GQ India – August 2019

STYLE

SUIT

UP

THE BUZZ

84 — AUGUST 2019

I

n the cult documentary Born Rich, Italian

textile heir Cody Franchetti talks in equal

terms about the relationships he shares

with his tailor and his psychiatrist. “You go

to the shrink. You talk about yourself. You figure

out things. Same thing with your tailor. You still

talk about yourself – and you figure out other

things. It’s therapeutic.”

Franchetti comes from an old aristocratic

family, and explains to viewers why he considers

buying expensive objects, with which he has no

direct connection, to be a waste. “The pleasure

extinguishes itself very quickly,” he says. “So I

use my time and my money to do things I take

part of – for example, going to the tailor. So I

go there and break [my tailor] Rocco’s balls for

hours, because the buttonhole has to be just

right, and we talk about the shape of it and the

sewing. It requires money, but it also requires

setting down what you want, your taste. So it

gives me the great suit, yes, but I don’t buy it off

the rack. And it exactly reflects what I want.”

It’s been just over a decade since The

Collective boosted the men’s luxury fashion

ecosystem in India, making the latest collections

from buzzy brands like Philipp Plein, John

Varvatos and Dsquared2 available for the first

time locally, at its eight stores across the country.

The Collective has been at the forefront of many

retail innovations, and its recently launched

European Made-to-Measure service is the very

pinnacle of its menswear offerings.

In consultation with The Collective’s Savile

Row-trained tailors, clients can personalise and

customise every detail and fit, while choosing

from the world’s finest fabrics sourced from mills

such as Albini, Loro Piana and Thomas Mason.

The service is available at flagship stores in

Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, with products

such as shirts, trousers, suits and sunglasses all

made-to-measure. Prints, stripes, checks – each

gentleman can express his distinct preference.

And what you get is not just a unique garment,

but a rare luxury experience, with a tailor who

might just turn into a great friend.

In his seminal 1964 treatise ABC Of Men’s

Fashion, the great Savile Row designer Hardy

Amies wrote: “[Your tailor] is the interpreter

of your desires: your guide through the maze

of modern fashions. He must stop you from

making mistakes, and when they occur, give the

impression that they are his. Yet, if there are

successes, they must be the result of your good

taste and intelligence.”

Make an appointment. You may even gain

a confidant. WORDS: CHE KURRIEN. PHOTO: RHYS FRAMPTON

The case for made-to-

measure tailoring in India

just got stronger