THE FRESCO

Fresco is a woolen weave. Its Italian name comes from the word ‘affresco’ - (keeping) ‘fresh.’ With linen, it is one of the most breathable fabrics used in menswear.

Fresco is identifiable by the ease of those who wear it. The wool fiber used is that of the merino sheep. It is short, and stubbier than those fit for other, more common, weaves. This peculiarity ensures the fabric’s resistance. Durable, it is a favored cloth for travel suits.
But it is its rough hand that marks it out. This recognizable texture comes from the weaver’s method. A given thread is spun multiple times upon itself. The process is then repeated using several threads - giving the fabric the name of its type, ‘high twist.’ Twisting the wool ensures the drape of the cloth, as well as its breathability. Fresco welcomes wind in the summer, while remaining opaque: it wrinkles but little - its hang is sharp.

This fabric made for the heat comes from England. In the nineteenth century, a man from Belfast works in a Huddersfield mill. He founds his own business, develops it over half a century. In 1907, the firm is granted a patent for a new kind of weave which will remain open even under high pressure: fresco is born. Martin & Sons then allows two historic cloth merchants to merge: John Hardy, one of the country’s first tweed providers, and J&J Minnis, then major London drapiers. The fresco becomes a brand name under the emblem of Hardy Minnis.

The number of twisted threads grants a precise weight. Three-ply weighs between 435 and 465 g/m, two-ply between 280 and 310 g/m and high-twist between 250 and 280 g/m. The latter, very light, is the most distant from traditional fresco: it is mostly used to make unlined coats, in very warm climates. In 1950, the weight ranged not from the contemporary 250-435 g/m but from 341 to 558 g/m. Heavier frescos were then preferred, privileging the drape. That such a weight was sustained is explained by the breathability of the cloth.

Fresco's resilience makes it a staple of action cinema. In the 1960s, Sean Connery’s James Bond, the persecuted office worker of North by Northwest, a young Michael Caine: all wear a grey fresco suit. Fresco, from Hardy Minnis, is the summer pendant to winter’s flannel.