Marlo Offers The Bespoke Tailoring

Andrew Menon, finance veteran and now owner of a tailoring outfit, insists that unlike other tailors in Singapore claiming to offer bespoke tailoring, Marlo offers the real deal

- Jonathan Ho

ETYMOLOGICALLY, the term “bespoke” in fashion originated from Savile Row in London, referring to individually patterned and tailored menswear. “Bespoke” is a word derived from the term “to be spoken for” in 17th century London, referring to a piece of clothing that is entirely made by hand for the client in accordance with about 30 measurements. Until the 1960s, bespoke was relegated to the ranks of aristocrats. The Beatles changed this paradigm by having Savile Row tailors design one-off outfits that defined rock and roll, rocketing the concept to civilians. Bespoke is now a term that has been woefully abused.

Andrew Menon of Marlo Bespoke, aims to correct this travesty in the industry, “many of the country’s top tailors claim to be bespoke, but after some mystery shopping, we discovered that they weren’t. Some of the telltale signs are the waiting times. They chalk it up to long waiting lists but really, it’s because the garments are sent back and forth to regions like Vietnam or Batam were the workmanship is cheaper and machined.”

For 10 years prior, Marlo (operating under a different name then) was the leading bespoke tailor in Dubai. Investment broker Menon was a client and as a suit connoisseur, he found that the quality started to slip. He found out that the previous owners were cutting corners and that by narrowing the production time frame, you could churn out more garments, consequently compromising the product. That said, Menon admitted that he only realised the drop in quality because he was a long-time customer and that most newcomers would probably not have noticed. Raising the equity with a few co-investors, he proposed a buyout of the business and relocated operations to Singapore while keeping the network.