Beneath the Surface: The Make of a Hall Madden Jacket

Over time, tailoring has evolved—from fully hand-stitched jackets built with layers of canvas to faster, machine-made pieces using modern fusing. Each construction offers its own balance of quality, comfort, and cost. In our pursuit of timeless tailoring, every Hall Madden suit begins with our Traditional Full Canvas make — crafted without any fusing for a natural drape and enduring shape.

At Hall Madden, we offer the full range: Full Canvas (default), Full Canvas Handmade, Made in Italy, Made in Italy Handmade, Semi-Traditional Fused (uniform programs) and Half Canvas (corporate deals). Unconstructed makes also available.

Traditional Full Canvas (Default)

Our default Full Canvas jacket is built the traditional way—with layers of natural canvas and horsehair that shape the chest and allow the jacket to mold perfectly to the wearer over time. The canvas provides structure while the horsehair helps the suit recover its shape, giving the jacket a refined, natural drape and a beautiful lapel roll. With no fused layer, it feels lighter, breathes better, and moves more naturally.

Handwork: Includes hand-sewn button attachment, collar turn-back, flower loop, bottom hem finish, cuff fold, and lining at the armhole.

Pros:

  • Natural flexibility and movement

  • Breathable and lightweight

  • Highly durable, even with frequent cleaning

  • Drapes and molds to your body with wear

  • Beautiful lapel roll and soft shape

Cons:

  • Higher price due to time and craftsmanship

Semi-Traditional Fused

Our entry-level and most affordable make—ideal for hotel uniforms and commercial use. The jacket’s front is fully fused, with reinforced cuffs, hem, and armholes for durability. A three-layer chest canvas adds structure and a natural drape, setting it apart from typical fused suits.

Handwork: Includes hand-sewn button attachment and collar turn-back for added quality.

Pros:

  • Affordable and consistent in appearance

  • Clean, structured look

Cons:

  • Flatter drape and stiffer feel than canvassed jackets

  • Lapel roll less natural

  • Over time, fusing may loosen or bubble

  • Limited design options

Traditional half-canvas

Half-canvas construction offers a perfect compromise between a full-canvassed jacket and a fused jacket - ideal for corporations looking to gift their employees. This traditional make employs a number of canvas layers from the shoulder down through the chest, with a thin layer of fusing on the front of the jacket. The lapel is canvassed too and pad stitched by machine to give it a nice ‘roll’. The fusing layer provides just enough structure to hold the jacket together beautifully, while the canvas layers provide the quality in feel and appearance unique to canvassed suit jackets.

Handwork: Button attachment, Collar turn back, Flower loop, Bottom facing/hem

See chapter ‘Handwork’ for a detailed explanation and illustration of the above details.

Pros:

  • Canvas chest piece is pad stitched by machine to the lapel for a voluminous shape and nice roll of the lapel

  • Affordable and best of both worlds (full-canvas and fully-fused); best suited for University student deals

Cons:

  • Even with the best quality fusing in the market, there is always the risk the fusing will loosen and show bubbling after years of wearing or dry-cleaning

  • As the fabric is fused, the material will be be less flexible to wear compared with a full-canvassed piece

Our Handmade Full Canvas make has all the qualities of our Traditional Full Canvas suit, but is enriched with more sartorial details and carefully applied handwork for a rich bespoke look and feel.

Handwork: Button attachment, Collar turn back, Flower loop, Bottom facing/hem, Cuff fold finish, Lining at the armhole, Buttonholes, Pick stitching, Under collar attachment, Chest pocket, Lining at the shoulder seam, cuff and hem, Bartacks, Label attachment

Pros

  • Full of handmade sartorial details

  • Rich look and feel

  • Exclusive design options available

  • Fabric maintains its natural range of flexibility and movement

  • Breathable, lighter and more comfortable

  • High durability - even after frequent cleaning

  • Drapes naturally and moulds to the body to fit better with time

  • Nice voluminous shape and roll of the lapel

Cons

  • Higher price & longer delivery time

Unconstructed

In our Unconstructed jacket, all the canvas has been removed apart from a piece at the shoulder to support and shape that area. The front is lightly fused with a thin layer to ensure even the finest fabrics will not collapse or show too many creases. The result is a very light and comfortable jacket, with a more casual and natural look. It’s perfect for the warmer summer days and for younger customers or anyone who prefers a casual look for the weekend.

Handwork: Button attachment, Collar turn back, Flower loop, Bottom facing/hem

Pros:

  • Lightweight and comfortable (due to the lack of canvas)

  • A less formal look and feel

  • Great for warmer temperatures

Cons:

  • Fabric will be more prone to creasing

  • Fabric loses some of its natural flexibility due to the light fusing

Unconstructed Handmade

Similar to our Unconstructed make, all the canvas has been removed, apart from a piece at the shoulder to prevent that area from collapsing. This jacket, however, is handmade and does not have a layer of fusing. As a result, the fabric keeps its natural characteristics, so will look and feel much more elegant in this make. At the same time, the fabric will be more prone to creasing while wearing. The addition of more handmade finishes also makes a huge difference. Find all the exact elements in the jacket that have been made by hand below.

Handwork: Button attachment, Collar turn back, Flower loop, Bottom facing/hem, Cuff fold finish, Lining at the armhole, Buttonholes, Pick stitching, Under collar attachment, Chest pocket, Lining at the shoulder seam, cuff and hem, Bartacks, Label attachment

Pros:

  • Full of handmade sartorial details

  • Exclusive design options available

  • Lightweight and comfortable (due to the lack of canvas)

  • A less formal look and feel

Cons:

  • Fabric will be more prone to creasing

  • Longer delivery time

 Made in Italy

Why would you have a suit made from our Made in Italy range? Well, think about it like selecting a bottle of wine. You can have a good wine at $20, $50 or $100+. There is no reason you shouldn’t be able to get high quality at every price point. It is the more abstract qualities that you pay for as you go up in cost. While you are still paying for taste and a lack of faults, you are also paying for more character. The same goes for suits: you are paying for the character that comes from origin, quality characteristics in construction, hand-finishing and special sartorial details.

Fatto in Italia.

Made in Italy full canvas

We manufacture on a Made in Italy production line that opened after WWII. The quality is excellent; we construct a full-canvas suit with the most minimal of fusing. In this jacket, a full piece of canvas covers the entire front, acting as the interlayer to provide extra support. It means the jacket will conform to your body over time and still have a lot of comfort in motion. The canvas chest piece is pad stitched by machine to the lapel, giving it a nice voluminous shape and roll.

Handwork

Button attachment - Collar turn back - Flower loop - Bottom facing/hem - Cuff fold finish - Lining at the armhole

Pros

  • Only natural materials are used

  • With hardly any fusing, the fabric maintains its natural range of flexibility and movement

  • Breathable, lighter and more comfortable

  • High durability - even after frequent cleaning

  • Drapes naturally and moulds to the body to fit better with time

  • Nice voluminous shape and roll of the lapel

Cons

  • Higher price

 

Made in Italy unconstructed

Our Made in Italy atelier has been making Full Canvas suits since they opened their doors right after WWII. We can assure you they are good at it. Very good. They construct a full-canvas suit with the most minimal of fusing. In this jacket, a full piece of canvas covers the entire front, acting as the interlayer to provide extra support. It means the jacket will conform to your body over time and still have a lot of comfort in motion. The canvas chest piece is pad stitched by machine to the lapel, giving it a nice voluminous shape and roll.

Handwork

- Button attachment - Collar turn back - Flower loop - Bottom facing/hem - Cuff fold finish - Lining at the armhole

Pros

  • Only natural materials are used

  • With hardly any fusing, the fabric maintains its natural range of flexibility and movement

  • Breathable, lighter and more comfortable

  • High durability - even after frequent cleaning

  • Drapes naturally and moulds to the body to fit better with time

  • Nice voluminous shape and roll of the lapel

Cons

  • Higher price

 Handmade in Italy (2 months construction 5k+)

The HMIT range is on the same level as the ‘fatto a mano’ (handmade suits) made in ‘sartorias’ (workshops) across Italy: the highest standard of suit making there is. Suits are cut by hand, crafted with the highest attention to detail and made with only the finest materials and 100% natural fibres. No fusing, no tricks to speed up the process and hardly any machines are used in the manufacturing. Almost every single stitch in the garment is made by hand with a needle and thread. Only the long, straight seams – such as the side and back-seams – have been made with a sewing machine. It is the ultimate sartorial make of suit.

Handmade in Italy Full Canvas

Full Canvas suits from our HMIT Hall Madden atelier are sewn by hand and made without any fusing at all. As is traditional, a full piece of canvas covers the entire front, acting as the interlayer to provide extra support. For a better fit, canvas is also pad stitched in the collar to ensure a beautifully shaped and less stiff collar. The main advantage of this construction is a softer, suppler feel and a lighter weight that greatly increases comfort. Without the fusing, the fabric keeps its flexibility and natural characteristics. However, the front will display more creasing, especially with lightweight fabrics. This results in a jacket with no movement restriction that will eventually drape over your body shape naturally. With each wear, a full-canvassed suit will conform more to your body. Just like a new pair of leather shoes, you have to wear the jacket in for it to fit perfectly.

Handwork

Our Italian tailors will invest more than 40 hours of work in a suit: 30 in the jacket alone. The patterns and the fabric have all been cut by hand, the suit is pressed by hand too - no industrial machinery here. These suits are handmade for the greatest part – It would probably be easier to name the details made by machine.

- Button attachment - Collar turn back - Flower loop - Bottom facing/hem - Cuff fold finish - Lining at the armhole - Buttonholes

Additional HMIT handmade details:

- Gorge line - Pad stitched lapel (optional) - Sleeve insertion - Pick stitching - Under collar attachment - Chest pocket - Lining at the shoulder seam, cuff and hem - Bartacks - Label attachment - Lining everywhere (collar, side vents etc.) - Hanger loop

Pros

• Highest level of comfort and motion (due to the handmade stitching)

• Beautiful fit and drape (due to hand finishing)

• Highest sartorial level of suit making on the market

• Affordable compared to similar bespoke suits on the market

• Exclusive design options available.

Cons

• Higher price.

• Longer delivery time.