Washington - Tailors Kenjiro Suzuki and Noriyuki Ueki, both still in their 30s, honed their skills in Europe and today attract customers from around the world with their earnest craftsmanship – meticulous to the last detail – and their attentiveness to customers’ requests and comfort.
Suzuki, 37, opened a shop for custom-made men’s clothes in central Paris last August. Although a suit from the shop runs about ¥800 000 (R84 000) at a minimum, Suzuki has attracted many French customers, who are accustomed to wearing tailor-made suits, as well as people from Britain and other nearby countries who have learned of his stellar reputation.
Suzuki’s shop is hung with suits still in the sewing process. He returns home to Japan three times a year for events where he accepts orders at Wako Co. in Tokyo and other places.
With more orders coming in all the time, finishing a suit takes around 18 months.
Suzuki graduated from a vocational school in Tokyo, then started work at an apparel manufacturer in Japan. In 2003, he went to France to learn authentic tailoring skills for men’s clothes. He began his studies at a school to train students in making sewing patterns – the foundation of clothing manufacturing.
Later, he worked for several tailors in France to develop his skills. In 2009 he became the first Japanese person to serve as chief cutter, a post responsible for deciding the final design of suits, for Francesco Smalto, an established tailor in Paris.
A unique sewing pattern is prepared for each customer by measuring their body. Interlining material to be attached to the outer and back pieces is sewn by hand. Additional adjustments are also required to fit the suit to its wearer’s body, for example to the curve of the customer’s shoulders.
“The length of time spent on the parts that aren’t visible determines the finish and comfort of a suit,” Suzuki said. He needs about 100 hours to finish a suit, so he can make only 50 a year at most.
Suits sewn in this manner are held in high regard around the world due to their comfort. They feel as if there is a layer of air between the wearer’s body and the suit, despite their slim silhouette.
Carefully crafted suits do not easily lose shape and have long lives.
“I want to make clothes that meet my customers’ needs in great detail and move their wearers’ hearts,” Suzuki said.
Ueki, 35, operates an atelier in Tie Your Tie men’s clothes shop in Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo, where he makes custom-tailored suits.
He learned his craft at a fashion school in Osaka before starting work at a Japanese men’s clothing company. When he was 25, he travelled to Naples, where he worked for a shop famous for custom-made men’s clothes for about four years. He struck out on his own in 2007, setting up a brand named Ciccio after the nickname he picked up in Italy.
Ueki is acclaimed for crafting smooth, light, comfortable suits. He uses interlining cloth thinner than typical suits and eschews shoulder pads.
“I’m particularly careful to make the line from the shoulders to the upper lapels look beautiful,” Ueki said.
Like Suzuki, Ueki’s suits start at about ¥600 000. This doesn’t deter customers at home and abroad, who value the perfect fit of the fabric to their bodies. Ueki holds events to take orders in South Korea and Hong Kong as well.
“More and more Japanese tailors in their 30s and 40s are active here and abroad,” said Masato Kawai, who manages a group of suit lovers and writes magazine columns about tailors. Tailors in this age range have had many chances to see and buy international brand clothing in Japan since their late teens and have had access to the latest information about the apparel business via the internet.
“They’re enthusiastic about making clothes and don’t hesitate to become apprentices of first-class tailors in other countries,” Kawai said. “Young Japanese tailors are meticulous in their work and attentive to customers’ needs, so they’re well-placed to win the hearts of their clientele.” – Washington Post