Fit is a positioning choice
This coat began with an idea I liked on paper: a herringbone wool fabric, leather inserts and a regular fit. The first sketch shows that direction, with black pocket flaps and a side fastening defining the design. The fabric had character and the details were distinctive. What remained to be seen was how they would work together once the coat was worn.
I was developing the model for the Ki6? Who are you? licence, with a mid-to-high-end customer in mind: a woman with exacting expectations of fabrics, finishes and fit. For her, quality should also be felt when she slips an arm into a sleeve, fastens her coat or puts a hand in a pocket. I think about those gestures, as well as the appearance, when I work on a garment.
I want a coat to have presence, while leaving room for the person wearing it. The proportions need to accommodate both. A sketch can convey an intention. A sample makes you take responsibility for it.
That is why I see fit as a positioning choice. Deciding how a garment follows the body, where it sits and how much freedom it allows means deciding how it will become part of the customer’s life. In this case, the first prototype showed me how far I still was from the result I wanted.
When the first sample falls short
The result was not what I wanted. The fit was too regular and, overall, I found the coat cheap-looking and lacking in elegance. Deciding whether to move forward or revisit a design calls for a clear judgement: that sample did not express the standard I was aiming for with Ki6? Who are you?
The herringbone fabric and leather inserts, which had a clear purpose in the initial idea, did not give me the balance I wanted. The silhouette contributed to that impression too. The regular fit was too restrained for the comfort I wanted to offer, and it did not give the coat the presence I had in mind.
I do not consider herringbone inelegant, or a regular fit inherently wrong. My judgement concerned that particular coat, with that fabric, those proportions and those details. The distinction matters in product development: a solution can be valid in general and still be unsuitable for the model you are working on.
I could have limited myself to a small adjustment. Instead, I chose to start again with the fabric and revise the proportions, because the issue concerned the coat’s entire character. I wanted the quality of the construction to be more apparent, the appearance to be more refined, and the fit to accommodate a slightly heavier jumper underneath. The first sample had made it clear what still needed work.
Giving the body the right amount of room
The direction changes in the second sketch: the coat has more ease, the silhouette is more relaxed, and the uniform fabric makes the design easier to read. The length above the knee, the generous sleeves reaching the wrist, and the relationship between shoulder and volume define the look I was seeking.
The fitting requirement was specific: to give the customer greater freedom of movement when wearing a more substantial jumper underneath. That is a normal situation for outerwear, and it deserves attention during development. If you assess the fit only over light clothing, you risk approving proportions that behave differently in everyday use.
I adjusted the shoulder, the chest and the line through to the hem to achieve a more comfortable fit. The ease had to be distributed across the garment: the shoulder and chest needed to work with the rest of the coat, rather than leaving one area generous and another still restricted. The sleeves also needed to allow that freedom while remaining in proportion with the body of the coat.
Experience means knowing how much room is needed and where to put it. Simply making a garment wider is not enough. I wanted a coat that retained a recognisable shape and allowed the customer to move more freely. Comfort needed to be part of the design, visible in its silhouette.
A more refined fabric and the right construction
The most important decision was to make the entire coat in double-faced wool and cashmere. It was a more refined fabric for this project, one that could give the garment the appearance I wanted. I removed the leather inserts: I wanted the fabric, construction and proportions to give the model its elegance.
I chose double-face construction, leaving the coat unlined with neatly finished internal seams. That decision also concerns what the customer sees when she opens the coat or takes it off. The inside is exposed, and the care taken with the finishes becomes part of the experience of wearing it. For a customer so attentive to quality, the inside of the coat must live up to the outside.
Fabric and fit were part of the same decision here. Changing the fabric while keeping everything else was not enough. The new construction and additional volume needed to find a balance: I wanted the coat to have substance without getting in the way of movement.
I also changed the position and size of the pockets, giving them greater prominence. I wanted them to become a feature of the design as well as serve their purpose. Their proportions are easier to read against a more uniform surface. They needed to look right on the garment and make sense in relation to the hand reaching for them.
This is the care I bring to development: continuing to look at how one choice affects the others. A more prominent pocket, an adjusted shoulder and a different fabric change how the coat is perceived. The result depends on the relationship you establish between those elements.
The coat in front of the camera
The behind-the-scenes photographs come from the shoot of the finished garment. They follow the decisions on fabric, construction and fit, and show the coat being prepared for the marketing image.
In the first photograph, a member of the team adjusts the coat on the model before the shot. The focus is on how the coat is presented: the coat needs to sit properly on the body so that the photograph shows its silhouette and details clearly. The photographer is already in front of the model, ready to capture the result.
In the second photograph, the model has one hand in a pocket and her arm slightly bent. That gesture makes the relationship between sleeve volume, the body of the coat and pocket placement visible. It also allows us to see the detail I wanted to give more prominence: the pocket becomes part of the silhouette, together with the person using it.
Looking at these images brings me back to the reasons for the changes. I had been looking for elegance that could work in real life, with room for the clothing underneath and freedom for everyday gestures. In the finished garment, those choices need to come together visually. Product development reaches this point: giving concrete form to what I had asked of the first sample and what it had failed to deliver.
In the photograph used for marketing, I see the coat I had wanted to create: the double-faced wool and cashmere, the more comfortable silhouette, the pockets with their deliberate presence, and a more elegant overall look. The photograph shows the outside; the double-face construction and neatly finished internal seams complete the quality of the garment.
This was my positioning choice for Ki6? Who are you?: to connect the customer’s expectations with the fabric, construction and the way the coat would sit and move on her body. I got there by accepting that an idea I liked on paper needed to change. It is a part of the work I care about deeply: looking after a design, even when that means changing it.
Romina Tosi
Disclaimer
This article draws on my direct professional experience in developing a coat for the Ki6? Who are you? licensing project. It describes the decisions I made regarding fabric, construction, fit and details. Assessments of the first prototype and the finished garment reflect my professional judgement in relation to the intended customer and the result I wanted to achieve. They concern this specific project and should not be read as general judgements about the brand or its products.
Artificial intelligence tools supported the writing and translation of the article. They do not replace my professional judgement or my responsibility for the final content. No confidential commercial data are disclosed, and no measured effects on sales, returns or other business results are claimed.
References to Ki6? Who are you? identify the context of the project. The article presents my account and analysis, rather than an official statement on behalf of the brand.
If you identify an error or inaccuracy, please let me know. I will verify the information and correct it where necessary.
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