Stitching the Future of Bespoke

The bespoke tradition, deeply woven into Indian menswear, is being reshaped by designers and design houses, who honour its roots with a modern edge.

- Manish Mishra

Your grandfather’s favourite darzi wasn't just a tailor, he was a trusted confidant and a quiet style advisor.

Back then, it was hard to imagine a man in anything that wasn’t tailor-made. The family tailor clearly remembered your measurements—your hemline preferences, your exact sleeve break and even your preferred button.

Many of the small and medium-sized neighbourhood tailors, who once formed the backbone of bespoke clothing, slowly faded away. Some shut shop due to rising costs, evolving customer preferences, the ready-to-wear revolution, or an inability to adapt quickly enough.

The New Face of Bespoke

Now, a new wave of design-conscious and professionally run tailoring businesses has emerged. “Today's successful bespoke tailors are not just sewing clothes, they're building brands. They're offering curated fabrics, stylish showrooms and a much more structured, customer-first approach,” observes Ketan Pishe, partner at P N Rao which began its journey in Bengaluru in 1923. In its early days, British officers and high-ranking ladies relied on the design house for customised perfection.

The rise of ready-to-wear in the ’90s and the branded retail boom of the 2000s shifted focus away from traditional tailoring. While tailoring has always had a place in the Indian wardrobe, it is now undergoing a renaissance. “Today’s client may admire the sharpness of an Italian double-breasted suit, yet want it crafted with Indian Corneliani textiles. They may request a bandhgala with Parisian detailing or ask for hidden messages sewn into a cuff. This is no longer tailoring as we knew it—this is emotional engineering,” says Sushain Mital, director at The Darzi Group, which has been rooted in the world of bespoke tailoring since 1981.