The difference between Vitale Barberis Canonico’s Greenhills super 160’s and Revenge super 150’s custom suiting fabric collection.

My spring/summer fabric drop from VBC has just arrived chock full of the usual books and as always I am taking a day off to thumb through them and get familiar with the offerings. This year VBC added a little “marketing” verbiage to the books with information I hadn’t heard before- How much fiber they used to make a certain collection, particularly for their two “higher” super number books : Greenhills super 160’s and Revenge super 150’s

I make no secret that VBC is one of my favorite mills. They balance the luxury hand of their fabric with amazing stability in their weave while maintaining a price point that exudes value. When it comes to a high end custom tailored bespoke suits, for my money the Revenge collection is probably my top choice. The Greenhills super 160’s collection is the next tier up. While Greenhills “10” super number jump seems minimal vs Revenge super 150’s, the cost of the fabric is about double. If you gave me a blind test, its hard for me to tell the difference. The super 160’s does feel a little softer, the fabric is a bit lighter (240-250 grams vs 270-280 grams) but the stability and color are about equal. I am yet to tailor a custom suit for myself in the Greenhills fabric. Its hard for me to justify the price jump

Granted this information is from VBC marketing materials, so I do take it with a grain of salt but what they had to say about these two collections is very eye opening.

Legend has it many years ago during a period where the wool harvest was lacking, Loro Piana outbid VBC for the bulk of the available fibers, leaving VBC sh_t out of luck. The next season VBC made it a point to return the favor by overbidding on the available wool, leaving Loro Piana with slim pickings. With the wool they purchased they created a signature luxury fabric line and called it Revenge.

Today VBC and Loro Piana are mostly vertically integrated so bidding wars are no longer standard practice but the Revenge name still remains. Today they use 16.2 micron Australian wool which comes from strict breeding practices and meticulous care of the sheep to ensure health of the harvest. Each season they harvest about 11,000 bales. One bale is about 120 Kilos and they are able to create 104Km of yarn per kilo.

The Greenhills collection comes from a farm in Mudgee Australia that raises a rare breed of sheep. They purchased the farm about 50 years ago specifically so they can learn the intricacies of growing such a unique fiber. The sheep are free roaming, and the wool is minimally processed. The farm can only produce about 80 kilos a year.  

That’s less than 1 bale used in the Revenge collection. By that logic Greenhills is more than 11,000x rarer than the Revenge collection?! Can that be right? It now makes me wonder, why is it ONLY double the price.

Super numbers are always a divisive subject when it comes to bespoke suits. We’ve been brainwashed to think higher super numbers are better but from my experience it isn’t always so. Does exclusivity really matter for the fabric of you suit? VBC fabrics are pretty classic in colors and patterns. Infact as far as I can tell all of the fabrics have identical versions available in both their Revenge and Perenial offerings. Visually its going to be hard to tell them apart, so the difference is really only going to be in the fibers and only when you touch it. Does the lighter weight make enough of a difference for a custom suit in Los Angeles hot climate? Enough to overcome the price difference? As stated earlier, I haven’t been able to justify the cost of “upgrading” to a suit made out of Greenhills fabric but I think Im going to have to now. At the very least to understand and feel the difference between the two and how they perform to daily wear. I guess I will see soon enough.