"SARTORIAL RENAISSANCE"
WITH MARK POMERANTZ
Over the past couple of years, the working gentleman has become less "buttoned up" and casually dressed for what used to be a professional setting. The "era of denim" inspired the trend and allowed a new standard to arise. However, in the last year, a rebirth has begun to emerge. Jeans are staying in the closet and the trouser is slowly making it's way back to the wardrobe. Chinos are replacing the shelves of our favorite retailers and shows such as Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire, re-inspire the sophistication of the men who dressed before us. As our featured master tailor and designer, Mark Pomerantz, boldly states, a "Sartorial Renaissance" is occurring; so we sat down with Mark to get his thoughts, ideas, and inspiration on men's clothing today and how he intends to incorporate and innovate traditional styling with the modern man.
PM: So how did you get your start in men's custom tailoring?
Mark: "From the age of 15 or 16 I knew I wanted to be in the men's tailored clothing business so I went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Upon graduating there I contributed to Giorgio Armani, Valentino, the Gucci Group, and Calvin Klein and what I realized in tailoring and tailored clothing is, that you have a lot of great fabric, great fit, and great construction for which are the hallmarks of a Savile Row type of garment. My experiences in the ready to wear and the luxury goods, I learned more about the finishing, the design, and the attention to detail. But what ready to wear lacks is the fabric, the fit and the construction, so what i wanted to do was marry those two concepts of fabrication and design, but with my attention to the detail, the finishing, and the overall look of the garment, similar to the best luxury and ready to wear houses.
PM: What was it about men's clothing specifically that drew you to it?
Mark: I love suits, I love fashion, and I love cloth more importantly. I design everything with cloth in mind first. I don't think there are a lot of people in the design world that design more architecturally that way.
PM: Where do you see men's fashion today and where do you see it going?
Mark: I think you see a return to, which I like to call a "Sartorial Renaissance" right now. You have a much younger generation trickling upward. A younger guy, a younger professional going out in suits again. A more acute awareness to tailored clothing and wanting more things made for you. Consumers as a culture have a "made for me" mentality whether they're going on line and customizing a look or getting a suit made. They want it accessible and want it quickly.
PM: What influence are you having on taking fashion where it is going today?
Mark: We are unique in the way that we offer you a great selection and accessibility of the experience with a master tailor, while still imposing a taste and an idea, because that's what you are paying for, the expertise. We have created a dialogue that allows clients to easily give input and contribute to what they like or what they want, while still keeping it very much a Mark Pomerantz look.
PM: How would you define your look?
Mark: It's defined more in the ingredients and details of the garment rather than the construction because i get inspired by the cloth. I might want to make a flannel suit with a a very full lapel and a our Neapolitan shoulder. It just depends on the inspiration. All and all, we are a fuller proportion. We are not doing the "skinny" thing, I don't believe in it; I don't think its as balanced on a man particularly for tailored clothing. I think certain proprietary elements like our lapel button holes that take an hour to sew by hand, things like that, that define our cloth and make our design a Mark Pomerantz.
PM: What's your favorite color?
Mark: (smirking) Wow, it always changes. I really like purple but now it's like a taupey gray. I really think that it's fascinating. And I love brown. I think brown is a really strong color at the moment; I call it our statement color. For a guy who is a business man and goes into a meeting with his banker, lawyer, (what have you), they are the ones wearing the navy suits and the business man is the one who is signing the check, wearing the brown
PM: Where do you think the Southern Californian guy fits into today's fashion scene relative to what's happening around the world?
Mark: I think they are very receptive and on par to what we are doing, wanting tailored clothing. Relative to the rest of the world, we all are looking for that. There hasn't been such a resurgence of wanting to become a custom tailor. It seems like everyone wants to get into the custom tailor business because of this want and need.
PM: Is tailored clothing just suits?
Mark: No, it's anything. We'll do anything custom. We'll do jeans, five pocket pants; it's an expression of anything tailored.
PM: So who would be your ideal customer?
Mark: Anybody who is passionate about wearing tailored clothing, primarily suits. We don't sell sports coats to guys who aren't already wearing suits; we do but, our ideal customer is a guy where suits play an important role in their daily life or lifestyle. Also, somebody who is passionate in the ingredients of what they're eating, what they're driving, and especially what they're wearing. I can help them with the what they're wearing part because I'm obsessed with the ingredients that go into the garments. A conoisseur and some one who will appreciate the story that goes behind the garment.
PM: Any final thoughts you want to convey to our reader?
Mark: I think custom clothing is something that is accessible more now then ever and can be obtained at all price points. The most important thing is that people need to understand that there are different values out there. If someone is looking for the lowest possible dollar value, there are great places they can go for that. If someone is looking for the highest possible dollar value, we're the place they can go for that and I want more people to become more sensitive of where they are spending their money. Is there dollar and cents value or is there intrinsic value? And that's what's going to be poignant for people to come.
* Book your appointment at: http://www.markpomerantz.com
(and be sure to ask him about the Kyrgyz wool that some of his fabric is made from...fascinating!)
PM: So how did you get your start in men's custom tailoring?
Mark: "From the age of 15 or 16 I knew I wanted to be in the men's tailored clothing business so I went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Upon graduating there I contributed to Giorgio Armani, Valentino, the Gucci Group, and Calvin Klein and what I realized in tailoring and tailored clothing is, that you have a lot of great fabric, great fit, and great construction for which are the hallmarks of a Savile Row type of garment. My experiences in the ready to wear and the luxury goods, I learned more about the finishing, the design, and the attention to detail. But what ready to wear lacks is the fabric, the fit and the construction, so what i wanted to do was marry those two concepts of fabrication and design, but with my attention to the detail, the finishing, and the overall look of the garment, similar to the best luxury and ready to wear houses.
PM: What was it about men's clothing specifically that drew you to it?
Mark: I love suits, I love fashion, and I love cloth more importantly. I design everything with cloth in mind first. I don't think there are a lot of people in the design world that design more architecturally that way.
PM: Where do you see men's fashion today and where do you see it going?
Mark: I think you see a return to, which I like to call a "Sartorial Renaissance" right now. You have a much younger generation trickling upward. A younger guy, a younger professional going out in suits again. A more acute awareness to tailored clothing and wanting more things made for you. Consumers as a culture have a "made for me" mentality whether they're going on line and customizing a look or getting a suit made. They want it accessible and want it quickly.
PM: What influence are you having on taking fashion where it is going today?
Mark: We are unique in the way that we offer you a great selection and accessibility of the experience with a master tailor, while still imposing a taste and an idea, because that's what you are paying for, the expertise. We have created a dialogue that allows clients to easily give input and contribute to what they like or what they want, while still keeping it very much a Mark Pomerantz look.
PM: How would you define your look?
Mark: It's defined more in the ingredients and details of the garment rather than the construction because i get inspired by the cloth. I might want to make a flannel suit with a a very full lapel and a our Neapolitan shoulder. It just depends on the inspiration. All and all, we are a fuller proportion. We are not doing the "skinny" thing, I don't believe in it; I don't think its as balanced on a man particularly for tailored clothing. I think certain proprietary elements like our lapel button holes that take an hour to sew by hand, things like that, that define our cloth and make our design a Mark Pomerantz.
PM: What's your favorite color?
Mark: (smirking) Wow, it always changes. I really like purple but now it's like a taupey gray. I really think that it's fascinating. And I love brown. I think brown is a really strong color at the moment; I call it our statement color. For a guy who is a business man and goes into a meeting with his banker, lawyer, (what have you), they are the ones wearing the navy suits and the business man is the one who is signing the check, wearing the brown
PM: Where do you think the Southern Californian guy fits into today's fashion scene relative to what's happening around the world?
Mark: I think they are very receptive and on par to what we are doing, wanting tailored clothing. Relative to the rest of the world, we all are looking for that. There hasn't been such a resurgence of wanting to become a custom tailor. It seems like everyone wants to get into the custom tailor business because of this want and need.
PM: Is tailored clothing just suits?
Mark: No, it's anything. We'll do anything custom. We'll do jeans, five pocket pants; it's an expression of anything tailored.
PM: So who would be your ideal customer?
Mark: Anybody who is passionate about wearing tailored clothing, primarily suits. We don't sell sports coats to guys who aren't already wearing suits; we do but, our ideal customer is a guy where suits play an important role in their daily life or lifestyle. Also, somebody who is passionate in the ingredients of what they're eating, what they're driving, and especially what they're wearing. I can help them with the what they're wearing part because I'm obsessed with the ingredients that go into the garments. A conoisseur and some one who will appreciate the story that goes behind the garment.
PM: Any final thoughts you want to convey to our reader?
Mark: I think custom clothing is something that is accessible more now then ever and can be obtained at all price points. The most important thing is that people need to understand that there are different values out there. If someone is looking for the lowest possible dollar value, there are great places they can go for that. If someone is looking for the highest possible dollar value, we're the place they can go for that and I want more people to become more sensitive of where they are spending their money. Is there dollar and cents value or is there intrinsic value? And that's what's going to be poignant for people to come.
* Book your appointment at: http://www.markpomerantz.com
(and be sure to ask him about the Kyrgyz wool that some of his fabric is made from...fascinating!)
Love a good suit, and nothing beats a tailored suit. Suit up
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