Tailoring Is Big Business Says Selfridges as It Introduces a Made-to-Measure Service
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LONDON — Selfridges is moving into Savile Row territory, offering a new, made-to-measure service in collaboration with brands including Giorgio Armani, Prada and Thom Browne.
The store has been transforming its personal shopping suites into “tailoring workrooms” with eight brands set to be in residence over the coming months as part of the new made-to-measure service.
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Bosse Myhr, director of menswear at Selfridges, said the store has increased its fashion tailoring offer by 75 percent for spring 2023 in response to the “vibrant return” of tailored clothing on the European runways in particular.
As part of that enhanced offer, the store wants its customers to consider made-to-measure when buying luxury suits, coats, shirts and trousers.
Customers can make an appointment on Selfridges.com, and attend appointments in the personal shopping suites at the store’s London, Manchester and Birmingham stores.
The service costs between 2,000 pounds and 7,000 pounds, in line with Savile Row prices, although those can be higher.
“We wanted to encourage our customers to rethink suiting and how it could work for both their personal style and, equally, for their lifestyle,” said Myhr.
“This includes ready-to-wear tailoring from Rick Owens, who brings his distinct language to the suit, and Giorgio Armani revisiting his iconic ’90s silhouette,” Myhr said.
Selfridges will be scheduling personal appointments with Savile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng as well as appointments with tailors from Prada, Thom Browne, Eleventy, Tom Ford, Zegna, Giorgio Armani and Corneliani.
Myhr said Selfridges wants to respond to customers’ changing tastes and demands.
Echoing other menswear mavens, Myhr said that men today “are buying for pleasure rather than for the purpose of work and occasion. After a long period of casual and streetwear dominating the menswear landscape, tailoring is a counter-balance for men who are interested in fashion, and who are also thinking about their clothing with a longer-term view, rather than seasonally.”
Customers, he said, are also thinking greener and listening to calls from the luxury industry to buy less, and better.
“Mindsets are changing around product lifespan in fashion. The experience of purchasing a made-to-measure suit is a special one; it’s a considered investment that should last a lifetime,” he said.
The new service dovetails with Selfridges’ many green initiatives.
The retailer has accelerated its net-zero carbon-emissions goal, moving its deadline up to 2040 from 2050 as a promise to the Climate Pledge, a cross-sector group of companies committed to reaching net zero 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.
As part of that commitment, the retailer also set a new target of ensuring that at least 45 percent of its transactions (excluding food, restaurants and homeware) come from recycled products or circular services such as resale, rental, refill or repair.
It has also established “Reselfridges,” a portfolio of circular initiatives it hopes will eventually become the backbone of the business.
With the new made-to-measure offer, Myhr believes that Selfridges has an edge over a stand-alone tailor because it can offer a variety of brands, allowing customers to create a personal look.
While “the talent and expertise of Savile Row and its influence on menswear should be celebrated,” he said, “we can provide this service to a customer who wants to be inspired by a multibrand offer, or to a customer who is perhaps exploring made-to-measure for the first time.”
He added: “The intention is to bring a unique brand mix that appeals to a broad cross-section of customers, and considers how people are dressing” today.
Selfridges isn’t the first retailer to witness a resurgence in demand for tailored clothing following the pandemic.
Men who are now working between home and office are feeling freer, getting more creative about the way they dress, and creating their own codes. They’re also casting aside the slouchy activewear and streetwear that became a uniform during the pandemic.
During the fall 2023 men’s shows in Milan and Paris earlier this year, tailoring continued to gain momentum.
In January, Myhr told WWD that one of the biggest trends was “sophisticated tailoring, and a more grown-up aesthetic alongside tonal colors, such as grays, beiges and anthracite.”
In Milan, too, tailoring was back in a new fluid and relaxed version, with dropped shoulders on deconstructed jackets and wide-leg pants.
Soft corduroy suits were everywhere, while double-faced, soft cashmere, and vicuña blended fabrics enriched the tailored silhouettes. Formal eveningwear was back as well, with lots of velvet, shine, sequins and embellishments.
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