Made to Measure: Why a New Generation Is Ditching Fast Fashion Suits

The quest for a new suit often leads to a warehouse store, with row after row of jackets, overwhelming racks of pants, and the general dismay that comes with selecting garments that feel more like they were made for a plastic mannequin than for a real person.  So it’s no surprise that in our current era of mass-consumerism, men are returning to the roots of suit making - with custom made-to-measure and bespoke suits.

In a world where fashion is defined by quick production and even quicker attention spans, young consumers are shifting their attention to the slower and more personal world of custom tailoring.  This might seem surprising at first, but it actually reflects a growing desire amongst Gen-Z and Millennial consumers to return to a world where less is more and individuality is becoming a worthwhile investment.  Trends such as “analogcore”, which encourages the subscriber to swap tech with physical media, are popping into the zeitgeist, paving the way for “retro” practices to make a return.  Men are returning to barber shops, shining their shoes, and investing in timeless menswear; all signifiers of a shift from modern convenience to timeless classics.

So what does a made-to-measure suit offer the modern man? It offers him the ability to shape his image and present himself to the world in an authentic way. A tailored suit allows the wearer to quite literally shape his look, and brings versatility to otherwise restrictive norms of suit shopping. The MTM suit prioritizes curation over convenience, which is reflective of the changing sentiment among young consumers. The new generation of shoppers has had enough of being spoon-fed generic fashion and is looking for something that is built to last - a suit that can go through life with the wearer. Investing in a custom suit eliminates the need to return to big box stores every fashion cycle — a high quality piece is built to last, and built to be kept.

Social media, which has been a driving force behind limited attention spans and decreasing originality, has actually become the hero of this “slow fashion” movement.  Tailors and wearers alike are posting content extolling the virtues of bespoke and made-to-measure fashion, spreading a culture of individuality and thoughtful purchases.  This special community has played an active role in introducing a younger generation of suit-wearers to the world of MTM, showing that custom fashion is not an unattainable luxury but rather an intelligent option for the modern man.

This is exactly where ATICA comes in. Our made-to-measure suits are built the old way - your fabric, your fit, your details - guided one-on-one in our showrooms in Crown Heights, Flatbush, Lakewood, and Monsey, in cloths from some of the same Italian mills that supply the world's finest tailoring houses. Not a suit pulled off a rack, but one shaped around you and built to be kept. 

Book a fitting at your nearest ATICA showroom.