Bespoke and made-to-measure tailoring brands and designers discuss sales boom and suiting trends sparked by weddings, events and the office.
But with stores temporarily closing their doors due to COVID-19, the retailers had to pause and in some cases scale down in order to stay alive.
“I think the biggest issue in 2022 versus 2019 is the time and effort we spend on recruitment, hiring and onboarding people,” he continues. “There are many people saying the search for talent is tough, but we’ve been successful in finding good people. Even though we were making a massive loss we have kept all of our suppliers and partners that we have.”
“I do think that it’s a large part because of the pandemic,” Owens says. “I think a lot of people did work on themselves in a lot of ways and feel more comfortable standing out and less tethered to society’s norms, for lack of a better expression. I feel like people questioned a lot so it’s less about fitting in. When it comes to trends, I feel Gucci has had an impact on that 1960s, 1970s vibe and people being interested in a wider lapel and a generous fit.
Owens found that their clients are looking to stand out wanting textured suits, patterns and prints; wider lapels; longer, looser fits, and unique colors, like champagne pink. For instance, some opt for custom linings for personalization, matching team colors if the groomsmen played together on a team, and loose rules like following a color scheme but being free to wear notch or peak lapel jackets and different suit cuts and linings. Other men go bold in royal blue tuxedos, deep red and burgundy jackets and dinner jackets in bold colors.Alton Lane is currently the exclusive partner of Anthropologie’s Bhldn wedding destination.