The smart money is on the latest breathable fabrics if you have to wear a suit in the most humid of weathers, says Charlie Porter.
By Charlie Porter
Published: 8:00AM BST 21 Jul 2010
Comments
Previous of ImagesNext From left: Reiss, Dunhill and Uniqlo
From left: Marks and Spencer, Ermenegildo Zegna
Sometimes, all that’s needed is a bit of perspective. The smartly dressed men of Britain have had a little respite from the heat this week, but the uncomfortable days of suit-wearing in summer heat can continue into September. For some global businessmen, though, the temperature in Britain in the past few weeks is nothing. From them, lessons can be learnt on how the British should cope with our much more moderate summer.
louis vuitton bags
“Here in Hong Kong it is 35C and 98 per cent humidity for months on end,” says Rob Mancini, the managing director of Alfred Dunhill in the Asia Pacific, where the brand has more than 80 stores selling suits to men who have to look smart, whatever the temperature. Even in that climate, wool is still the best option for the sharpest silhouette. “This sounds hot,” says Mancini, “but go for suits made from ‘high-twist’ wools that are open weave so the fabric breathes easier.” louis vuitton bags
Related Articles
The short answer to a long, hot summer?
Bill Nighy wears Ermenegildo Zegna
Blur’s Alex James models for summer
Obama’s jeans vs Brown’s chinos
Speedos make a comeback
The Uniqlo of satisfaction Such a weave helps air pass through the cloth and stops the suit feeling like a walking heat trap. Mancini says that construction is also important. “A suit should be unlined, or half-lined, which means the lining has not been built in, making the jacket much lighter and more breathable.” Mancini says he personally isn’t a fan of linen, “as I hate looking so crumpled,” but has a couple of cotton suits for more casual trips and meetings. He also points towards Dunhill’s suit made from Camdeboo, the first shaving of mohair, similarly breathable due to the quality of the yarn (￡795, 0845 458 0779).
It is in such highly developed cloths that many brands are making big advances in summer-appropriate suiting. “These interesting new blends and thinner yarns make it possible to create suits that are fresher, lighter and so much cooler,” says Alessandro Sartori, the creative director of Z Zegna. Sartori is based in Milan, where its smartly dressed men shrug off regular summer temperatures above 30C. “In the past, it was difficult to wear a gaberdine suit in the summer, but we now have a cotton-silk blend gaberdine suit that is very slick, smart and cool (￡1,450, 020 7518 2700).”
Sartori also points towards the technical advances at his brand’s parent label, Ermenegildo Zegna. “They have a fabric called Cool Effect,” says Sartori, “that has a nanotechnology application in the finishing process of the fabric that makes the cloth cooler than the air temperature. So if it’s 30C outside, the fabric of the jacket is 20C.”
Sartori says that, in Milan, there are no qualms among businessmen about wearing beiges and light colours in an office environment. And it is here that the advice gets very us-and-them, because it’s fanciful to think the British workplace will ever lose its hang-ups over tradition. Sartori recognises this and says that suits in compromise lighter colours are becoming popular. “Before, we were selling suits in dark grey and blue; now we’re selling mid-grey and mid-blue. It’s a colour palette that can be worn for two to three months, not just when summer is at its hottest.”
Back in the UK, it seems like some of these messages about summer suits are getting through – just very slowly. “There are so many disasters out there wearing their heavy winter suits in the summer,” says Andy Rogers, brand director of Reiss, a resurgent label that has gained much ground from realising that young men still want sharp tailoring as part of their wardrobe mix.
“I think the best way to cope with the summer is to start separating your suits. Then tailoring can be much more adaptable.” The Reiss customer is one who is much more likely to get away with wearing a T-shirt under a suit jacket at work, and Rogers points towards Germany football manager Joachim Loew as an example of such smart-casual dressing.
Rogers says that in the younger creative industries, half-lined jackets are becoming more accepted, and are even being bought when the weather cools down, because these men are getting used to the lighter, more versatile feel of the construction. Such simple, practical suits are found at many places on the high street, and it’s something at which Japanese label Uniqlo excels, with half-lined office-appropriate suits in both its mainline range (from ￡24.99. 020 7290 8090) and also +J, its range designed by Jil Sander (from ￡39.99).
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. As with so much of British life, it is at Marks & Spencer that the true state of the nation can be gauged. “Our customer still expects structure,” says Adam Barton, M&S’s buyer for men’s suits, which quashes the idea of an imminent, half-lined revolution in offices up and down the land. “It’s an interesting dilemma, to try and make a garment that’s as lightweight as possible within the restrictions we have. Our customers want a suit that won’t make them sweat, but, at the same time, they don’t want a suit to collapse.”
Barton’s answer to this is a lightweight suit that still has enough padding and lining to reassure his customers that they are getting perceived value-for-money. “It has a lightweight chest canvas and fusing, as well as a lightweight shoulder pad that really keeps the structure.” Barton says the suit (￡149, 0845 302 1234) was introduced to 10 stores this summer and has been such a success that he intends to go big on it come next summer. He is also proud of a fabric called Miracle Linen, which he says is “to a certain extent, crease-resistant. And if you wear it for a prolonged period, it only needs a gentle iron and the creases come out.”
It seems that progress will be made in small steps, but there are other more everyday tips for suit wearers. Don’t treat the lunch hour like it’s a mini-holiday: keep out of the sun and stay in the shade. Wear shirts with a buttoned cuff, so there’s less fabric at the wrist and it’s easier to roll up the sleeves. Whenever possible, take off the jacket to try and keep cool. And, until we all hot-desk from home or trade from our bedrooms, remember that while we Brits think we’ve got summer bad, remember there are businessmen elsewhere who have got it much worse. If we follow their lead, we can deal with it much better.