Power dressing

FASHION: For that James Bond look try wearing a Brioni suit.

What do Daniel Craig, Kofi Annan and Praful Patel have in common? They're all devoted to the Brioni "power suit". We'll get to Patel later, but it was with Savile Row's loss of a long-standing icon to the Italian contender that Brioni's position at the forefront of style was well and truly sealed ...

James Bond, Britain's most dashing diplomatic export to the world, now dons a bespoke tuxedo nimbly, hand sewn by one of 1,200 tailors in Abruzzo. And unlike the other not-so-discreet product placements in the movie, the Brioni suit, like its reputed perfect fit, chose to blend in. Like it was never meant to be elsewhere.

At least 20 of those Rs 2.6 lakh tuxedos will soon make their way to the spanking new Brioni showroom in Mumbai. If Kishor Bajaj, of Badasaab Fashions, has his way. The Brioni India franchisee has been fighting for his share of suits, terribly optimistic of the brand's certain acceptance by wealthy Indians.

"The sales team at Brioni tell me to wait for the response from the market before ordering so much," he complains. Prudence aside, Brioni has the additional (self-induced) problem of production limited by their rejection of an assembly line process.

"Only 71,000 suits are made each year. Our competitors produce hundred times that with half our manpower," says Andrea Perrone, one of three chief executives and the grandson of one of the founders.

The brand is over 60 years old, and if you haven't heard of it, it's because you're not privy to an insider's club of the globe's richest, most powerful men. It's also because they don't advertise very much.

Brioni is a 180 million euro company, and the year's expansion plans spread from Mumbai to Almaty. So did Bond do more for Brioni that Brioni did for Bond? Perrone circumvents the question masterfully, only saying "We're happy we were chosen to break the mould."

He is, of course, referring to the movie's eschewing of the highly traditional English (Savile Row) school with its conspicuously heavy silhouette. When Brioni hit retail stores in the 40s, they had eschewed the drapey look for a slimmer, shorter trouser leg, a nipped-in waist and lighter shoulders.

They were the modern alternative and the brand's prestige was detected early on by the post-second world war elite. "But why shouldn't men be more colourful?" the company's founder Gaetano Savini had said. "Why can't a man be elegant without being either dull or foppish? That's what we're interested in."

Brioni still takes its responsibilities for sartorial influence very seriously. "We're stylish, never fashionable," says Perrone. Each suit still takes 20 man hours to sew, each button hole 45 minutes. They incidentally now also apply their tailoring principles to a small range of women's clothing. A women's sports jacket at the store costs Rs 95,000.

Eight years ago Brioni noticed their talent was ageing. To secure the future of the 3,000 euro suit, the company started a tailoring academy that puts no more than 25 students through a rigorous four-year programme that will entitle them "" but not ensure "" a future in the company.

The Brioni store, in a classic-modern aesthetic, is being given that last bit of spit and polish. Patel will be dropping by for the unveiling, so will Shashikant Garware. Perrone is uncomfortable dropping names of loyalists, Bajaj less so.

This shielded club of Brioni-sts will finally have the brand's services at their doorstep, that include the half-yearly visits of the company's master tailor, a trunk full of exclusively-supplied fabric in tow.

While Bajaj mock-laments that only 60 per cent of ordered inventory has reached the store, Perrone requests patience. "After all, how many Bentleys are made in a year," he says. Hold that thought for true luxury and style comes at a price be it in timeline terms or money.