing from a “ready to wear budget”, although I am fully aware that their items do come at a higher price point, this is about as good as it gets.

Ring Jacket is a brand that will most likely get a lot of attention on this blog as I see them as the epitome of tailored clothing in Japan.

It’s not like Japans entry into and contribution to the sartorial world is anything new, but they deserve all the attention one can possibly give. As for my exploration of Neapolitan tailoring, ironically I think I can continue to fully embrace that in Japan, without missing out on any opportunities.