Founded in Italy in 1880 by Giuseppe Cifonelli, transplanted to Paris by his son Arturo in the 1930s, and now run by Giuseppe's great-grandsons, cousins Massimo and Lorenzo, Cifonelli is one of the world's greatest fashion houses - and certainly among the best in La France.
Another legendary Parisian import, Karl Lagerfeld once said, "I could recognize a Cifonelli shoulder from a hundred yards away," and indeed, it is the distinctive shoulder line that is the defining characteristic of a Cifonelli jacket - whether the garment is cut to size, or from the recently launched ready-to-wear line.
"Our armhole is very high and sits close to the body," explained Massimo in an interview with The Rake. "We create a soft, natural shoulder with very little padding and form the sleeve head using a shape we call 'The Cigarette'." While to the untrained eye, "The Cigarette" aesthetically resembles a British rope shoulder, its curvature is created using nothing more than a bit of structural padding by hand and the careful stretching and pressing of fabric (rather than the actual rope insert that forms the base of a Savile Row hard rope headstock), resulting in not only a beautiful raised line, but also greater freedom of movement - the perfect combination of form and function.
That signature sculpted shoulder, with an exceptionally high sleeve head slanted toward the most elegant chest in the clothing universe; an abbreviated skirt; and majestic, form-fitting lapels... These iconic features of a Cifonelli tailored coat are shared by the house's ready-to-wear jackets, designed by Lorenzo Cifonelli.
