The Style Shrinks

Movie stylist Mehma Tibb,who has worked on films such as Cocktail (with Anaita Shroff Adajania) and Bachna Ae Haseeno,customises leather jackets for both men and women. No two pieces are alike and she factors in preferences for pockets,metallic linings and chunky zippers among other details.

Customisation bridges the gap between the local tailor and the high-end brand. “Enterprises such as ours cater to the middle segment,” says Chudiwala. Tibb says that for the quality and materials bespoke offers,it is usually value-for-money. “Real leather is expensive and isn’t easily available in Mumbai. After customisation,my jackets start at Rs 15,000” says Tibbs,who has celebrity clients such as VJs Juhi Pandey,Andy and musician Ankur Tewari.

Sandeep Gonsalves of SSHomme,says that the variety of fabrics they offer is their strength. “We work with fabric brands such as Dormeuil (England/France),Vitale Bareberis Canonico (Italy) and Loro Piana (Italy) without charging as much as designers do,” he says.

Bespoke fashion isn’t focussed on women alone. Like SSHomme,there are several other enterprises that caters to the male client. While some follow the tradition of an appointment,a few others have gone online. Helmed by Sandeep Gonsalves and Sara Sheikh,SSHomme falls in the former category even as enterprises such as Bombay Shirts Company,Tailor Man and Mr Button belong to the latter. Gonsalves says,“During the first trial,the customer gets an idea about the look and feel of the raw garment without lining; at the next,the client tries out the garment after it has been stitched. The third trial takes place only if necessary,” he says.

At Bombay Shirt Company though,similar parameters for customisation include fabric,sleeve style,collar,cuffs,pockets,buttons and pleats which can be decided on the website itself. But Narvekar is looking at a hybrid model where the enterprise has both online and retail presence. He has therefore,introduced the “travelling tailor” concept where a designer from his team visits the client at a pre-appointed hour.

The bespoke businesses heavily relies on customer-friendly approach. Toteteca offers photologs where a customer can track the progress of their bag making at every stage. While Tibb is soon going to start her website,Bombay Shirts Company will be offering a slew of features,from web applications where one can measure oneself to pop-up stores.