Making Tailoring Great Again

Third generation Italian tailoring specialist, Max Girombelli, owner of Duca Sartoria, has also co-founded Duca & Das in Abu Dhabi to bring some of that Italian sartorial heritage to the UAE

Making Tailoring

Great Again – Max Girombelli is bringing Italian sartorial heritage to the UAE

For many, the start of the pandemic and the stay-athome orders issued at the time meant ditching sharply cut suits and settling for sweatpants and hoodies instead. That was then, this is now. With business furiously roaring back on track globally, and face-to-face becoming the norm rather than the exception, it has also meant that fine tailoring is making a strong return. There to shepherd that resurgent interest in tailoring is Max Girombelli the owner of Duca Sartoria and cofounder of Duca & Das in Abu Dhabi.

What are your earliest memories of your family’s trade? My father Orlando started to sell pants at street markets after the Second World War. He then expanded and started the concept of industrial tailoring. When my older brother joined the company, he started to switch to high fashion with top designers.

Is it true that your uncle discovered Gianni Versace? My uncle (my father’s brother) did discover Gianni Versace – he was a young designer, and his first big job was to design for Genny, my uncle’s company. The business relationship was doubled when Versace became very famous, but he was still designing for Genny, and Genny was also producing his top line. My family was focused only on men’s attire production, and we had various collaborations including Valentino for his Oliver line. We were also licensing designers like Enrico Coveri and Moschino.

Did you ever consider a career outside tailoring? Unfortunately, or very fortunately, I was always attracted by fabrics and the way our tailors were transforming them into sartorial products. I never liked numbers enough to become a banker.

Tell us about the decision to start Duca Sartoria and some of the early goals you had for it. When we sold our main company, I decided to go back to the roots of fashion: tailoring. At that point, my passion for fabric transformation became my business. I started our first atelier in Milan and then crossed an ocean and expanded to the US, while the UAE came years later.

Give us a business overview of Duca Sartoria. Duca Sartoria operates in Milan with an atelier that is the logistics base for the Traveling Tailor Concept across London, Geneva, Monte Carlo, or wherever the clients request our services in Europe. I am based full time in New York where I have my showroom. From there, I travel to Washington, Miami, and Aspen to see my clients. Ten years ago, I started to travel to Dubai and I had a full-time pop up at the Capital Club in DIFC. More recently, when I co-founded Duca & Das, I moved Duca Sartoria operations to Abu Dhabi.

We produce approximately 2,300 pieces per year. Our line of products ranges from custom made-to-measure suits, jackets, pants, coats, and shirts to a younger new line of outerwear like hoodie jackets, travelling pants and technical over jackets. During the pandemic, I also developed a line of fully customisable tracksuits, a very innovative and exclusive service for a very comfortable product. We offer custom made-to-measure clothes for men and women. We also design and produce some high-level uniform concepts for companies.

From where do you source your fabrics and which are the tailors you work with? I always like to say that we don’t make fabrics, we just select the best ones in the market. Our own tailors are based in Ancona, Italy, and are manufacturing our products out of Loro Piana, Zegna, Cerruti fabrics as well as a few selected British suppliers, especially for hunting attire.

Apart from made-to-measure, do you focus on bespoke as well? We are specialised in custom made-to-measure – it is a faster process and more accurate as far as making the client understand what he will get at the end. Our level of customisation, especially in overall details and pockets is our forte. On request, we can also do bespoke, but we are not pushing that super time-consuming process. Our custom made-to-measure suits starts at $3,500 and will go up with the quality of the materials (up to $15,000) and we deliver in five weeks. Bespoke will start at $6,500 and will take as long as the client takes to be happy. I would not recommend it for people who fluctuate a lot on their weight throughout the year.

“Our kanduras are made with Loro Piana, Zegna or Cerruti fabrics.”

Tell us about your JV for men’s clothing in the UAE and the Duca & Das concept. Salem [Al Mheiri], first of all, was a friend who became a Duca Sartoria client in Dubai and trusted our products. During the many years of friendship and fitting meetings, we started to talk about a potential JV. He is the owner of Das Tailoring, a very old tailor company based on the island of Das.

Duca & Das was the natural way to collaborate, and we put our minds into a new tailoring entity that started with a beautiful Mercedes Tailor Van – perfect to visit our local clients in their palaces and villas.

Right after, we opened a beautiful showroom in the centre of Abu Dhabi with a spectacular view of Qasr Al Hosn. Our idea was, and still is, to bring the Italian attention to details and expert craftsmanship to the classic kandura, using different fabrics combining the best of both cultures. Salem is an expert on kandura history.

Our kanduras are made with Loro Piana, Zegna or Cerruti fabrics. Also, a collection of Koots (jackets) made of the finest fabric is produced in Italy by my tailors. We also collaborate on designing iconic items like technical hunting (falcon) vests to wear on top of the kandura. To complete the offer, we have a collection of unique under kandura, Royal Wizar is a very innovative idea of combining the classic Wizar with a special boxer brief stitched inside.

What are some of the plans to expand beyond the UAE into other countries in the region? We started in Abu Dhabi and are expanding into Dubai and the other emirates first. Saudi is an exciting next destination for us where we can bring both Duca Sartoria creations and Duca & Das’ innovative kanduras. Saudi clients love European details like collars and cuffs when it comes to kanduras so we hope to be successful there.

How does the appetite for fine tailoring among men in the Middle East compare to that of other markets like the US and Europe? Middle Eastern clientele have a great appetite for learning and exploring fashion and products outside of the traditionally famous brands that can be easily found in shopping malls. Starting a relationship with a high-end tailor, especially if Italian, is an important way to spend their money. It is a journey through education, beauty and quality. The spending power does not come from the local spending culture – there are big spenders also in the US and Europe – but the approach is different.

What is one of the biggest learnings for you as a businessman through this pandemic? The tailoring business in general has been one of the most affected, together with hospitality and travel. No one was in need of a new suit or jacket for the day-long Zoom calls. The learnings have been hard, but also led to creativity. Be patient, start to think out of the box and develop new alternative products, without compromising your values. This is how my tracksuit project was born.

Tell us about Duca Donna which is aimed to appeal to women. Duca Donna is the answer to the requests of my clients’ wives, partners, or family members to enjoy a few of our masterpieces. Women like to try and shop daily, but they also like to find those perfect items to have in their wardrobe like a beautiful tuxedo, a classic blue blazer, or a sharp business suit which are sophisticated, powerful and feminine at the same time

Who are some of your most famous clients? Every client is important to us, but we do protect their privacy and avoid sharing them on social media. We value more the relationship with them, than a moment of publicity. I can tell you that you have watched some of them competing in sports or you have listened to their music.

Have you looked at product collaborations and celebrity sponsorship deals for Duca? Products collaborations are a great way to grow and do business in the new world of fashion. We are slowly looking at some ideas but nothing is ready at the moment. Celebrities are often our clients, and they pay for our products like every other customer. Having sponsorships to give free suits is not my business.

Which are some of the new business areas that you are planning on expanding Duca Sartoria into? The pandemic significantly affected the capability of several people to maintain their weight. I have been asked to do wardrobe consulting to see what a gentleman can save, add, or donate to keep his selection always impeccable. Iltuoguardaroba.com will be starting soon and open to a new non-Duca clientele. The idea is to not only check what will be kept in the wardrobe, but also help design the physical space in the client’s homes or yachts.

Are you actively training the next generations of tailors? We are already training the young generation of tailors in the US and, of course, in Italy – it’s a very important step to keep the craftmanship always alive.

What can we expect next from Duca Sartoria over the coming months? The next few months are very important for me. We will have a full return to a New York normal life and that will keep me busy, but also the Expo starting in Dubai. It will require my presence more in the region. So expect to see me a lot in the airports and always ready for detailed Italian elegance.

“Saudi clients love European details like collars and cuffs when it comes to kanduras so we hope to be successful there.”