What to consider with custom clothing

The question “What should I wear?” does not necessarily refer to wool socks, thermal underwear and balaclava in the cold season. Winter also means ball season. The dance events are one of the last bastions of formal clothing and comparatively strict dress codes.

Prashant Motwani, chief development officer at Senszio and son of the founder of this Belgian clothing company, which offers tailor-made tailors by means of traveling tailors, explains when men are well dressed and what they should consider with a suit and shirt.

STANDARD: When is a man well dressed?

Motwani: You don’t always need a shirt or wool trousers. A jacket completes a look very well – as long as the jacket fits well, of course. People may not notice tailored clothing, just that it fits well. And if the outfit is color-coordinated: perfect. You don’t always have to wear fine loafers with a suit. Casual models like loafers also fit well. A watch completes the look. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It is important that your style matches the personality of the wearer. I also like it when men wear bracelets. They fit perfectly with a well-cut cuff. But of course not just any festival wristbands from the past ten years, but high-quality bracelets made of leather or metal.

STANDARD: How does the body shape affect the cut?

Motwani: Body shapes are an important factor in styling. Customers with a narrow face should not wear a shirt with a narrow collar. That would make the face look even narrower. Round faces are the same. We would never recommend corpulent customers to patch pockets on the jacket or heavy fabrics. That applies. I would not recommend too tight cuts either.

STANDARD: Do you observe cultural differences when it comes to tailored clothing?

Motwani: The international style is very conservative and low-risk. Classic cuts are appreciated in the USA and Asia. In Hong Kong and China, due to the colonial past, British style influences can be noticed. I would call Japan an extremely fashionable country, especially when it comes to colors and tie fabrics. Japanese are the best-dressed men at almost every fashion event, compared to the rest of Asia, which is more conservative. Slim-fit and modern cuts are very popular in Europe. Skinny looks are often not very flattering and can be aggressive. On Instagram you can often see models whose jackets almost burst on the chest or arms. I would not recommend slim fit in the sense of tight and somewhat shorter pants legs to bankers or lawyers. Especially not if you act internationally.

STANDARD: Are there other job-specific differences?

Motwani: The range on the market has increased in all price segments. Managers used to wear tailored suits. That has now spread to other levels. In the international financial and legal context, most employees have a tailor they trust. Custom-made products are also valued in the creative field. More modern silhouettes are common here.

STANDARD: Are men fashionably not daring enough?

Motwani: We also have more eye-catching fabrics in our range, but they don’t suit my personal taste. I like it more subtle. But what is important is what suits each person. You don’t always have to experiment with color. Effects can also be achieved through materials. For example, many customers have reservations about linen because it wrinkles. But that’s exactly what I like. Linen gives the wearer a casual look. Many customers like fabrics that they can wear all year round. There are beautiful autumn-winter fabrics, flannels or cord. But customers want to be able to wear the pieces all year round. (Michael Steingruber, January 20, 2020)

By Michael Steingruber Founder, Der Standard
Original article

Brussels / Vienna.“Clothes make people” – this winged word is still valid. Clothing regulations have loosened in recent decades – the fashion police are no longer as strict as they once were – but negligence is generally not tolerated today. The higher you are on the career ladder, the finer the circles in which you move, the more likely it is that the outfit will fit – both for the occasion as well as for the personality, style and figure of the wearer.

Traveling tailors

As a rule, even fine logs do not meet these requirements, but only the bespoke production in which the Belgian men’s outfitter Senszio specializes. The company, which was founded in Brussels in 1989, does not rely on stationary shops, but on traveling studios in a growing number of major European and American cities.

The mobile tailoring studios take place in hotel suites – in Vienna Senszio will do the next time from May 9th to 10th at the Intercontinental Station – and offer a stylish and relaxed setting in which the man can use the fashion consultant who takes precise measurements to find the right garment – Complete suit or tailcoat, jacket, gilet, pants, shirt or coats – you can choose.

You can choose between different cuts and a wide range of fabrics in a wide variety of colors and patterns – from classic-traditional to extravagant. Of course Senszio only works with fabrics from top European weaving mills, such as Dormeuil, Scabal, Holland & Sherry, Loro Piana, Ermenegildo Zegna or Thomas Mason. The individualization options of the garments also include the choice of buttons and the colors in which the buttonholes are worked, embroidered monograms and the special position of the pockets of jackets and coats. The program also includes extravagant linings, from flowers to martini glasses to skulls.

Quite individually

“We tailor everything to individual needs. You can also rate it like this: High-quality bespoke clothing that does not satisfy every last detail does not exist, ”explains Prashant Motwani, Business Development Manager Senszio, the philosophy of the family-run company.

Made-to-measure clothing is available in two versions: Custom tailoring with a try-on and a retrospective silhouette gives you your outfit after around four weeks; Bespoke tailoring with more than one fitting requires more patience. The perfect fit is guaranteed in any case. And at extremely attractive prices: jackets are available from € 520, suits from € 740, pants from € 240 and shirts from € 109 – including taxes and delivery.

It is produced in Hong Kong. “British tailoring has a long tradition here and our tailors are among the best,” explains Motwani.
Existing customers whose dimensions have already been saved at Senszio can also order online using a web account at www.senszio.com: “If necessary, personal adjustments are always possible. This flexibility combines proven luxury with a digital lifestyle, appeals to the younger generations in particular and fits perfectly with our service concept, ”says Motwani.

Mann can also find the continuously updated list of dates for the traveling studios on the website.
www.senszio.com

By Britta Biron Chief Editor, Medianet mNews
Original article

It smells of wood and fresh paint, there is noise from drills and hammers, boxes are everywhere, half of a wall is not yet wallpapered, protective film is laid on the floor, there is a lot going on. Workers who remove garbage from the building crowd past suppliers who lug champagne bottles and glasses into it.

Where there is still chaos on the construction site, 600 guests are to be welcomed in a few hours: Jeremy Hackett opens his first shop at 14 Savile Row in London. Sir Hardy Amies, probably the most popular tailor of Queen Elizabeth II, previously resided here. There is probably no more suitable address for the traditional British company for men’s clothing; The best tailors have settled here since the 17th century.

Jeremy Hackett and his team made sure that everything was in place in the multi-story building in time for the opening party. “I’m happy to be back on Savile Row after 40 years. Especially as an owner and not as a seller,” jokes Hackett, who worked a few house numbers for a tailor in his youth. In the meantime, he runs an international company.

The opening of the flagship store in a prime location shows that business is going well. Jeremy Hackett explains that the bulk of sales are made up by the ready-made goods, but tailoring is an important growth market for the company.

In times of sustainability debates, fashionable individualization and increasingly relaxed dress codes, one can differentiate oneself from fast fashion with custom-made clothing and suggest belonging to a privileged milieu that values ​​quality. Whether high-priced bespoke or cheaper made-to-measure (see glossary below) – tailoring is flourishing.

Big potential

Prashant Motwani, chief development officer of the Belgian company Senszio and son of the company’s founder, also sees huge business potential in tailoring. “The market has grown continuously over the past five to ten years and is far from saturated.” Senszio has also recently started offering its travel tailor services in Vienna.

One of the traveling tailors is on site every four weeks, customers can book appointments online. The meetings take place in a hotel room, in the office or at the customer’s home as required. There the tailor takes measurements, suggests fabrics and buttons. Made-to-measure pieces are ready after four weeks, in the Bespoke area the process takes several months.

At some locations, Senszio has fixed tailors, but “we will also keep the concept of traveling tailors. Customers appreciate that someone comes to them and they don’t have to go to an anonymous shop,” explains Motwani of the success of the sales model.

You can hardly speak of anonymity when you enter Rudolf Niedersüß’s shop. Since 1976 he has been leading Vienna’s first address for men’s tailoring, the Knize company. Furniture and paneling in dark wood with a charming patina, fabric wallpaper, carpet in moss green and creaking floorboards – the premises at Wiener Graben, designed by architect Adolf Loos from 1910 to 1913, convey the long tradition of tailoring.

A lot of court cutter decrees hang on the walls. Then as now, the international aristocracy belonged to the Knize clientele. The tailor has not been able to accept new customers for custom-made products for years.

“There is no shortage of demand, but rather of the workforce,” says the 84-year-old. The young people are no longer willing to perform today. He had tried repeatedly to train apprentices in recent years, but had to quit everyone early because they did not meet his requirements.

According to information from the WKO, the number of final apprenticeship examinations in Austria in the field of clothing design, as the tailor training is officially called, has been constant for years. 117 were completed last year.

The number of professional branch members is increasing continuously. While there were 1119 in 2010, there were already 1670 in 2019. A survey by the WKO among several regional guilds showed an increased demand for products from men’s clothing makers. As a result, more and more women’s clothing makers are also offering additional services for men or taking further training courses in this area.

High quality pieces

Wilfried Mayer works in Vienna, where he offers classic men’s clothing. The graduate of the fashion class of the Vienna University of Applied Arts has learned the manual skills self-taught. “I don’t have a master craftsman’s certificate, but I do master cutting and product development,” says the designer, who sees himself as the interface between customer and production.

Working with suppliers is not always easy for one-person companies. Producers often preferred larger companies because they guaranteed better capacity utilization and more easily met the high minimum quantities. Nevertheless, Mayer sticks to his one-man show: “I am my own boss, and being close to the customers enables me to respond flexibly to their needs”.

Custom-made products, both made-to-measure and bespoke, are his answer to fast fashion and seasonal collection thinking. He wants to sell high quality pieces that accompany his customers over a long period of time. However, ecological sustainability was never a firm premise in his company. It results from itself, says Mayer. For example, he buys fabrics from old stocks of local men’s outfitters and fabric suppliers, the production routes are short.

Longevity

Jeremy Hackett also lives the idea of ​​sustainability. When he was young, he already operated second-hand shops, and even today he still believes in durability through high quality. The bespoke products are manufactured in Great Britain.

In contrast, Senszio has production in Asia. For Prashant Motwani, transparency is important: “We run our own workshops, the local designers were trained by Italian men’s tailors, and we have been working with them for over 30 years. ‘Made in China’ has a bad image, but our jackets, for example, are full Canvas and not glued (see glossary). Some European producers cannot keep up with the quality. ”

Rudolf Niedersüß also perceives extreme differences in quality on the market: “What is called a tailored shirt or suit has nothing to do with the craft. There are offers in all price segments, but you can see the difference.” A Knize suit costs 8,000 euros, Hackett incurs at least 5500 euros, and Wilfried Mayer or Senszio has a bespoke two-piece set from around 1,500 and 1,249 euros, respectively.

Even large clothing chains are now involved. Peek & Cloppenburg does not offer bespoke, but made-to-measure suits in half canvas. These are priced between 499 and 999 euros.

Quiet rebellion

Made-to-measure clothing is not suitable for conveying a high level of society. “It’s too reserved and unobtrusive for this. People who want to show their wealth are more likely to buy ready-made clothing from luxury labels. Custom-made products are for those who understand style and quality,” says Jeremy Hackett.

The classic gentlemen’s style can even have subversive potential. Hackett sees him as a rebellion of many sons against their fathers, who are currently trying to dress casually to look youthful. For Wilfried Mayer too, a tailored suit is not necessarily conservatively connoted. With such a piece, you break away from body conventions that would be enshrined in ready-made goods.

Incidentally, there was no special dress code for the opening party in Savile Row. Of course, the guests appeared in the finest thread, the outfits of the other gentlemen were observed very carefully. With all noble reluctance: The world of men’s tailoring is not immune to status thinking.

By Michael Steingruber Founder, Der Standard
Original article

If someone stopped you on the streets and asked you if you were satisfied with your life, how would you respond? For someone who is financially sound and can afford to live the life they lead, chances are they will probably respond with “pretty satisfied.” They may even say they are full of happiness because they can afford the things they want and feel good about the things they have.

But now suppose you ask how many of those same individuals, who report a high satisfaction with their life, feel that their life has meaning or purpose. Chances are, not many people will be able to confidently say they have discovered meaning in their lives and struggle to identify their personal sense of purpose. Studies have revealed that citizens of wealthy nations are starved for meaning in their life, part due to the lack of religion in their lives. And millennials, once described as lazy and narcissistic, are focusing on finding happiness more than prior generations.

The lack of meaning provides an opportunity for marketers to appeal to the self-actualizing needs of millennials by providing these emerging adults with a purpose. But while most business executives recognize a strong collective purpose can increase their bottom line, only 46% reported their company has a sense of purpose. A brand purpose can fill the void left behind in nations where religion is largely unaccounted for, giving consumers a way to express their feelings of individuality.

The Struggle to Find Meaning

Data from a Gallup World Poll discovered while wealthy nations rank high on life satisfaction, countries with low GDPs ranked higher for meaning. And while religion does play a significant part in a society’s level of life meaning, the United States, where 77% of Americans believe religion is losing its influence, reported higher meaning over wealthy nations like France and Japan.

One generation in particular, the millennials, has struggled to find life meaning as they move into adulthood. Beyond the stereotypes that millennials are lazy, selfish and narcissistic, millennials are one of the most educated generations in American history but 3.8% are unemployed. Millennials entered the U.S. workforce right after an economic depression, and their struggles to find employment could be factor that has driven them to rethink what a successful life constitutes. Millennials are also less religious than older generations in America, with only 41% stating they believe religion is very important, but remain just as spiritual. In this regard, millennials are similar to wealthy nations who seek to discover life meaning, which is thought to be important to well-being throughout the entire human lifespan. And millennials can turn to purpose-driven brands as a way to freely express their self-worth and to replace the lack of religion in their lives.

Brands are the New Religion

Purpose-driven marketing has seen brands behave like organized religions, offering some of the same basic principles religions use to connect with their conglomerates. For marketers working to attract consumers, behaving like a religion can deliver satisfaction to self-actualizing millennials who currently are starved for meaning. Clothing businesses, for example, can provide avenues of self-expression for consumers who choose clothing brands that best reflect their personality. “I’d like to say that for us, it’s very important that we guide the customer to find his personal style,” says Mark Motwani, CEO of Senszio. “While he’s selecting fabrics or determining the size of his jacket pockets, or the color of his shirt buttons, he is essentially creating his wardrobe and choosing how he expresses himself. That said, it is an ever-changing journey and one that isn’t influenced by mainstream trends or fads.”

What makes brands effective in delivering life meaning is when they offer three key benefits to customers: 1) core beliefs and values, 2) symbols, rituals or myths and 3) a relationship with a community at large. When a brand uses purpose-driven marketing to attract customers, they market their “why” in the hopes of attracting individuals who share a similar belief and resonate with a brand’s purpose. With a purpose in hand, brands offer consumers an opportunity to express their individuality and self-worth. Brands can help customers communicate to others that they are valuable, meaningful human beings and captures the value consumers place on the benefits they receive from particular brands. “When you can relate to a brand and connect with it, your desire for success is greater because you have experienced firsthand the potential that it has to change and affect others,” says Alejandro Chaban, founder of Yes You Can! “You need to form a human connection with your customer and also create valuable content with depth. Passion, determination and a personal understanding of your consumer are three very important points to consider.”

A brand purpose is more than a promise; it’s a commitment to action that will impact your employees, customers and the world around you. Just like how millennials seek meaning to guide their everyday lives, a brand purpose helps your business understand where it’s headed and how to get there. And like millennials, not enough businesses have a clear understanding of their “why”. When brands and people can close the gap that prevents them from finding their purpose, they can both experience a greater life meaning that explains their place in the world.

By Adam Fridman Founder, Mabbly
Original article

Is your company more like a job shop or a production facility? Both business models can make sense, but it’s important to know where you sit on the scalability continuum. There’s one question you can ask that will reveal how scalable your company is. That question is: What percentage of future customers will buy the same product or service you’re delivering today?

If the answer is ‘More than 80%,’ then you are solidly on the production-facility end of the continuum; meaning, you can deliver the same product or service over and over again without the need for much, if any, modification. Your operations can focus on improving your core offering, with each enhancement benefiting most or all customers.

As we all know, the prime example of a production facility is a software company. John Boyd, Co-Founder of startup company TrackingFirst.com, said it best. “I love software because you can build one product and sell it to a lot of different customers.” Boyd’s company has made good on that strategy so far, selling its digital marketing campaign tracking tool to ten digital marketing teams in different Fortune 500 companies—without making a single change to the software product itself.

On the other hand, if your answer to the question is, ‘less than 20%,’ then your company is without a doubt on the job-shop end of the spectrum. This means that a majority of your customers require a highly customized or personalized product or service.  But, you already knew this, based on the amount of unique customization required with each customer engagement.

One good example of a job shop operation is the custom tailor who makes each item of clothing to the size and specifications of only one individual customer. This is known as bespoke tailoring. Senszio CEO Mark Motwani sums it up this way, “We love traveling the world and spending an hour with each customer; allowing them to choose from 4,000 fabrics, and then delivering a perfectly-fitting suit six to eight weeks later.” Motwani and team come to the United States five times per year to provide this level of service, and the strategy has succeeded to the tune of 2,500 suits and 5,000 shirts.

By Larry Myler Former Contributor, Forbes
Original article