THE NEW GUISE OF SARTORIAL MENSWEAR

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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.

For those preferring a tailor-made but also a home service, there’s Knot Standard, a portal founded in 2010 by John Bellay and Matt Mueller. The idea turned out to be so winning that it immediately won a substantial pool of international investors. Knotstandard.com brings together the expertise of master tailors, the creativity of praised designers, as well as technological innovation. At the basis of this platform there is a sophisticated algorithm guaranteeing the exact calculation of the customer’s measure, hence, with few actions on the website, and with an excellent combination of cuts and fabrics, you can have a premium suit, customized according to your needs and whims. This is the pioneering evolution of the made-to-measure, which adapts the pre-tailored garment to the customer’s body. The selection of fabrics encompasses the most esteemed textile manufacturers worldwide, like Vitale Barberis Canonico, Reda, Loro Piana, Ermenegildo Zegna and Holland & Sherry, to mention just a few, with over one thousand fabrics available. Ballay and Mueller have embarked on this adventure for personal needs, aiming to renew their wardrobes by looking at modern life’s needs, though without relinquishing the sartorial appeal. As Mueller states: “the level of customization our technology allows is exponentially more precise of made-to-measure hand-made. Moreover, from the selection of the lining to the colour of the thread for the buttonhole, for the first time, our client becomes the designer with 100% creative control”. This Springtime, Knot Standard have introduced the Casual Luxury segment, so as to broaden the offer and cover all their users’ needs. For those who just can’t give up on a direct contact with the tailor, there are showrooms they can go to, from New York to Chicago, from Houston to San Francisco, from Dallas to Washington DC and Dubai. In the USA, at the end of 2015 zTailor was launched, an on demand tailoring service conceived by Men’s Warehouse founder, George Zimmer. Through the app it is possible to have a tailor come to your house to take your measures; following another fitting encounter, the suit is delivered within a week. Zimmer relies on a team of craftsmen with at least five years’ experience in bespoke tailoring. This network already includes 600 tailors, but the manager aims to have more than 1.000 and to cover all the 50 United States of America. After all, that’s what the web is for, to cancel distances, not only virtually, but also physically. So, no wonder if a tailor in Lecce or in Naples has clients in Tokyo or in Australia, and vice versa.

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