AUGUST 2019 — 81STYLE
ny legacy brand trying
to navigate the future
needs to find a way to
innovate. In the case
of Raymond, which has
been the beacon of slick
suit-making in India for
94 years, it comes in the form of the game-changing
new Atelier at Breach Candy in Mumbai. Trends
start here. India’s top-billed industrialists shop here.
Hell, you can even get a barman to bring you an oaky
Oban 14, salmon sushi and a gourmet cheese platter
while you’re being measured for a handcrafted full
canvas jacket.
To distinguish itself from the many other made-
to-measure services across the country, the Raymond
Atelier resembles a high-fashion gentlemen’s club.
You’re invited here not only for a spot of bespoke
tailoring but also for every menswear wardrobe
solution, all within the confines of a lavish space
you can spend all day at. Having been to a few
good stores across the world, not many astonish
me enough to want to explore every nook. And yet,
I found myself doing just that, half-amazed, half-
curious about this store that’s right in my backyard.
An experience at the secret lair, that is strictly
by appointment only, starts with a tony lounge that
features a television screen the size of my entire
bedroom and a fully stocked bar. We happen to be
here on the day of the fateful India vs New Zealand
World Cup Semi-Final – the high-def monster screen
distracting me from the shoot we’re meant to do,
while the plush banquette invites me to kick back
with a mojito. The Atelier’s operations manager,
a tailoring savant, tells me that a few big-ticket
industrialists (I poke for names, I get none) were
keen to book out the space for the Final.
The lounge is just the precursor to this menswear
playground. It is here that you’ll find made-to-
measure jeans with the perfect amount of stretch
and comfort to help you reverse the peculiarities of
your body – whether fuller thighs or skinnier calves.
In fact, few customise denim in India to this level.
Then there’s the first-of-its-kind shoe customisation
portal that throws up near-infinite permutations
and combinations of every silhouette, from kid suede
sneakers to multi-patina double monks and painted
calf golf shoes. Save for the brogue-hybrid sneaker,
which we’re informed is a huge hit among clients,
you can get a Goodyear welt sole under any shoe. A
delicious pair of bespoke Oxfords in a deep red and
purple tartan, with the initials AM subtly printed on