Intreccio: VBC Mesh and Hopsack, Made for Saviero

Two open Super 110’s weaves from Vitale Barberis Canonico — breathable, textured, and cut for year-round tailoring.

Saviero has long brought custom clothiers cloth from the mills that still matter. With Intreccio, that relationship with Vitale Barberis Canonico goes a step further: an exclusive collection of 40 jacketing and suiting fabrics, woven for Saviero and not offered as a general mill release.

Intreccio is Italian for weave — threads crossing, warp meeting weft. The name fits. These are open structures that take a familiar workwear idea and make it lighter, more refined, and easier to live in. VBC has woven wool in Biella since 1663. Intreccio stays in the range the mill has long done best, rather than chasing ever-finer Super counts.

Two cloths, one idea

Both are 100% wool, Super 110’s.

Mesh jacketing, 260 g/m² — 20 fabrics. Open, airy, and patterned. Plaids and windowpanes give the cloth interest up close without turning the jacket into a costume. Ventilation is the point: light enough for warm cities and long days in air-conditioning, stable enough for an unstructured or lightly constructed jacket.

Hopsack, 270 g/m² — 20 fabrics. Basketweave, the tailor’s workhorse, cut a little finer. The open structure circulates air better than a plain weave, the texture hides wear and shrugs off creasing, and the cloth works as a full suit or a separate jacket. Not a summer-only weight. Not a winter cloth either. The sort of piece a wardrobe is built around.

Super 110’s is the useful middle. Refined enough for business, resilient enough for daily wear, and forgiving on the cutting table. Fluid in the hand, not stiff on the body.

Why these weaves, now

Smooth, high-Super plains have dominated for years. Clients are asking for cloth that looks like something before it is touched. Hopsack does that quietly. Mesh does it with a little more presence. In both cases the weave is the signature — which suits a moment when quality is meant to be seen, not logoed.

Construction has eased with the demand. Fully canvassed suits remain, but half-lined jackets and softer shoulders now share the rail. Open weaves suit that shift. They drape differently, breathe, and do not fight the wearer. A 260 g mesh jacket can feel barely there and still look considered.

Warm climates make the case plain. Hong Kong, Bangkok, Dubai, Singapore, Miami: bespoke work does not stop for humidity, but heavy worsted does not help. Tailors in these markets have long treated mesh and hopsack as functional, not seasonal fashion. The same cloth travels well between office, flight, and a less formal evening.