I was first introduced to Scabal fabrics 6 years ago when I met Harvey, their west coast sales rep. He showed up at the shop I worked at with their latest collection of fabric books. I learned so much from him about their fabrics and designs. Scabal designs and weaves patterns like no other mill and the designs are looks I want all my clients to wear. Anytime I made a suit or jacket for a client (in Scabal’s fabrics), they would tell me it was their favorite garment in their closet and they would always get compliments. I wanted to interview Harvey about Scabal and share about this amazing fabric mill. Enjoy!!
*Actually Scabal is headquartered in Brussels Belgium, but has had a shop in Savile Row in London that has served the bespoke tailors there as well as a fabric mill in Huddersfield, Yorkshire in UK for many years. It’s natural that people think of Scabal as an English company even though many of the fabrics are woven in Italy for Scabal. The important take away from this is that Scabal is a European heritage company, i.e. the fabrics are all woven in Europe. There are no Chinese, Indian or South American fabrics in the collection. The mill called Bower & Roebuck is a boutique mill as compared to the much larger mills like Loro Piana and Zegna. This gives the mill tremendous flexibility allowing the weaving of specialty fabrics in smaller quantities and shorter time.
*Stardust A collection of fifteen articles produced using a Mouliné yarn to enrich the colors and add softness to the fabric. There is also a small amount of stretch to help create a jacket that not only looks striking but has an element of comfort for the wearer.
The range includes a selection of semi plains in soft autumnal shades, but the stars of the collection are the check designs which have a metallic element to them with gold, bronze and silver complementing the warm rich blues, browns and black of the ground colours. The overall result is one of understated glamour perfect to create a winter jacket for day or evening wear.
*Hybrid Building on the success of the Crossover collection, Hybrid is a new introduction following the same formula but designed for the colder months. The designs have been created in pairs with the first a fancy design and its partner sharing the same color base and a complementary look. Made from a Super 130’s wool, this fabric is ideal for easily creating a capsule winter wardrobe – Select two suits and re-mix the jackets and the trousers combining them with different shirts or knitwear pieces to create endless different outfits.
*Tornado Made in England at Scabal’s mill, Tornado returns this season refreshed with new designs and colors. The feel is still distinctly British but this fall/winter suiting staple is enhanced by a new selection of checks, motif designs, Venetian stripes and the introduction of a modern Birdseye. Colors are rooted in the traditional suiting palette of blues, greys browns and black but the addition of structured grounds and fancy weaves add interest and texture to without losing its sensible business edge.
*Eton Updated this season, the new Eton collection will reinforce the popularity of this signature Super 130’s Scabal suiting collection. The 280 gram (10 oz.) weight makes it the ideal fabric for year round wear. Designs across the range are subtle and refined with soft and balanced color combinations in the classic suiting palette of grey and blues.
This is a large collection with a wide variety of designs ranging from traditional stripes and checks through to modern feeling semi plains, delicate tone on tone shades, shadow stripes and micro designs all created to give gentlemen the ultimate selection to create the perfect year-round suit
*Eton Updated this season, the new Eton collection will reinforce the popularity of this signature Super 130’s Scabal suiting collection. The 280 gram (10 oz.) weight makes it the ideal fabric for year round wear. Designs across the range are subtle and refined with soft and balanced color combinations in the classic suiting palette of grey and blues.
This is a large collection with a wide variety of designs ranging from traditional stripes and checks through to modern feeling semi plains, delicate tone on tone shades, shadow stripes and micro designs all created to give gentlemen the ultimate selection to create the perfect year-round suit
*Pegasus A new addition to the Scabal performance collections joining Fit, Dynamic & Turbo Travel. Pegasus is a practical suiting collection in a 290 gram (10 oz)
wool mix designed for the colder months. The addition of 2% Elastane to the Mouliné (embroidery floss) yarn gives the fabric a soft comfortable stretch ensuring not just crease resistance and comfort but the ability for the fabric to adapt to the movements of the wearer and return to its original shape with ease, time and time again. Pegasus has a traditional suiting color palette of blues, greys and browns with the choice either a classic twill or a whipcord look. It is the perfect choice for the gentleman who needs to present a classic look but wants the adaptability, practicality and comfort that modern performance fabrics offer.
There is a definite trend toward stretch fabrics for comfort, especially as silhouettes have become slimmer. Stretch fabrics also offer wrinkle resistance and recovery making them excellent for travel. Many are also light weight making them an ideal choice for your climate.
Diamond Chip In 2001, Scabal created the first cloth containing diamond fragments. This fabric range, which has been christened “Diamond Chip”, comes in a variety of patterns and colors. This weaving process involved a great deal of research and development. The diamond chips are introduced into the cloth as soon as the wool has been cleaned and combed. Microscopically small diamond fragments are then spread on the wool, and it is only then that the wool is spun. The result is a shiny thread to be woven into exceptional fabrics. The latter not only shines literally and figuratively, but also feels comfortable and hangs beautifully. Scabal never sacrifices comfort for the sake of beauty. The cloth consists of a Super 150’s wool and pure silk in subtle grey, brown, and blue tints, the woven striped patterns and the semi-plain patterns do perfect justice to the sparkling diamonds. Once again, the fabric has been woven at Scabal’s own mill in Huddersfield, England where passion, innovation and creativity have been at the heart of our production for over 500 years.
Vicuna. Take a hike high into the Andean plains and you won’t have to cast your eye far before you catch sight of a vicuña. These doe-eyed, tawny coated creatures are cousins of the llama, protected from the elements by a fleece so fine that the Incas considered it to be a cloth of gold. Once, it was only Incan royalty who had the privilege of wearing such finery. Thanks to Scabal, it can now be part of the modern-day gentleman’s wardrobe. Just like the noble Incas before us, Scabal has selected only the very best Vicuña strands from Peru. Only 1/100 of the fibres available can be combed in the special way we require before they can be woven. This adds an even more exclusive element to such a miraculously rare fibre, and guarantees an unparalleled level of quality, not to mention luxury. Vicuña is also notoriously sensitive to colour treatment, and our process is among a select few who have successfully dyed the natural material from its golden color, making it more versatile. Scabal’s Vicuña is not only the stuff that myths are made of, but will help you write your own modern legend, and is truly a cloth fit for a king.
*In addition to the stretch fabrics already mentioned I would recommend Cosmopolitan 230 grams (8 oz.), Silver Ghost and Sleek both at 240g (8.5 oz.) for light weight suits. The plain designs are great for trousers to be paired with sport coats or worn on their own with just a shirt or light weight knit top in the warm weather. For sport coats Mosaic and St Tropez are the best choices. Mosaic is ideal for all year round with colorations suitable for fall/winter as well as lighter shades for spring/summer. St Tropez is more of a spring/summer collection with a variety of weights. Some colors and designs could be appropriate in the warmer climate of AZ for year round wear.
*I don’t have a single personal favorite. My preferences tend to be woven in England as well as a little heavier than most. (My Midwest roots I guess.) One of my favorite bunches is Londoner. I like its’ mid-weight and that it is woven in Scabal’s own mill in England. For sport coats I like linen in summer and heavier fabric like wools and cashmere 320 – 340 grams (11-12 oz.) in winter.
