The rise and rise of tailoring that won’t break the bank
THE resurgence in suit wearing over the past few years has seen a slew of young companies appear offering tailored suits at recession-friendly prices. The denizens of Savile Row may turn their noses up at such upstarts, who make no bones about saving costs by making their suits abroad, but there’s no denying the value they offer. A suit cut to your personal measurements and taste can be purchased for as little as £400.
The entrepreneurs behind these businesses make strong claims for the quality of the product too. James Sleater and Iain Meiers, the former City bankers who three years ago founded Cad & the Dandy (www.cadandthedandy.co.uk), point out that their Shanghai workshop employs tailors trained by Savile Row pros, making suits by hand. Their top tier suits sell for £750 and are cut in London, before being put together in China – a process they also undertake on behalf of other London tailors for suits that sell at Savile Row prices.
Another of the most established names on the scene is A Suit that Fits (www.asuitthatfits.com), which celebrates its fifth birthday this week. It employs 100 tailors in Nepal, who are paid 50 per cent over the local rate, and where funding from the company has paid for a science laboratory and a new rubberised playground at the local school. Its suits cost on average £450, though they start at £200. The company operates nationwide, with 12 permanent, appointment-only studios and 18 other locations where its tailors stop once a week.
If these businesses’ names reflect their founders’ eagerness to separate themselves from the sober deference of Savile Row, then so does their approach to technology and marketing. Cad & the Dandy, who are making rugby player Mike Tindall’s morning suit for his wedding to Zara Phillips, won a major award for their use of online tech to make the flow of business between them and their suppliers more efficient.
The website for A Suit that Fits, meanwhile, hosts style blogs from several of its employees.
“We wanted to make tailoring accessible,” says co-founder David Hathiramani. “The name came out of the idea of a suit to fit your personality, your style and your budget.”