Briglia 1949

Well-made Italian trousers at an honest price. Neapolitan sartorial cut, noble fabrics, local manufacturing. No luxury pretension, just a product above the norm.

San Giuseppe Vesuviano, province of Naples, 2012. Michele Carillo condenses twenty years of family experience in men's sartorial tailoring into a new brand. The name Briglia - horse bridle - comes from his passion for equestrian endurance, races of 30 to 160 km in the saddle. The 1949 is his birth year. Not the founding year. A detail worth clarifying, because the branding suggests otherwise.

The Carillo family has been in sartoria since the 1980s. Michele grew up in the workshop, spending his days with the patternmaker. His sisters Rosaria and Nelly join the venture. The objective is clear from the start: a sartorial product in the best boutiques, at a price that remains reasonable. Not luxury, accessible well-made.

The takeoff goes through Pitti Uomo. Off-center stand, few visitors, but a Japanese delegation from Toyoda (lifestyle importer) passes, says nothing, and returns the last day to open the Japanese market. Today: 17 million euros in revenue, 400,000 pieces per year, 30 direct employees and a network of 300 seamstresses in the Benevento area. Fabrics from Loro Piana, Vitale & Barberis, Marzotto. 500 points of sale in Italy, 40% export (Germany, USA, Japan). 15% annual growth.

On specialist forums : 'Highly recommend, mine don't show much sign of wear after 3 years'. On StyleForum: 'Briglia and Berwich make fantastic pants, both still tailored in Italy, high quality, sadly fly under the radar'. That's exactly it: a discreet specialist of Italian trousers doing its job well without making noise.