Benedikt Fries, whose interest in tailoring traces back to his Italian grandfather's bespoke suits, founded Shibumi in Florence in 2012, starting with handmade ties before expanding into other accessories, shirts and knitwear. He chose Florence deliberately, calling it the birthplace of the Renaissance and still Italy's capital of art and craftsmanship, and named the brand after the Japanese concept of shibumi, understated, subtle elegance. Fabrics come from long-standing family mills in Como, Macclesfield and Kyoto, several with more than a century of weaving history, reflecting Fries's own deep interest in Japanese craft and aesthetics.