Geoffrey B. Small The Large Volume Design Notch-Lapel Coat-2
Presence, Quietly Revealed
This coat is more than clothing.
From afar, it reads as a calm field of grey. Step nearer and a landscape appears: off-white and deep navy threads interweaving like an abstract painting. That depth lends the wearer a quiet sense of distinction.
Paris, Milan, London, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai — and Kochi. Between the brilliance of world cities and the stillness of a small town, a single sensibility connects them. What matters is not geography or scale, but what truly moves the human spirit. At the meeting point of Geoffrey B. Small’s integrity in making and T.O.’s enduring values, this coat finds its meaning. It is not merely an imported garment, but a bridge between worlds near and far.
Threads in Dialogue
Interviewer
When I first encountered this coat, even from a distance it carried an elegance with a palpable force — something more than “just” clothing. It was a feeling that defied easy description.
T.O.
From afar, it is gentle and restrained; up close, each thread asserts itself, producing a surface with true depth. There is a duality: the loose handwoven texture, and the crisp impression of colour. That tension surprises whoever wears it. This depth is further amplified by the behaviour of the weave itself — look closely at the pattern.
Because the fabric is woven with a soft, open hand, the motif subtly widens and narrows as the cloth moves, so the pattern seems to breathe. The eye reads that micro-shift as dimensionality.
The Handwoven Cloth
Interviewer
What, for you, distinguishes Tessitura La Colombina’s handwoven cloth from industrial textiles?
T.O.
The first thing you notice in the hand is softness and movement. When worn, it is light and supple; it wraps the body with ease. But the deepest difference is the time and human intent embedded in it. Industrial textiles deserve respect — they distil research, engineering, investment and collective intelligence. And yet the Colombo family bring an explicit notion of art into fabric-making. For a technician, that is a rare luxury; for culture, a living practice. The moment I saw this cloth in Geoffrey’s atelier, I knew — this was the one. Cloth with this beauty and depth is truly rare.
Form, Cut and Ease
Interviewer
The silhouette looks voluminous, yet it feels light. How is that balance achieved?
T.O.
Through meticulous pattern cutting. A generous form is paired with raglan shoulders and open armholes so the garment moves with the body. The volume never drags; with each step it flows, folding naturally into daily life.
Many Wearers, Many Expressions
Interviewer
How does the coat transform across different body types and generations?
T.O.
One garment, many expressions. For some, it softens and protects; for others, it heightens stature and presence. It is like an unfinished canvas — complete only when the wearer steps in. You see the same multiplicity across different fabrics cut to this pattern. It is not “just” that the materials differ; the distinct drape and hand of each cloth alter the rhythm of the silhouette, so the same model can appear wholly new. That range is the design’s delight.
Buttons, Chosen with Time
Interviewer
Tell me about the horn buttons by Fontana — what makes them special here?
T.O.
At Fontana, artisans have honed techniques across a spectrum of natural materials — not only horn, but also corozo, wood, bone, and mother-of-pearl. What distinguishes their work is the eye for selecting the horn’s best section — density, specific gravity, and natural lustre — and the craft to reveal its ‘sheerness’ and subtle striations through cutting and polishing. That sensibility has been handed down over generations. The result, in this coat, is a button whose weight registers in the fingertips with a quiet gravity — proportioned to the coat’s volume, present yet never overbearing.
Hand-Stitched Buttonholes
Interviewer
And why insist on hand-stitched buttonholes?
T.O.
Machines can be faster, of course. But with thick silk thread, a hand-sewn buttonhole rises with a rounded fullness that a machine cannot reproduce. That subtle give — the minute play between button and silk — makes fastening easier and softens the overall impression of the coat. It is the living proof that, as the saying goes, God is in the details. We hope this will be worn by those who truly understand that value.
Beauty in the Everyday
This is not a coat only for special occasions. It is made to invite quiet transformations into daily life. In the morning, slipping into it straightens the posture. On the street, the cloth catches the wind and shifts expression, making the ordinary feel new. By evening, as the light changes, its tones settle into a calm resonance.
“Beauty always carries a touch of the mysterious, and the mysterious is always beautiful.” — Goethe
Beauty does not live far away in rarefied places; it lives in such moments. The Large Volume Design Notch-Lapel Coat-2 wakes the sensibility to recognise that beauty, weaving elegance into the rhythm of everyday life — for those who can share this quiet value.