Tailoring has long had a profound place in menswear, with a history that stretches back over centuries. While the term still refers to the making or adapting of a suit, modernisation and the evolution of fashion has meant tailoring is beginning to take on an adapted form of its own. Designers have taken the craft and revitalised it for a new generation, drawing influences from unexpected corners of the industry to create a fresh vision for this classical area of design. FashionUnited has compiled a selection of brands and creators doing just that, each bringing their own revamped insight to update tailoring.
Willy Chavarria
Next to his role as senior vice president of men’s design at Calvin Klein, Willy Chavarria also operates his own eponymous label that has been gaining ground over recent years following on from its initial launch in 2015. As part of the brand’s mission, Chavarria looks to firmly intertwine politics and fashion, reinterpreting men’s fashion with political expression through the use of socially engaging runways, sustainable production and inclusive casting. Since 2021, Chavarria has been a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and has shown at New York Fashion Week, counting the likes of Madonna among his audience.
One of the brand’s most popular collections was that of its spring/summer 2019 line created with sportswear label Hummel. The duo drew inspiration from 1990’s and 2000’s streetwear from the designer’s base city, New York. In contrast, the Mexican-American designer’s most recent collection for the SS23 season utilised oversized silhouettes and structured tailoring as an elevation of sportswear, combining seemingly formal pieces with collegiate designs and vintage-inspired sports attire.
Points of sale
Chavarria has recently seen great success in the growth of his label, and now counts over 30 notable retailers as global distribution partners. These include a number of high-end e-commerce retailers, such as Farfetch, Lyst, Assembly New York and Garmentory. Multibrand department stores like Barney’s also stock the brand, adding to its retail network which also includes the operation of its own physical retail store and e-commerce site. Additionally, the brand’s Hummel collaborative collection can be found at the likes of YOOX and LuisaViaRoma.
Retail price
Prices for Willy Chavarria goods vary depending on the item at hand. While the brand’s long-line coats typically retail for 2,000 dollars, its workwear-inspired jackets and bombers range from 320 to 650 dollars. Meanwhile, the brand’s basics, such as its crewneck sweaters and oversized t-shirts sit between 100 and 350 dollars. While the brand’s jeans retail at around 450 dollars, Chavarria retro track pants can be found at prices sitting at about 260 dollars.
Casely-Hayford
The Casely-Hayford brand was founded by father-son duo Charlie and Joe Casely-Hayford as a mix between formal Savile Row-esque tailoring and a British anarchist mindset. Now solely run by Charlie, following his father’s passing in 2019, the brand has leaned more into its youth-centric values, as seen in its celebrity endorsement and collaborations with the likes of Converse and, most recently, Sunspel. The brand itself currently works between London and Tokyo, where the collections are produced, and operates its own retail store in London’s Marylebone.
The label’s most recent collection, which also includes a selection for women, expands its modernised take on tailoring, combining fitted jersey suits with trucker jackets, print button-ups and bombers. Casely-Hayford also offers customers the option to purchase tailor made suits, providing private appointments at its atelier and enabling different style variants depending on the occasion, such as dinners, weddings and business. Its made-to-order service also covers select items in its main collection, allowing for more personalised garment production. For 2019, the brand further expanded its range to include accessories, such as shoes, bags and small leather goods.
Points of sale
Alongside its store in Marylebone London, Casely-Hayford operates its own e-commerce store where customers can set up made-to-measure orders and appointments and purchase the brand’s entire collection. It also counts a number of international retailers among its stockists, including Farfetch, Dover Street Market and Barney’s, as well as a selection of boutiques.
Retail price
Casely-Hayford’s pricing for its main line sits between 100 pounds to, in most cases, no higher than 1,000 pounds. While shirts can be found between 100 to 200 pounds, including its polo-shirts, button-ups and corduroy styles, its trousers come in at just slightly higher price points of 250 to 350 pounds. Meanwhile, the brand’s jackets, which include trucker jackets, long-line coats and duffels, sit at an average of 880 pounds. Suits can be bought in separates or as two piece sets, which typically come in somewhere between 895 and 1,100 pounds.
Arturo Obegero
Founded in 2021, Paris-based brand Arturo Obegero has established itself through the adoption of architectural forms and gender fluid design values that put it at the forefront of modernised tailoring. The Central Saint Martins graduate particularly gained traction in 2022 after looks by the brand were donned by Gen Z-favoured artist Harry Styles, who wore a series of Arturo Obegero garments for his international tour and ‘As It Was’ music video. The designer has also already graced Paris Fashion Week, showing his second collection at the event in a digital presentation for the spring/summer 2023 season.
This latest collection continued on from Obegero’s very personal take on design, created as a love letter to his hometown Tapia de Casariego in Spain. Pieces in the line referenced the town’s own landscapes and mythology, as well as the work of surreal artists like Man Ray and René Magritte, resulting in a series of garments that took on a romantic air. Dominated by sheer materials and pastel hues, the collection is made up of lightweight button-ups, dresses and flares, which then contrast Obegero’s highly tailored two-piece suits, created in satin-like fabrics and deeper tones.
Points of sale
Through the brand’s own website, shoppers can purchase its main collections and arrange fittings for bespoke and bridal pieces. Meanwhile, Arturo Obegero items can also be purchased at various international e-tailers, including Ssense, Shop Monde and Hong Kong’s Goxip, as well as a number of concept stores like Elevaster.
Retail price
Available retail items within Arturo Obegero’s collection include shirts, jackets and trousers, as well as a number of jewellery and accessories. While its tops typically retail for somewhere between 90 to 750 pounds, the brand’s trousers come in at significantly higher price points of 1,400 to 2,000 pounds. Its jackets also lie more in the higher range, with pieces like its Bolero blazer sitting at 1,635 pounds, while its Orpheo Denim design hits 1,470 pounds.
Kaushik Velendra
London-based Kaushik Velendra, founder and CEO of his eponymous menswear label, has cemented his place in the industry through his emphasis on futuristic tailoring that aims to offer a power dressing option for men. Velendra’s looks are defined by his use of elevated shoulders on a range of gilded suits, often adorned with heavy embellishments that further accentuate the silhouette. Pieces by the Central Saint Martins alum were particularly prominent on the red carpet of the most recent Fashion Awards, where they were donned by male and female industry figures alike, including celebrity stylist Law Roach and actress Golda Rosheuvel.
Since his London Fashion Week debut in 2019, Velendra has gone on to present a number of collections during the event, each widely applauded for his definitive take on menswear. His most recent ‘Dreams’ collection for autumn/winter 2022 further underscored his design aesthetic. Sharp blazers with signature shouldering were paired with cigarette pants, cropped vests and chiffon shirting, which sat next to items directly inspired by his Indian heritage. Additionally, the designer told Vogue that the fabrics for the line had been sourced from all over the world, seeing the merging of brocade from India with French and Italian wool.
Points of sale
Kaushik Velendra operates out of its own e-commerce site, Maison Velendra, where customers can also access a made-to-order service, as well as its headquarters in Mayfair, which the company relocated to in February 2022 as part of the designer’s expansion plans. Earlier last year, Velendra also revealed details to FashionNetwork about his further ambitions to expand to Mumbai, LA and Dubai in the next two years.
Retail price
Next to a couture collection, Kaushik Velendra offers a ready-to-wear line that comes at more accessible price points. While the brand’s more minimalistic breasted blazers typically retail for around 1,200 to 2,500 pounds, blazers featuring the signature defined shoulder moulds come in at 5,000 to 8,000 pounds. Meanwhile, the designer’s shirts fall in between 125 and 3,000, vastly differing based on material, cut and silhouette. RTW coats also come in contrasting prices, with the lowest retailing for 1,250 pounds, while the highest can be found at 10,000 pounds.
Carlota Barrera
Spanish-born designer Carlota Barrera made her industry debut for spring/summer 2019 after graduating from the London College of Fashion with an MA. She states her mission as defining core garments based on the personal, queer female gaze, while also drawing inspiration from her Spanish heritage and queer history. Her design value typically formulates around complex tailoring and the elevation of classic silhouettes into contemporary pieces that aim to encourage dialogues surrounding gender and evolving identities.
This mindset has remained consistent throughout each of the designer’s collections, as seen in her regular adoption of fluid tailoring and shirting that appears every season to challenge the menswear norms. For her most recent collection, entitled ‘Asere qué bolá’, Barrera made her London Fashion Week debut, offering up looks inspired by a recent trip to Cuba, mirrored in the choice of light, airy materials and summery printed shirts. Slouchy linens and deconstructed items contrasted a range of suits, bringing a more casual air to the line.
Points of sale
Carlota Barrera’s own website allows customers to shop the brand’s autumn/winter 2022 collection, its core line and a selection of made-to-order items, covering accessories, tailoring, coats and trousers. Meanwhile, the brand can also be shopped at physical store locations such as 50M London, Italy’s Antonioli and Macondo, China’s Joyce Hong Kong and Canada’s Ssense, which features the label online.
Retail price
Between the label’s autumn/winter line and core collection, prices don’t vary significantly, with jackets typically retailing between 395 and 510 pounds, only increasing slightly for tailored pieces and long-line coats, which reach up to around 810 pounds. Similarly, the brand’s shirts and trousers also sit around these prices, with the lowest coming in at about 195 pounds and ranging up to 480 pounds. Meanwhile, Carlota Barrera’s made-to-order collection, consisting largely of tailored blazers and trousers, sees more variety in retail prices, ranging from 380 to 2,150 pounds.