A term many people don’t encounter until venturing into the world of bespoke suiting is “Canvas”, so it can be a source of much confusion. More specifically, this refers to what is also known as a “Canvas Interlining”. At Nana Fashions, all our suits come with a Half Canvas construction as standard,
The Canvas Interlining is typically made from horsehair woven with wool or cotton and, as the “Interlining” part suggests, a layer of this material is sandwiched between the cloth you see on the outside, and the lining you see on the inside. The purpose of the Canvas Interlining is to help give the suit jacket support for its shape, a bit like a skeleton - indeed; this internal layer (along with other hidden components, such as shoulder padding) is also often referred to as a suit’s “structure”.
Canvas helps the jacket sit, hang and fit better on your body - what’s known as the “drape” - and allows the suit to ultimately achieve what it’s designed for: to accentuate the shape of the masculine physique. What’s more, this means a well-made suit with a canvas construction will actually feel and look better with age!
We source our own canvas which is made of Animal hair (mainly horse) and Woven with wool unlike many tailors here in Thailand that uses cheap and low end quality of polyester and synthetic based canvas.
The Half Canvas construction quite literally extends from the padded shoulder to about halfway down the jacket body. This allows for a robust and well-shaped shoulder structure - a very important part of a well-fitting jacket - and also ensures the jacket tapers elegantly towards the waist. Half Canvas suit will feel noticeably more robust, comfortable, and will be better-fitting than a suit without canvas, but is also lighter and less structured than a Full Canvas - however, with that said, many customers actually prefer the lighter weight and less-structured feel of Half Canvas.