Milan, Italy
A real Crown jewel. While you may not think you know Sant' Andrea, you've most likely come across their clothing without even realizing it. Sant' Andrea manufactures clothing for some of the best luxury brands in the world today and is at the very forefront of excellence in the menswear industry.
Sant' Andrea stems from a tremendous heritage and history. It all started with its parent company, Saint Andrews, which was founded in 1968 in Fano, Italy, that immediately began private labeling for luxury houses. Saint Andrews now owns a state-of-the-art warehouse in Italy, where they produce the ready-to-wear lines for ultra high-end luxury houses. We're willing to bet that you're familiar with these brands and probably already have Sant' Andrea clothing in your closet without even knowing it! Three years ago, Saint Andrews decided to create their own brand, Sant' Andrea, and the result has been nothing short of incredible.
Sant’ Andrea's quality is unrivaled in the industry. For more than 50 years, tailors and artisans have been cutting and sewing ready-to-wear for the most rigorous clients in the world, all by hand. Their quality is so reknowned that in a tailoring competition against Bespoke tailors (a completely different playing field) where they were the only commercial company brave enough to compete, they ended up as one of the top 5 finalists.
On average, Sant' Andrea takes about 25 hours to make a full suit. The cutting is done entirely by hand and button holes on the sleeves, body, and lapels are also finished by hand. In fact, they are one of the few manufacturers to actually finish some of their lapels with milanese button holes, which is a sartorial art form and beacon of craftsmanship that even some of the most expensive menswear brands skimp out on. This is because it requires extra hand-stitching effort around the lapel button hole to raise the surface and give the hole a much cleaner and refined look. It is one of the hallmarks of a great jacket, and one you should certainly not compromise on if you're looking for the very best.
In addition, the stitching on the edges of the jacket as well as on the bottom of the jacket, are hand done. Sant' Andrea firmly believes that machine automation can never replace the grace and expressivity of a craftsperson, and we think they have a point! Moreover, what makes Sant' Andrea's quality so consistent is that their production process almost resembles that of a manufacturing line, where each artisan has a specific task in the chronology of the garment, which results in efficiency, quality, and expert precision.
As the CEO of Sant' Andrea likes to say, "Elegance is Attitude". It always helps to have an impeccably designed jacket, especially one made by Sant' Andrea. The brand strongly believes in comfort — well not just comfort, but refined comfort. Their design is rigorous and clean, and their aesthetic draws inspiration from the sartorial city of Milan, where Saint Andrews has its offices. To the casual onlooker, the handmade button holes on a Sant' Andrea jacket appear so precise that they may easily be mistaken for being machine made. Sant' Andrea has four different types of shoulder constructions, ranging from a padded shoulder to a completely unstructured shoulder.
Rivaling the quality of the world's top luxury brands, and perhaps even surpassing them, Sant' Andrea offers a fantastic and extremely compelling product for the price. Trust us here, it's going to be really difficult to find another menswear brand of better value!
The raw material of a garment is its most important carbon footprint. Through Sant' Andrea's sister company and fabric supplier Trabaldo Togna based in Biella, Italy, Sant' Andrea is on a path to making their fabrics as eco-friendly and durable as possible. Their Ginko line (named after an ancient tree that can live up to 2,000 years in big cities and absorb large quantities of CO2) is made of resistant and resilient wool that can last a long time. In addition to the elastic properties of the "Estrato" fabric, which has no synthetic fibers, and is Trabaldo Togna's historical product, the new Ginko line of fabrics allows traceability through the supply chain and sets the most rigorous standards for sustainability, land management, animal welfare, and social responsibility. When you buy something from Sant' Andrea, it's made to stay with (on) you for decades!