Suits maketh the man

Like the style but not the fit? Now Italian brands specialising in fine men's clothing provide the made-to-measure option.

T ime was when the only clothes you wore were those tailored by a darzi. And then came a time when the only clothes you wore were those picked off the racks of stores.

But the wheel of fashion is turning once again. Only now it has a new name, "su misura", Italian for made-to-measure, which spells the very ultimate in class, exclusiveness and personalised luxury in menswear "" especially suits.

Suits, of course, are a measure of the man wearing them, and while India has some very good suit-makers, Italy has the best of them "" as is generally accepted the world over.

Over the past year, some of the best known Italian brands specialising in fine men's clothing have set up shop in India. There's Ermenegildo Zegna, Brioni, and Canali in Mumbai, and Pal Zileri and Cornelioni in Delhi, all brands renowned for their cut and fine craftsmanship. And not only do they have off-the-shelf suits, but they also offer su misura services.

Adarsh Amin, general manager, Gavel Fashions, the Essel Group's retail division which has introduced Pal Zileri in India, explains how su misura, or abito privato (private dressing) as it's also called, works "" long-distance.

"A customer comes in, looks at the ready-to-wear stuff, and likes a style "" but feels the fit is not right. So we offer to have it made to measure. We show him the 450 or so fabric swatches we have "" all ranging from the super 100s to the super 250s. Once he's decided on the fabric, we measure him up meticulously. That done, the information is sent to the Pal Zileri factory in Venice, and the suit, 98 per cent ready, is back in four-five weeks. Only the working buttonholes and the sleeve and pant lengths remain to be sewn."

It's expensive, of course, but only about 30 per cent more than what a ready-to-wear Pal Zileri suit would cost. As for the other brands, prices start at over Rs 50,000 for a jacket and can go up to tens of lakhs.

Unlike something mass-produced and picked off the racks, you can have a high degree of customisation with su misura "" not just to make up for physical attributes like a paunch, too-long hands or too-wide shoulders, but also in keeping with personal taste.

For example, with a Zegna suit, you can choose to have a single-breasted or double-breasted jacket, the shape and material of the buttons, rear vents, and buttonholes on the sleeves that can be open or closed; for the pants, the shape of the pockets or cuff on the bottom; for the shirt, the shape of the collar and location of the monogram.

You can choose the fabric from 450 exclusive fabrics, patterns and colours produced in-house by Lanificio Ermenegildo Zegna.

Taking the right measurement is the key here since it is all that the master craftsmen sitting far away have to go on. At the Zegna boutique at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, there's dedicated staff for this vital function who've undergone specialised training.

At the Pal Zileri store, master tailor Bruo Magnagu-agno came down six times to India to train the four fashion coordinators at the store at the Intercontinental Nehru Place.

With India emerging as an economic super-power, the Indian corporate sector integrating ever closer with global companies, and the media and showbiz industry exploding, these luxury brands of menswear do not lack clients in India.

In the eight months since it opened shop here Pal Zileri, for example, has flown as many as six of its valued Indian patrons to its factory in Italy to help them understand its tradition better.

"More than selling a service, we try to impart knowledge," says Amin. Pal Zileri has also included the very Indian bandhgala, brand-named Guru, in its repertoire of evening suits, business suits, lounge suits, tuxedos and so on.

"The marriage market (father-in-law buying for son-in-law), still remains a major driver of sales," Abhay Gupta, executive director of Blues Clothing Company, points out.

The company offers su misura for the Corneliani brand at its store in South Extension in New Delhi and has indigenised the concept, registering it as a private label. So you have a choice of fabrics from high-end brands like Scabal, Zegna, Drapers, John Fosters or Holland & Sherry, which you get stitched at the store. Prices are far more affordable here "" as low as Rs 4,000-5,000 just for the made-to-measure services.

"The problem," says Gupta, "is the Indian figure, which is very different from the Western one. So we have a number of very fat or very tall people coming in."

Blues also has a separate line, developed with Givo, that offers suits with a wider variety of drops (a measure of the chest, stomach and waist, which determines the fit) and sleeve lengths than is available in most ready-to-wear brands.

A suit for every man, shall we say?