After two plus years of working from home and wearing athleisure or casual wear for webinars and online meetings, men finally want to dress to impress once more. At the Milan Fashion Week in June, where menswear and suits once more took center stage, Italian luxury fashion designer Brunello Cucinelli said, “Men want to dress again.” As early as March this year GQ magazine trumpeted the message loudly in March that “men’s suits are back.”
What is it about the business suit that makes a man look sharp, stylish, and professional all at once? Writing in the Wall Street Journal recently, Peter York encapsulated it best: “The suit is a brilliant idea—a triumph of simplicity and the ultimate symbolic demarcation between work and everything else,” adding, “Serious work: When a man wears a suit, he looks ready for business-as-war.”
A fashionable Dutch treat
In the year the fashion label 2000 Suitsupply was founded in the Netherlands and has since then shaken up the men’s sartorial world with its various suit cuts, customization, fabrics and colors. In November 2020, Forbes magazine declared “men seeking corporate ascension need to take a look at Suitsupply.”
In Korea, Samsung C&T Fashion Group has Suitsupply as part of its stable of domestic and import labels. With flagship stores in Cheongdam and Hannam neighborhoods, as well as concessions in Shinsegae Department Stores, Suitsupply has been capturing the attention of Korean celebrities and gentlemen of all stripes who want to look good. In fact, its Cheongdam location has seen visitors increase by 42 percent year-on-year.
Each season sees new fabrics and designs introduced to the Suitsupply range, and word of mouth is helping its popularity to spread. It is now the preferred vendor for wedding suits for men who want to make a big impact on their special day.
Tailored to a customer’s needs
While it is convenient to be able to buy an off-the-rack suit that is ready to wear, many men prefer an outfit that is customized to their frame or taste. These days several high-end suit shops offer in-house tailoring services. Suitsupply is one such vendor, with a tailoring station in each outlet, where custom-made suits and shirts are created. Using a tablet PC, customers can select variables such as the style of suit, the number of buttons, the type of lapel, as well as the fabric of the lining and pocket type. It is surprising just how many details can be slightly altered for a very different look. In a matter of days, an outfit made to the customer’s specifications is ready for pickup.
This is the kind of differentiated experience that the so-called Generation MZ appreciates. Men in this age bracket do not often wear a suit, but when they do, they want it to be something special that manifests their unique identity.
Lee Seon-gi of Samsung C&T Fashion group comments, “We hear a lot of customers saying that the Suitsupply items are as good as tailored products. We keep emphasizing the custom-made service for a reason: it creates a suit that fits perfectly, just as a tailored one would.”
Supplying more than simply suits
Of course, menswear is about more than simply suits. Summer brings with it vacation time, and that means lighter, thinner fabrics, short-sleeves, and even short pants. Some men want to look as sharp at the beach as they do at the office.
Suitsupply also caters for vacation wear in the warmer months, with pure linen shirts, cotton/silk/linen blend jackets, and cotton pants and shorts, amongst others.
“Suitsupply may be the one and only menswear brand that currently offers a reasonable price range as well as this variety of products at this phenomenal quality,” suggests Lee Seon-gi.
Suitsupply’s selection of summer vacation outfits can be seen at Samsung C&T Fashion Group’s online SSF Shop.
