The house cloth line, held in stock
Australian merino wool suits
Alongside cloth from 26 European mills and merchants, we hold our own house range, and it is what we recommend for most first orders. Every suiting line in it is 100% wool, most of it superfine Australian merino, and all of it sits in our building rather than at a mill. That matters for two reasons a buyer feels immediately: nothing has to be shipped in before cutting starts, and we can tell you the composition and the weight of every piece without going to ask. Made to measure under your own label, from a one-piece minimum, in our Shanghai atelier.
The house range
| Composition | Weight | What it is for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four Season | 100% Australian wool | 280 g/m | The default. Works in most climates most of the year, and the safest first order for a shop that does not yet know its customers' preferences. |
| All Seasons Merino | 100% Australian merino | 280 g/m | The same weight in a finer merino yarn. Softer hand, slightly more refined drape, for a client who has worn good cloth before. |
| New Empire | 100% Australian merino, finished in Britain | 280 g/m | The same fibre as the two lines above, put through a British finishing route instead. That is where the crisper hand and the drier, sharper surface come from, and it is the one to reach for when a suit has to still look right at the end of a long day. |
| Autumn / Winter Flannel | 100% Australian wool | 300 g/m | Woollen-spun flannel. Warmer, softer, matte rather than shiny, and far more forgiving of creasing than a worsted. |
| Heritage | 100% Australian merino | 360 g/m | Genuine cold-weather weight. Holds a crease, hangs heavily, and is the one to reach for when the suit has to live under a coat. |
| Linen | 100% linen | 185 g/m | Spring and summer only. It will crease, which is the point of linen, and clients should be told so before they order rather than after. |
Every line above is a single fibre. No polyester, no viscose, no undeclared blend. Weights are the mill's stated grams per linear metre and are the number that decides the season, more so than any Super figure. Half-canvas, full-canvas and fused construction are available across the whole range. These six are the lines we lead with rather than the limit of what we hold: the Australian wool range in particular runs a good deal wider in weight, weave and colour than one table can usefully show, and linen is made to order rather than sold off a fixed card. Tell us the season, the weight and the effect you are after and we will send what actually matches. Mill cloth from our 26 European suppliers can be specified instead on any order.
What the specification actually means
Five terms worth being able to explain to a client across a counter.
- Superfine Australian merino
- Merino is a sheep breed, and Australia produces most of the world's superfine clip. Fineness is measured in microns: ordinary wool sits near 24 micron, suiting merino nearer 18, and superfine below 17. Finer means softer against the skin and a better drape. It also means more delicate, which is why the finest number in a book is not automatically the right choice for a suit worn five days a week.
- Grams per metre
- The most useful number on any cloth and the one clients never ask about. Under 240 g is summer weight and will crease. 240 to 300 g is the year-round range where most business suits belong. Over 340 g is autumn and winter. Our range runs 185 to 360 g deliberately, so a shop can cover a full year from one supplier.
- Worsted versus woollen
- Worsted yarn is combed so the fibres lie parallel, giving a smooth, crisp cloth that holds a sharp line. Woollen yarn is carded, leaving fibres in every direction, giving a softer, warmer, hazier cloth. Flannel is woollen. Neither is better; they are different tools, and a shop that can explain the difference sells more confidently.
- Held in stock
- The cloth is physically in our building. A line we hold starts on day one of production. Cloth cut to order at a mill in Italy or England starts when it lands, which is the single most common reason a promised date moves. If you have already promised a client a fitting date, this is the difference that matters.
- Single fibre
- 100% wool, 100% linen, and nothing hidden. It is worth knowing that among established Western made-to-measure brands, genuinely all-wool suiting generally starts somewhere around 650 to 800 US dollars at retail, and that below that band the composition is usually a blend. Our house range is single-fibre throughout, at every weight.
Frequently asked questions
Why Australian wool rather than Italian?
It is not either-or, and the distinction people draw is usually the wrong one, because it compares a fibre with a country of weaving. Australia is where a great deal of the world's superfine merino fibre is grown, including much of what the famous Italian and English mills buy. What those mills add on top is the spinning, the weaving and above all the finishing, and that is real value you can feel in the hand. New Empire in the range above is exactly that combination: Australian fibre, British finishing, which is why it feels different from the other two lines at the same weight and the same composition. Our house range gives you the fibre without a mill's brand attached; our 26 European mill accounts give you the brand when a client asks for it. Most shops end up using both.
How is your house cloth different from mill cloth?
Three practical differences. It is held in stock, so production starts immediately instead of waiting on transit. We know and can state the exact composition and weight of every piece. And there is no mill minimum sitting behind it, so a one-piece order genuinely means one piece. What you give up is the name in the jacket, which for some clients matters and for many does not.
Can I order mill cloth instead?
Yes, on any order. We hold accounts with 26 European mills and merchants and can quote on current bunches from any of them. Plenty of shops run the house range as their standard offer and bring out the mill books for the client who asks, which is the arrangement we would suggest starting with.
Is 280 g the right weight for my market?
For most of Europe and North America, yes, and it is where we would start. 280 g wears comfortably from spring through autumn and under a coat in winter. Go to 300 or 360 g if your clients are in a genuinely cold climate or want a heavier hand, and to linen at 185 g only for summer, warning the client that it creases. If you are unsure, order the four-season 280 g first and let your own customers tell you.
Do you use blends?
Not in the suiting range above. Every line is a single declared fibre. If a client specifically wants a performance blend for travel or hard wear we will say so plainly on the order rather than quietly substituting, which is the part that actually matters.
Where are the suits made?
In our own atelier in Shanghai, by our own tailors. Origin is really three questions and we answer them separately rather than collapsing them into one flattering word: the wool fibre is Australian, the finishing on New Empire is British, the linen and the mill cloths are European, and the garment is Chinese. We keep them apart because a supplier who blurs origin for you will blur other things later. Your label goes in the jacket, not ours.
See the range on your own table
The honest way to judge cloth is to hold it. Tell us what your clients wear and we will put the relevant swatches and a sample garment in front of you. One piece is a normal first order.