Bespoke Tailor Cifonelli Teamed Up With Le Mans for a Menswear Collab You Can Wear All Year
Over the weekend, the 24 Hours of Le Mans marked its 100th anniversary with a 24-hour endurance race that saw AF Corse take the top prize. However, the Italian racing team—which piloted a No. 51 Ferrari 499P to victory over 342 laps—wasn’t the only winner on the track.
Cifonelli had reason to celebrate as well, as the French bespoke tailoring house was named the official tailor of the event for the second year running. Far from an honorary position, the appointment saw a Cifonelli tailor dispatched to the race’s starting line, and the debut of a new ready-to-wear collection designed to commemorate the event.
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Composed of more casual items ranging from wool-silk-linen Teba jackets to tailored cargo pants and even a midnight-blue café racer, the assortment deftly combines the time-worn elegance Cifonelli built its name on with the swashbuckling sensibility of a modern racing champion.
While a family-run tailoring operation and one of the world’s foremost racing events may seem like strange bedfellows, Cifonelli CEO Lionel Peralta sees a commonality in their considerable heritages.
“The 24 Heures of Le Mans were looking to upgrade their fashion partnership with a brand whose heritage and history could match theirs,” he tells Robb Report. “Both Le Mans and Cifonelli are brands which have been creating luxury experiences and products for one hundred years, so it was an obvious match.”
Cifonelli’s history extends even further than that of 24 Hours of Le Mans, as the tailoring house was established in 1880 by Giuseppe Cifonelli. First based in Rome, the business was brought to Paris by Giuseppe’s son Arturo, where it earned a reputation for a unique cut that embraced the structure of British tailoring while allowing for a more expressive, continental sensibility. In time, it dressed such notables as Josephine Baker, Fred Astaire, and Marcello Mastroianni.
Today the house is led by Giuseppe’s great-grandsons Lorenzo and Massimo, though Peralta says that history could have easily gone in another direction.
“Both Lorenzo Cifonelli and Massimo Cifonelli are as passionate about car racing as they are about bespoke tailoring,” Peralta says. “Massimo Cifonelli was racing Formula 3 and ambitioning to move up to Formula 1 until his responsibilities as an heir of the maison caught up with him.”
Fortunately, the latest collection developed with 24 Hours of Le Mans—an extension of a collaboration that began in 2022—has given the Cifonellis an opportunity to reconnect with their inner racecar drivers. Between the capsule’s drawstring-linen trousers and Capri-collar long-sleeved polo shirts are more explicitly auto-related items including graphic tees marked by an engine-inspired “C” logo, silk scarves printed with racing scenes and a cotton-blend varsity blouson with a range of custom-designed patches and logos that call back to the century-plus histories of both the tailoring house and the racing event.
“Our version is a luxurious and tailored version with a leather shoulder patch and lined with a light jersey that shows a printed ‘C’ for Cifonelli x 24 Hours of Le Mans,” Peralta says of the piece, a riff on the typical racer’s blouson that is often covered in sponsor’s logo.
“A ‘C’ that we are quite proud of as it embodies all the codes of car racing and their intricate engines,” he continues. “This collection brings out the unexpected spontaneity and playful side of our 140-year-old maison and the elegance of the 24 Heures of Le Mans.”
Cifonelli’s responsibilities as the official tailor extend beyond the finish line. Peralta notes that the maker is present at all of the race’s official events throughout the year, and dresses members of its board for public presentations. “Our association goes beyond the one-week race event for us,” he says.
And though the event’s next installment is more than a year away, it seems likely that Cifonelli may take another lap.
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