The bespoke atelier at Cifonelli

Why it is on the list

The Cifonelli family opened its first tailoring workshop in Rome in 1880. Arturo Cifonelli trained at the Minister's Cutting Academy in London, came to Paris in 1926 and settled on rue Marbeuf in 1936; the house has not moved since.¹ More than forty tailors work in the atelier and make a few hundred bespoke garments a year. From 1992 to 2007 Hermès had its made-to-measure line cut there, as Hermès par Cifonelli.¹ Lorenzo and Massimo Cifonelli, the fourth generation, still receive clients themselves.¹

It is the wrong choice for a suit needed within days: every bespoke order goes through three fittings, sometimes four, before delivery.² For a shorter route, the house takes made-to-measure orders by appointment at its shop at 35 rue François 1er.³⁴

How to get it

Call the atelier on +33 1 42 25 38 84, Monday to Saturday from 9:30 to 19:00, or use the appointment form on the house's contact page, and ask for a bespoke appointment at rue Marbeuf.⁴⁵ The first meeting is with Lorenzo and Massimo Cifonelli: cloths, linings and the cut are chosen there. The tailors then take measurements, cut a paper pattern by hand, which the house keeps for later orders, and fit the suit three times, sometimes four, before it is delivered.² Bespoke appointments can also be held abroad, and the house has a shop in London at 16 Clifford Street.³⁴

Discretion

The atelier is a workshop behind closed doors at 31 rue Marbeuf, separate from the shop on rue François 1er, and is seen by appointment.¹⁴ Clients are received by the two Cifonelli brothers in person.¹