Riccitelli Milano manufactures shirts in Italy for fashion brands: dress shirts, casual shirts, overshirts, blouses and shirt dresses, for womenswear and menswear. A shirt looks like the simplest garment in a collection and is the one where poor making is most visible, because the collar sits directly under the face.
We are a fashion production agency in Milan working with the shirt makers who supply the Italian houses. A brand hires us and we produce the collection, answering for the result at every stage.
The collar decides the shirt
Everything a customer notices about a shirt happens in the top ten centimetres. The collar has to stand without help, sit clean against the neck, hold its shape after washing and frame the face correctly when worn open.
That depends on three decisions. The interlining: fused or sewn in, and at what weight. Sewn in collars are made by the best shirt makers and are what allow a collar to soften with age rather than bubble. The stand height and the leaf shape: a few millimetres change whether the shirt reads formal or relaxed, and whether it works with a jacket. The stitch density: the tighter the stitching along the edge, the crisper and more expensive the shirt looks.
These are pattern and construction decisions taken before the first sample, which is why they belong in the tech pack from the beginning.
Where quality actually shows
Stitches per centimetre. A fine Italian shirt runs a much higher stitch count than a commercial one. It is slower, it uses more thread, and it is immediately visible along the placket and the collar edge.
The sleeve placket and the gauntlet button. A properly made placket is a small piece of tailoring in itself, and it is where cheap shirt making gives itself away first.
Split yokes and pattern matching. On a striped or checked shirt, matching the pattern across the yoke, the placket and the pockets costs cloth and time. Not doing it is the clearest signal of where a shirt was made.
Mother of pearl buttons, hand attached. Sewn with a shank so the button sits proud and the placket does not pull.
What we produce
Dress shirts in poplin, twill and royal oxford. Casual and washed shirts in oxford, chambray, flannel and linen. Overshirts and shirt jackets. Silk and viscose blouses. Shirt dresses. Both womenswear and menswear, cut on separate blocks because the shoulder, the bust and the waist suppression are genuinely different problems rather than a scaled version of the same one.
Cloth
Shirting is where yarn count and finishing matter more than in any other category. Fine two ply cottons give the hand and the drape a luxury shirt is judged on, and they behave completely differently from a single ply cloth of the same weight. We buy from the Italian and English shirting houses, test shrinkage and fastness before booking, and measure consumption on the real pattern, because pattern matching changes consumption significantly. See fabric sourcing in Italy.
How a shirt project runs
Flats drawn to scale, the collar and cuff specified precisely, first patterns drafted and cut, then a sample made and washed, because a shirt has to be judged after laundering rather than off the press. Corrections go back into the pattern, a second sample confirms them, the size set proves the grading, and the approved sample becomes the reference production is checked against. See pattern making and sampling.
Quantities
Minimums are set per product rather than per client. See low minimum order production and capsule collections.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes a luxury shirt different from a commercial one?
Stitch density, the collar construction and the finishing. A fine shirt runs a much higher stitch count, uses a sewn in rather than fused collar interlining, has a properly built sleeve placket and matches the pattern across the yoke and placket. All of it is slower and uses more cloth, and all of it is visible.
What is a sewn in collar?
A collar whose interlining is stitched rather than glued to the cloth. It costs more and takes longer, and it is what allows a collar to soften with age and washing instead of bubbling or separating. It is one of the clearest markers of a serious shirt maker.
Why does a shirt sample need to be washed before approval?
Because a shirt is worn after laundering, not off the press. Shrinkage, collar behaviour and seam puckering only show after a wash cycle, so a sample approved dry can fail in a customer’s hands. We judge shirt samples washed.
Do you cut womenswear and menswear shirts on the same block?
No. The shoulder slope, the bust and the waist suppression are different problems, not a scaled version of the same one. Separate blocks are the only way to get both right.
What cloth should a luxury shirt be made in?
Usually a fine two ply cotton: poplin for a crisp formal hand, twill for softness and drape, royal oxford for texture with weight. Two ply behaves completely differently from a single ply of the same weight, which is why yarn count matters more in shirting than in any other category.
Can you match stripes and checks across the shirt?
Yes, across the yoke, the placket and the pockets. It costs cloth and cutting time, which is exactly why it is the first thing a cheaper maker drops. It should be specified in the tech pack rather than assumed.
Can you produce shirts in small quantities?
Yes. The minimum follows the product and the cloth, and short runs are placed with the makers built for them.
Produce your shirts in Italy
Send a reference shirt, a sketch or a finished tech pack and we tell you what it takes to build it. Contact our Milan studio, or see all fashion production services.
Start your production with Riccitelli Milano
Tell us about the collection you would like to create. Our team will get back to you to begin your production in Italy.