Assisi, the Korean tailors I have enjoyed using so much over the past year, have announced they are coming to London for the first time.
They will be here at the end of February, from Friday February 28th to Sunday March 2nd. The location is yet to be confirmed, but it will be central, around Mayfair.
We will also be helping them by organising a drinks event on the Thursday night, the 27th. I know it can be intimidating to go and see a tailor and order something when you've never even seen the garments in person. So this will be an opportunity to do so, and book an appointment if there are any left.
Assisi plan to visit twice a year. This is a little limiting, but on my experience I'd have a lot of confidence in them nailing the fit quickly.
They also do a made-to-measure offering that is very high end. The make is the same as bespoke, they bring fitting garments to try on, and they create a unique paper pattern.
They then deliver a finished suit six months later, at the next appointment. Minor changes like sleeve length etc can be made at that stage, but otherwise it's considered finished. I think it could be a really interesting way in for those on a more limited budget.
I've covered two things I've had made so far by Assisi - a double-breasted tweed jacket (above) and a summer suit (below). I've been really impressed, both by the style and by the execution.
The first jacket has some small things I'd change, but that was largely a result of me trying to fiddle with the style too much (lowering the gorge too far, creating slightly smaller lapels). The suit was perfect and I've recently received a navy cashmere DB as well, which I will cover before the trunk show.
I haven't tried their single-breasted style so far, but that's only because I like the DB so much and wear them so frequently these days. I'll likely try an SB at this show.
Appointments are from 12 to 6pm every day. Prices are:
Bespoke:
- Suit $3,600
- Jacket $2,880
- Trousers $1,100
Handmade to measure:
- Suit $2,700
- Jacket $2,160
- Trousers $810
All are exclusive of 10% Korean VAT. They are starting prices but include most standard cloths. Double-breasted styles have a 10% surcharge. Coat prices are available on request. Reservation is by email on [email protected]
Exciting! What’d you have in mind for a SB Simon?
Perhaps a cord, I think their style would be really nice in a casual jacket or suit like that
You’ve mentioned below the differences in cut with the Anthology. Regarding the shoulder , do Asssi and the Anthology both have slight roping? And would that make the jacket slightly more formal than a jacket from someone like Ciardi?
They do, but it can be adjusted with all of them. Ciardi would be the one that would naturally go softest with nothing there if requested, and I’ve done that obviously before
Hi Simon, did you end up commissioning a SB? I have to say, the guys at Assisi looked really good in their respective suits
I didn’t, no, I stayed strong. But I agree, they really did. In fact they’re still here today and they still do!
Nice to see !
Hey Simon
Are those prices USD?
Yes
Cheers!
Does Korean VAT apply? Normal tax would have VAT at 0% for exported goods and my last online purchase from there didnt have local VAT (unfortunately UK VAT on import though)
That’s what they told me. Feel free to double check with them if you want more clarity
PWC says the rate for exported goods is 0%. I dont know what experience they have on doing exports/overseas sales and may they simply not know? Have certainly seen small UK sellers adding UK’s 20% VAT for overseas sales simply because they didnt know that it goes to 0% for export.
They do shows a lot, just in the US and France, not London yet.
Hey Simon, thanks for letting the reader know about their visit. I might give it a try as I’ve been eyeing them for a while. I’m still inexperienced in tailoring, so I feel like I lack the eye to distinguish between similar style houses. Compared to other London visiting tailors you like, such as Ciardi and Anthology, how does Assisi differ in terms of cut and quality?
No worries Brandon.
The style is the biggest differentiating factor – a slightly wider shoulder, a roomier cut but with shape still. Best on that score if you’re unexperienced is probably to look at images of them on their site or Instagram and see how the style sits with you
Thanks Simon, it’s great to hear about these new tailors, especially as they become more accessible location wise. It seems a lot younger tailors are focusing on relaxed styles of tailoring, I wonder if they are starting to take business away from traditional structured London tailoring.
Price wise they are similar to The Anthology, how do you think they compare in quality and style?
See above Henry on the last point.
Not sure on the first, I’d say softer tailoring has probably been having that impact for a long time, going back to when Rubinacci first set up here. I think these would be taking from that market more than the current structured English offering
Hi Simon,
Looking forward to the feature about your navy cashmere DB from Assisi. Pardon my impatience, but I’m just curious if you might be able to share what cloth you chose for it. I ask because I’m on the verge of commissioning a winter DB jacket in Fox CT-12 overcoating, which I really like the look and feel of based on a swatch I ordered from Fox, but I’ve read your various articles about your Solito jacket in that material and your reservations about the weight, so I’m wondering if your cashmere pick might be a good alternative and something I should look at instead. Any guidance would be much appreciated! Thanks.
Hey Kevin,
Sure, it was a Harrison’s cashmere, though it was one the team had on site so I’m just trying to work out which one from the current collection it was (with Harrison’s help!)
Thank you, Simon!
I like your gray DB. I own some fine SBs from leading tailors, but find my DBs consistently get the most compliments. They must stand out in today’s ever-more-casual world. Do you find the same? I imagine your Assisi and Caraceni DBs get a lot of compliments in real life.
They do stand out more, that’s true. And yes, they probably get slightly more compliments but I wouldn’t say it’s a big difference
i live in Singapore so I have had the pleasure of participating in trunk shows from Assisi and commissioned 2 suits (after I had eyed the DB summer grey suit that Simon had had made), and I must say I am very impressed. Am worried that their popularity in the West will drive their prices up, but am happy for them !
i’m a customer of theirs as well. have commissioned a grey sb suit, and have a db and a db coat being made up now. their work is really impeccable.
hi Simon
Would it bother you if people at the consultation with Assisi simply asked for ‘ same as that grey db jacket worn by Mr Crompton please’?
or near enough.
Nope, and I don’t think it would bother them either!
Am I right in assuming assisi will return to london sometime in july or august? Thank you
I think it’s going to be early Autumn actually, as they’re only coming twice a year. But I will put it on our Events page and announce on social when I know
Ciao Simon,
As always love reading your work. I wanted to ask a perhaps indelicate question regarding the price to quality ratio of a Assisi. At the time you commissioned the beautiful above suit MTM suits from Assisi Cost $2700 and the bespoke commissions were $3600. I recently reached out to them regarding their London trunk show and was a bit surprised to find out that the MTM offering prices had increased almost $1000 in 12 months. Would you say that the MTM craftsmanship justifies that price tag? Is the increase in price specifically due to the travel to London and a Seoul commission would be less expensive?
It does give me pause to pay for a MTM suit that costs as much as their bespoke offering a year ago- but always happy to splurge if things are top quality.
Their MTM is made in the same way and to the same standard as the bespoke, so yes I’d say it was probably worth it. You’re getting less from a fit point of view, but even then what I’ve seen is very good.
A lot of brands go through this when they start out – they don’t really realise how expensive it is to travel and see people multiple times in expensive places like London or New York before they get paid.
Thank you for the quick and informative response. As always very helpful.
Thanks for the heads up. Does this mean MTM is now $3700 (instead of the $2700 listed in the post)?
Hi David
I’ve reached out to Assisi and they’ve confirmed the following prices for the London Trunk show:
Bespoke suits
Single Breasted 4,200 USD
Double Breasted 4,620 USD
MTM suits
Single breasted 2,950 USD
DB 3,245 USD
Thank you!
Hi Manish, thanks for the clarification! Would you also happen to know if Assisi are open to us supplying our own fabric and, if so, what impact would this have on pricing?
Hi Rowley
Just checking this for you 🙂
Hi Rowley
I’ve checked and they offer a 10% discount if you supply your own cloth.
My lord, their prices for the bespoke sb jacket were $2,880 when they visited this February! That’s a significant increase in six months…
Hi Bj
Sorry, my post may have not been clear. The prices in the comments are for suits. There is still an increase, but maybe not quite as big as it might have seemed.
Cheers
Dear Simon, the way you describe Assisi’s cut has a lot in common with A&S (soft shoulder, roomier etc) and you wear both with DB, but Assisi comes across more louche in the photos, and so is perhaps easier to wear casually with jeans. I’m curious if you agree, and if so, what creates the effect?
(More specifically, I’m interested in getting a slouchy black art du lin DB that can be dressed down, and my impression is Assisi would be better placed to do that, even though I love the idea of working with A&S.)
You’re right David, but I would say that even though A&S is among the softer of the English tailors, they are relatively structured compared to the Italians in the chest, and they feel different to Assisi in that regard. Assisi also don’t actively create drape necessarily, they just have more room – indeed, that drape requires a certain amount of structure
If you want to dress it down, I’d lean towards Assisi
Ah, so it’s the structure in the chest.
I’m also curious how you’d compare it to Saman Amel’s DB’s, which also seem relatively relaxed these days, but have a different vibe from Assisi I’m struggling to put my finger on.
(Though I’m already grateful for your answers in the thread so far!)
I’d say they’re pretty similar to Assisi in terms of structure, but a more regular cut