STITCHING THEIR WAY INTO A NEW ERA
Winters see an increase in demand for men’s suits; we speak to some tailors from a bygone era, who specialise in custom-made suits
Nand Kishore and Taher Baig have been living under the same roof for close to 40 years now. They may not have any blood relation, yet they are a family. Together, with a few others, they are the employees of Wonder Om Tailors in Meher Chand Market. Kishore and Baig, represent a generation that only wore made-tomeasure clothes, and are part of an industry that is today facing stiff competition from the big readymade international apparel brands. Still it’s that time of the year, when demand for men’s suits goes up, and the approaching New Year festivities, leading up to the month of March offers them enough business to survive the rest of the year.
Kishore says, “Our tailors are getting old, young tailors don’t hang around for long, they are in a hurry. One tailor is able to make one suit a day.” Not all tailors put up at the shop, one Kailash Sharma, who is in his 60s comes from Sangam Vihar everyday. Another such tailor is Vijay Tandon, he is in his 60s, and comes all the way from Sahibabad to Connaught Place. Tandon, works at one such shop called Vogue Jeans Tailor and Drapers in Mohan Singh Palace, a smaller market housed in the CP area. The shop was set-up in 1960s by Surinder Kumar Chawla, and is managed by his son Vikas Chawla. Vikas says, “Sale of coats and blazers go up during winters, apart from retailing we also take bulk orders, like last year we got an order to stitch blazers for Delhi Tourism.”
Change is the only constant thing in fashion, so on new trends Vikas says, “Earlier, people liked loose-fitted clothes, but today’s youth prefer slim fit.” He adds, “Pehle dada banate thae, aur pota bhi pehenta tha.” On changing trends, Kishore adds, “Now, because of slim fit, a lot of importance is paid on how the fabric is cut.”
On surviving the competition from big brands, Vikas points out that the years ahead will be more difficult. “Big brands introduce two-three trends a year, so by the time we follow that trend; they change it for a newer one. On top of that NDMC rules keep changing that affects the rental of the shop.” We ask if loyal clientele can help the business survive, on this Vinod Sharma, manager of another tailoring shop in Shankar Market sums it up saying, “Loyal clientele toh bantae bicharte rehtae hai!”