The Japanese are famous for their takes on American and Western European clothing – including vintage reproductions made to a fanatically high level of historical accuracy, as well as modern, whimsical interpretations on the classics. Much of what gets exported, however, is casualwear. Today, you can find dozens of retailers for niche Japanese brands such as Visvim, and Kapital, but few stocking anything that approaches tailoring.
Ring Jacket is one of the few exceptions. As a brand, they’re relatively new, although they have deep roots. For most of the company’s 60+ year history, they’ve operated as a private-label manufacturer for top-end Japanese labels. As the story goes, in 1954, Jhoichi Fukushima decided to open a factory to produce the kind of soft-shouldered, Ivy Style suits worn by President Kennedy (and were popular in Japan at the time). In the 1980s, as Italian tailoring became more popular, they shifted to more Continental styles – still soft shouldered, but with wider lapels and rounder silhouettes.
Today, under the leadership of Kunichi Fukushima (Jhoichi’s son), the company specializes in a sort of neo-classical, Southern Italian look. In the US, they have four models – two for suits, two for sport coats. Most of what you’ll find on the racks, however, is the 184, which is something like Ring Jacket’s house style. The jacket is softly tailored, with a full canvas built in, but little to no padding. The shoulders are somewhat trim; the body short and slim fitting; the gorge high. I think it’s a more flattering cut for those who like brands such as Boglioli.
Given its contemporary silhouette, the 184 is nice in that it can be worn with things as casual as jeans. My favorites, however, are the exclusive models sold through The Armoury (who, incidentally, was the shop who originally pulled Ring Jacket out of Japan and introduced them to the world). On the Armoury’s site, these are labeled AMJ – short for Armoury Jacket. If you’re looking for something a little fuller fitting, start here.
The Armoury has five collaboration models with Ring Jacket:
- The AMJ-01 is their British/ Northern Italian cut. It’s a bit more padded through the shoulders in order to give a cleaner line. Coupled with the jetted pockets and straight cut lapels, this gives the jackets an angular look. A good choice for business suits.
- The AMJ-03, on the other hand, is loosely modeled after the Liverano silhouette. The shoulders are soft and unpadded, but also slightly extended, which helps make the waist look trimmer by comparison. The chest is cut a little fuller, almost approaching a drape cut. The lapels are wide and straight, with a wider collar that helps the notch sit under the face. In some ways, this is a lot like one of my other favorite RTW brands, Sartoria Formosa, in that it’s a distinctive Italian style, but one that’s easy-to-wear. If I were to buy something off-the-rack today, I’d start at these two places.
- The other models are simple and somewhat straightforward. The AMJ-04 is the store’s single-breasted, peak-lapel design, which is mostly used for dinner suits. The 06 is the double breasted, which is cut with the mildest of bellies. And the 07 is their travel jacket. Made with absolutely zero structure – no chest piece, padding, canvas, or lining inside – it’s designed so you can easily pack it into a suitcase (or, more likely, wear it casually on weekends).
The Armoury sells their Ring Jacket models as ready-to-wear and made-to-order throughout the year, the second of which allows you to get things in a wider range of fabrics that’s not otherwise offered as stock. Twice a year, however, they also host trunk shows with the Ring Jacket team (the next one starts tomorrow in NYC). Here, you can take advantage of the company’s made-to-measure program, which allows their pattern maker, Tani-san, to account for more complicated things such as asymmetrically dropped shoulders and sleeve pitch. Ring Jacket also brings with them a selection of vintage and deadstock fabrics for special orders.
The explosion in Japanese menswear and classic tailoring hasn’t brought as many companies stateside as I would have liked, but at least what we get is good. For those looking to get a particularly nice suit or sport coat these days, The Armoury and Ring Jacket’s AMJ models are worth a look.
