Small Jacket

In 2012 Emilia Rota, working with Italo Rota and Colomba Leddi, developed a menswear project for the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan: SMALL JACKET. The collection proposes a man’s wardrobe made of a near-unique coat-jacket-trouser set, a few t-shirts, underwear and shoes. Nothing else. A three-piece full of pockets and comfort, and a way of living: walking with no bag, hands in pockets, in sneakers.

A durable, made-to-order system, and a three-piece that is customisable and semi-bespoke. Emilia Rota developed a system of nine men’s sizes, set by the wearer’s height and build. SMALL JACKET is also a platform connecting customers directly to fabric producers and workshops: the order is placed on the site, which sends the workshop a pattern drawn to the customer’s requirements and orders the cloth from the suppliers, who deliver it to the workshop; the workshop then ships the finished piece to the customer. The model was presented to and endorsed by Raffaello Napoleone, president of the Pitti Uomo trade fair, and later extended to design and beauty.