The loro piana horsey vs the ermengildo zegna elements jacket.

In the top image we see the Ermengildo Zegna Elements jacket, below that is presented the Loro Piana Horsey jacket, many people feel that these two jackets represent the pinnacle of casual elegant wear and are the two most luxurious alternatives to the ubiquitous Barbour Beaufort, personally I feel one should have one of these and a beaufort, the Barbour is a fantastic knockabout jacket that one can afford to damage, and one of these as a smart casual 'go to' option.

The Horsey was developed by Loro Piana specifically for the Olympic Equestrian team in 1994, and features a drawstring waist, a deer leather collar, and a removable gillet, also it comes supplied with a hood and an groin piece to fasten the jacket underneath, also features a few charming design details which are always present on Loro Piana garments, and really make them stand out, such as cuffs which fasten and have knitted holes to slip your hand through, and an elegant skirt back..

The Horsey jacket is available in a wide variety of different materials including cashmere, zealander wool and cotton mixes, the real trademark material for this however is Loro Pianas patented 20k storm system material, applied here with the thought in mind of minimizing the sound disturbance while riding during equestrian events.

The Zegna Elements jacket has been developed by Zegna to be an all weather jacket in a classic style, and it follows zegnas trend towards garments which incorporate some sort of technologically advanced treatment or feature, such as the ipod jacket that includes a touchpanel including controls for the ipod, however with the Elements jacket the advancement is the way in which the fabric has been treated. According to the website which features a video illustrating the technology, they claim that it breathes as to the climatic conditions it is currently in, Ie is cool in hot weather and warm in cold.

I'm not quite sure personally on the veracity of these claims, personally if its warm the best way to cool down is to remove your outer garments, not put one on that will 'breathe' and I do feel that the video is rather too much hyperbole for my taste, nonetheless, it has other design features, such as a drawstring waist, removable collar, and it also is available in different versions, slightly heavier for cold weather and a thin lightweight one for winter (which in my opinion somewhat invalidates the claims of it breathing in warm weather, I mean why do you need a lighter version if the thing breathes?)

These two similarly styled jackets are priced around the same , the Horsey priced a $2999.99/£1900/€2100 and the Elements for the top model which is blended cashmere is $3499.99/£2300/€2500, it should be noted however that the Loro Piana Horsey is only that price in the 20k storm system fabric, in cashmere or other fabrics it can cost up to $10,000.

My money is on the Horsey, but everyone has different taste.