Business Is Booming for Bespoke Tailors. ‘I Don’t Want to Wear What Everyone Else Is Wearing.’

The tradition of bespoke menswear once conjured images of the storied, formal, and sometimes stuffy tailor shops on London’s Savile Row.

Today, that’s no longer the case. Though many of Savile Row’s venerable names still exist and continue to attract deep-pocketed men, a fresh cadre of designers in the U.S. are reshaping the perception of bespoke clothes. The attire they create goes beyond suits to encompass the full wardrobe and has a contemporary and fashion-forward bent.

These newer brands—pricey like their predecessors—are quickly gaining traction and wooing over a diverse clientele that includes younger shoppers and people of all genders.

The New York-based Watson Ellis is a prime example. Founder and designer Melissa Watson Ellis debuted the label in 2018 after working for a men’s custom tailoring company and seeing the need to fill a gap in the industry.

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“I wanted to custom-make clothes for everyone, especially women and nonbinary people. No one else was doing this, so I decided to do it myself,” she says.

Based in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, Watson Ellis offers suits, shirts, and coats. Clients meet Ellis in her showroom for 90-minute sessions where she takes their measurements and collaborates with them to design the pieces they’re seeking. The clothes are stitched in Hong Kong, but customers can model test cuts before the final renditions are crafted to tweak any imperfections. Suits cost an average of US$2,200 while shirts start around US$300.

Ellis says that her business grew steadily each year until a significant jump in the wake of the pandemic.

“Our sales have more than tripled. From 200 bespoke orders a year, I’m getting more than 600,” she says. “Our clients are people who are celebrating postponed weddings or attending more parties in general. They’re also going back into the office and dressing to impress.”

Sasha Suda, the director and CEO of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is a loyalist who has invested in eight Watson Ellis suits. Suda says she has scoliosis, a condition that causes her spine to curve and one shoulder to be higher than the other.

“Finding clothes that fit me properly was a frustration, and I looked to bespoke tailoring as a solution,” she says. “Meeting Melissa was more like an interaction with a friend than a typical shopping experience.”

Suda’s appointments transpire at a leisurely pace over whisky with Ellis and have her select fabrics and colors that are crafted into clothes for occasions such as black ties and work dinners.

“I have a fabulous teal blue velvet suit for special events and a wide-leg maroon suit for the office,” she says. “I feel confident in my wardrobe for the first time in as long as I can remember.”

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The Tailory New York, with an atelier in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, is another innovative name in the reimagined bespoke space. Shao Yang, the creative director and founder, launched the company in 2014, a few years after graduating from Parsons School of Design. “My goal was bringing custom clothes to an inclusive clientele, especially the LGBTQ community, and take the stuffiness and intimidation out of the process,” she says.

Women comprise the bulk of her customers, Yang says, and invest between US$2,000 and US$7,000 on suits, at least US$5,000 on black-tie dresses, and US$3,000 on jumpsuits. In the last 18 months, the demand for her handiwork has “exploded,” she says, partially due to the virtual appointments she offers to reach more people.

“We’re growing 50% or more every month,” she says. “Many of my clients are telling me that they’re adopting a ‘living life to the fullest’ approach in a post-pandemic world, and that includes spending on bespoke clothes meant to last them for decades or more.”

There’s Jennifer Fowler, for instance, a Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, resident with her own consulting firm. She hired Yang to design multiple pieces including an edgy black party dress with a detachable train that she wears again and again and a tuxedo-style suit with pants and shorts in gold and white.

“The money I’m spending is worth it to me because I’m buying forever clothing and investing in myself,” Fowler says. “I’m having fun and feel like I’m with a collaborator rather than a salesperson every step of the way.”

Two other elite and newer bespoke brands include Guild of Hands, founded by Christy Rilling who was Michelle Obama’s official tailor for more than a decade, and Cad & the Dandy, started by former bankers Ian Meiers and James Sleater.

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Rilling specializes in stylish wardrobe staples for women such as pants, suits, and sweaters but counts many notable men among her clients, including Paul McCartney. Cad & the Dandy, meanwhile, is renowned for its traditional men’s suits.

Both have seen unprecedented levels of business in the last year. This spring, Rilling says that she has regularly turned away orders as the charity and event season is in full swing. Steve Knorsch, Cad & The Dandy’s U.S. managing director, says sales doubled from 2021 to 2023.

“From one extreme of wearing athleisure, our clients are going all out by looking to suits,” Knorsch says.

Fashion industry experts agree that an interest in looking chic instead of casual is partially driving the growth of bespoke fashion. But there are other reasons why it’s becoming prevalent.

Gary Wassner, the CEO of Hilldun Corp., a company that finances fashion brands such as Isabel Marant, points to the advent of online appointments. “Bespoke brands today can reach more consumers virtually. Traditionally, it has been a bricks-and-mortar business.”

Hitha Herzog, a fashion commentator and retail analyst who founded H Squared Research, says that custom-crafted clothes are a way for the wealthy to stand out. “The luxury market is saturated with handbags, clothes, and jewelry, and high-net-worth people are seeking to differentiate themselves by turning to bespoke clothing designed by a renowned name,” she says.

Wearing something unique is exactly what artist and filmmaker Laurie Simmons is looking for when she works with Rilling to design outfits for herself.

“I get dresses and suits made by her. I had a silver suit with slim-cut pants made for my husband’s art opening in Oslo, which was attended by the Queen of Norway. It was quiet and elegant and special,” she says. “I go for bespoke because I don’t want to wear what everyone else is wearing.”

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