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What happens when award-winning fashion and a Made-in-Italy traditional segment like menswear tailoring encounters the web? How can needle and thread and a passion for bespoke garments go hand-in-hand with the network’s speed and with its global character? If, on the one hand, the World Wide Web is a communication tool for worldwide expansion, on the other hand, it also allows new opportunities for development, also for the most customized crafts, like hand-made tailoring. Today it takes the best to titillate men’s vanity, both in terms of fabrics and sartorial mastery. Hence the web is used not only to promote workshops dotting the Beautiful Country, but also to spread their cutting and sewing expertise. How? One of the most interesting tool currently online is Aplomb, a platform resulting from the passion and phantasy of three very young entrepreneurs, Federico Grasso, Luigi Ugge and Massimiliano Invernici, going to show that bespoke tailoring is not just “an old guys business”. In a matter of months, this “virtual tailors’ atelier”has become a rapidly growing business, aiming to create a network of sartorial appeal for real gentlemen. The goal is clear: not to bring the tailor’s atelier to the user’s place, but to bring client to tailor together through a painstakingly selected network of Italian tailor’s workshops, so that the new dandy can pick the one that is most suitable for him, both in terms of style and location, without running the risk of coming across a fake. Today, this portal comprises fifteen tailors’ ateliers in Lombardy, Veneto, Piedmont, Lazio, Apulia, Campania, Sicily and Basilicata, but the goal of the three entrepreneurs is to double the number in a very short time. Not a bad result, if we consider that Grasso’s, Ugge’s and Invernici’s combined years of age are far from totalling one century. The pre-selection of the sartorial ateliers occurs through an advisor, then there’s the interview. These strict criteria guarantee the user to find in Aplomb only the best, with practical info as to who guarantees a bespoke or made-to-measure service. It is possible to book a visit to a tailor’s workshop from the website, and soon a style advisor service will be available, allowing users to receive precious advice – the service is currently undergoing some testing. Aplomb is not only at the service of the connoisseurs, but also of the tailor’s workshops, indeed the platform allows them to promote themselves through articles, pics and videos: an outstanding way to illustrate a great passion for sartorial culture. Aplomb is likewise active on the social networks, which are used as communication tool to spread info, bring together the enthusiasts and share ideas and passions. The Facebook community totals approximately 2 thousand followers, and it is growing by 10% per week, while the Instagram profile has already reached 8k followers. The network has been selected to be part of the Start Up School/Y Combinator and is now part of the Founder Track program, a worldwide accelerator for the internationalization of websites, online activities and start-ups. The three managers have a forwards-looking mind-set, both in terms of time and space; their next step is the British market: to virtually join the two main marketplaces for the tailor-made, Italy and England. Faster than the Channel tunnel, they cross France with a click.
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