Cold comfort: The evolution of the Canali jacket

published 7 February 2017

For next season, autumn/winter 2017-18, many of the jackets we're making are unlined. What this means is they are made in the expert way – fully canvassed, with no shoulder pads, giving a soft and comfortable jacket.

We manage to do this in such a way as to also give you a very clean line. Often with unlined jackets, you have a trade-off between comfort and form, but we can deliver both, which is a result that can only be reached if you have the sartorial expertise. We manage this because our jackets are handmade and the canvas is handstitched into the garment. If you lack the necessary expertise, you can achieve a similar look by using glue inside to attach the interfacing to the cloth, for example, but when you put on a jacket made in this way, the level of comfort simply doesn't compare.

The jacket is a garment that makes a man look distinguished and can even be said to epitomise men's style. But, of course, it's meant to evolve according to a man's needs and that's exactly what we have done with our jackets over time. It may well be a garment that men cannot live without, but today's customer needs something that suits his lifestyle. Using lighter, more luxurious materials and making unlined jackets by hand, we ensure our garments are suited to how we live now.