ーAbout our bespoke service...

Nakadera: What is the essence of a bespoke suit? It's not simply a matter of choosing the customer's pattern, cutting the chosen fabric, basting, and hand sewing. Ultimately, creating a bespoke suit is not limited to these technical elements. Most importantly, it's a mater of giving the person who wears the finished product a sense of dignity and gravity, as well as creating the desired mood. Clearly creating a proportionally balanced suit with perfect hand stitching, that in the end resembles an off-the-shelf, factory-made product is not the goal.

We've closely studied the Savile-Row-made bespoke suits of old. They lack the lateral symmetry of the human face, and their measurements vary greatly, with no attempt made at creating clean lines. From the point of view of mass production, such items would probably be labeled defective or irregular. However, when you try them on they feel good; incredibly good. They have a truly special feeling. Even though unevenly cut, the gentle contours and suppleness of the fabric shines through brilliantly.

In modern-day Savile Row, perhaps due to changes in customer needs, it might be difficult to order such a suit. However, in the golden age of the bespoke suit, when custom-made clothing was the norm, there existed artisans who mastered the craft of making them. As our benchmark for bespoke suits we look to these words, "Truly look at each person, use lines that express each personality, and make each product personally." This is the way of tailoring created by those who came before us. We follow it not out of simple nostalgia for the good old days, but rather out of our compulsion to acknowledge this historical legacy.

ーWhat specifically does batak NAKADERA strive to do?

Nakadera: The bespoke work done by batak is not done with the sense of creating exclusive clothing. Rather we try to make something with a sense of style and a mood that matches the uniqueness of each individual customer. This requires an intuitive understanding, and a sense of how to use technique in order to achieve that end. Indeed, we have come to the conclusion that a kind of expressiveness, which incorporates the various practical tailoring skills like patternmaking and sewing, is what's required to create such clothing. Since the patterns used in bespoke tailoring give a clear impression of the patternmaker's acuity, it almost goes without saying that this is incredibly important work, requiring the utmost precision. Simultaneously, the sensitivity and talent of the seamster can completely change the character of the finished product. The aura created when you wear a genuine bespoke suit or jacket, the suppleness of movement you feel, naturally the tailor's sense allows these things to be controlled by manipulating the tension in the thread when stitching, making it looser or tighter. Furthermore, it requires a clear image of the person who will wear it, as well as respect for the customer's sense of style, alongside knowledge of proper sewing technique. For this reason, rather than striving to make the best product for our customers, our bespoke work is done with the aim of creating the perfect mood.

ーWhat are the aims of batak NAKADERA?

Nakadera: It's not an exaggeration to say that the list of services and cutting styles that we've developed in our establishment were patterned after those of a salon. In other words, batak NAKADERA is a "creative space" where we create your suit through an ongoing conversation with our modéliste, which is to say myself. This is what our bespoke service entails. The purpose of this "creative space" is to foster confidence or rather to create clothes that someone who is already confident would want to wear. A suit should not be a vain thing made simply for beauty while ignoring the person who wears it; rather we create clothes that, while impressing others of the wearer's circumstance also serve as the backdrop for the telling of his ongoing story. It happens to be the case that we make clothing, but just as in interior design, architecture, or for that matter even in painting, we believe the way of thinking when engaging with the customer is the same. Qualities like the client's nature, lifestyle, and status are all expressed through the final product. We believe that our skill and technique are what allow us to make this a reality.

Service Availability: batak NAKADERA (reservation required) *If desired, measurements and basting can also be handled through batak Hibiya. In this case a reservation is also required.

• Shirts order-made with the same philosophy are also available.

*Prices may vary based on fabric choice. For details please see our news blog, or contact us by telephone.