The fresco suit – a reason to love high twist wool

One of our most popular fabrics for suiting is the high twist wool, often referred to as ‘Fresco suit’. The high twist wool suit is a bit of an ‘eye opener’ for many of our new customers and our clients often love the unique characters of the fabric, such as the structure, drape, sturdiness and light feel of it. The unique characters of the high twist wool makes it very versatile.

High twist wool explained

As mentioned, high twist wool is a collective name for a fabric with a certain weave and structure to it. The cloth consists of strands of yarn that are woven extremely tight together, giving it very specific characteristics.

So, what makes the high twist wool stand out as a suit fabric?

  • Durability thanks to its tightly twisted yarns
  • Crease resistant making it perfect for business travels
  • Clean drape enhancing a formal cut
  • Light and comfortable feel because of the open weave
  • A matte, textured surface making it easy to break up in separates

Jacket 'C03' in high twist wool

Hardy Minnis & the Fresco

Hardy Minnis is a British company that specializes in the production of high-quality woolen fabrics for use in tailored garments such as suits and sports coats. The company was founded in the 19th century and has a long history of producing high-quality woolen fabrics for the tailoring industry.

The range of fabrics typically range of woolen fabrics, including both traditional and modern styles and the ‘Fresco’ is by many considered their most famous contribution to the tailored fabric scene. The company’s fabrics are all through out made from high-quality wool and are known for their softness, drape, and durability. Hardy Minnis fabrics are therefore used by tailors and clothing manufacturers around the world to create custom garments of the highest quality and long-lasting style. The company is known for its attention to detail and commitment to producing high-quality products, and its fabrics are widely regarded as some of the finest available for use in tailored garments.

What is Fresco and why is it so good for tailoring?

Fresco is in fact the name of a particular high twist wool fabric from legendary mill Hardy Minnis. They are widely considered one of the finest yarns available for a suit. However, there are plenty of other high twist wool fabrics, such as the ‘Traveller’ from Loro Piana for example. But in this segment, we will focus on the hight twist wool suits we offer from the Hardy Minnis fabrics, namely the Fresco suit since it has a unique history and allure to it.

Why is the Fresco fabric so good for tailoring?

As mentioned, Fresco fabric is made from a specific high-quality type of wool that is tightly twisted and spun, creating a smooth and lustrous surface. This tight weave gives Fresco fabric its characteristic lightweight and breathable properties, making it a comfortable fabric to wear in warm weather, but also as an allround suit fabric. Fresco fabric is also known for its crease resistance, meaning that it is less prone to wrinkling than other types of wool. This has led it to be specifically appealing to customers who wear suiting for business travel or like the idea of having “less maintenance” without losing the soft, natural high quality of their suit fabric.

In terms of tailoring, Fresco fabric is also a popular choice because of the beautiful drape it creates, and the natural, elegant appearance. It is also relatively easy to work with for the production and sewing, making it a good fabric to use in custom garments. Therefore, Fresco fabric is often used in high-end tailored garments, as it adds a level of luxury and refinement to the finished product that we, along with lots of customers love.

Overall, Fresco fabric is a perfect choice for tailored garments, especially suits, trousers and sports coats. Its high quality, crease resistance and elegant drape make it a particularly suitable fabric for your next custom made luxury piece.

Styling Fresco & high twist wool

Because of the unique, matte structure of a Fresco suit or (any high twist wool garment for that matter), it is easy to break up in separates. Both Fresco trousers and jackets made from high twist wool are very versatile and easy to style with a range of other key garments in your wardrobe, both in casual and tailored looks. The best example for a trouser is perhaps the mid grey Fresco trouser which is an absolute favourite at Blugiallo. It has a very clean drape, works well with all kinds of tailored looks but will also works nicely even with a off white tee and a BG signature cap on.

Another one of our most appreciated pieces is the hopsack ‘traveller’ suit – a high twist wool fabric woven by Loro Piana that provides a fantastic allround suit with jacket working extremely nice as a separate blazer for a range of occasions. Just remember to turn in the pocket flap (or choose design option ‘jetted pockets’), as it creates a much more clean look if you want to be able to wear your suit jacket as an odd blazer.

In general, Fresco and high twist wool works great with other ‘structured’ weaves or fabrics. During winter, it looks great with cashmere knitwear, like a rollneck or cashmere vest and during summer, our cashmere & cotton blends provide a perfect match. For shirting, the optimal formal pairing would be a shirt with the same structure and characteristics (overall a great tip for styling), like a crisp white oxford lyocell, but the Fresco goes equally well with a more matte texture of an oxford shirt.

Things to consider when styling Fresco and high twist wool:

  • Works well with other structured, matte fabrics
  • Easy to create both formal and more casual looks thanks to the structure
  • Perhaps one of the most versatile suit, jacket and trouser fabrics
  • Consider what design options works best (or consult us) if you want to ‘break’ your Fresco suit and use as separates

Mid grey Fresco jacket with cashmere & silk knitwear

Q&A about Fresco

The Fresco fabric often raises a number of questions from our customers which is why we created a short Q&A to answer the most common ones.

Yes, you can definitely wear a Fresco suit to a wedding. We deliver lots of Fresco suits both for groom, groomsmen and other guest. The structure and character of the fabric is both sturdy, with a fine structure that creates a super clean and comfortable drape. These characteristics are excellent for a weddings suit and a number of other occasions in fact. We also offer the Fresco fabric in two different weight options and a wide range of color choices, so it can be used both for high summer and occasions in fall & winter.

Yes. Although the Fresco fabric is considered a spring/summer fabric in many countries (this due to the light and airy open weave), many of our customers enjoy wearing it all year round – in Sweden especially. Although it has an open weave, you can still opt for a heavier cloth of 300g or above.

The Fresco suit is an excellent choice as a work uniform. The matte, textured surface makes it extremely versatile, but perhaps it looks best paired with white a royal oxford shirt, grenadine tie and a pair of black oxfords. If you’re looking to buy a Fresco suit for work solely, we would definitely choose a midnight blue tone, or a mid to dark gray Fresco suit. The durable, crease resistant weave of the Fresco is of course well adapted to the nature of business travel and therefore works extra well in those situations. However, always bear in mind that a wool suit always has to ‘rest’ in between wear.

The Fresco suit is an excellent example of a suit that is easy to break up and wear in separates. Because of the rich, matte texture of the weave, it works really well to wear a pair of Fresco trousers together with any structured shirt or knitwear piece that you have in your wardrobe. Our mid grey Fresco trousers is one of our most popular trousers and one that is extremely versatile to style.

Depending on the season and nature of the occasion, the Fresco suit can be worn in most colors. At Blugiallo, we offer the full range of color options for Fresco suit, from formal midnight blue and dark grey to lighter, earthy tones such as the light beige Fresco suit or green taupe colored Fresco suit.

Since the Fresco fabric is so versatile, there’s actually quite few limitations in how we can use it. We can create shirt jackets, bermuda shorts and other more relaxed soft jackets from the fabric.