The tailor who'll only make five suits a month – 500,000 stitches at a time
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The tailor who'll merely brand five suits a month – 500,000 stitches at a time
Less is truly more, believes an uncompromising Ayres Goncalo. He's perfected his craft learning from his granddaddy, who had a 70-year career suiting up Portugal'southward finest.
Ayres Goncalo (50), with his granddad Ayres Carneiro Da Silva, who was considered 1 of Portugal's best tailors. (Photo: Freestate Productions)
26 Nov 2022 06:30AM (Updated: 21 May 2022 04:45PM)
Working out of his atelier in Portugal'south second-largest metropolis, Porto, bespoke tailor Ayres Goncalo creates classic men'southward suits that reveal unique personalised details upon closer inspection.
"What I generally do is brand nighttime blue suits for businessmen," said Goncalo, who too has a showroom in Lisbon, Portugal's majuscule. "And if he has a hobby, for instance, his cars, I'll brand him a very formal-looking arrange on the outside, and with the inner lining, he has cars in baby blue or pinkish. I dear to play with lining – I have a lot of fancy ones!"
"[Someone with] an hawkeye'due south eye can see, 'Oh, there is something different in that suit'. It'due south a small affair, but it makes a difference, you know?" he said.
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Ane might say that Goncalo had his career every bit a tailor all cutting out for him. His grandfather, Ayres Carneiro Da Silva, was considered ane of Portugal'due south all-time tailors, with a 70-twelvemonth-long career and a distinguished client list which included famous artists, sports personalities, members of Parliament, and meridian bankers.
Da Silva was initially not bang-up on his grandson post-obit in his footsteps, but recognised his grandson'due south potential when he was 12. He mentored the young Goncalo until he was 19, after which Goncalo headed to Madrid, Espana, to train equally a master tailor at the Sartorial La Confianza.
"I have 50, 60, seventy hours to make a accommodate. That's 500,000 stitches by hand. The point is the quality. It's not to make 200 or 300 suits a year."
He and then moved to London and worked at Gieves & Hawkes, i of the oldest bespoke tailors on Savile Row. During his four-year stint there, he was commissioned to make a arrange for Britain'southward Prince Charles.
Looking at the framed photo of the heir apparent to the British throne hanging in his atelier, Goncalo recalled: ""To me, he's one of the almost well-dressed people in the earth. It was God that gave me that opportunity. I was screaming, trembling at that time. Information technology was and so amazing."
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Goncalo moved to New York for a year but returned to Portugal at the age of 29 to set upward Ayres Bespoke Tailor.
In 2010, he received the Bespoke Tailor certificate from the Savile Row Bespoke Association, an accolade that places him among the most elite in his profession.
"A very well-made suit should make the person who wears information technology feel that he has more ability, more confidence."
Indeed, his approach to his craft tin can all-time be described as "uncompromising". He makes only five suits a month. "I take [about] 50, 60, seventy hours to brand a suit. That's 500,000 stitches by hand. The point is the quality. Information technology'southward not to make 200 or 300 suits a year. I prefer to make a few, but good [ones]," he explained.
"A very well-made suit should make the person who wears it feel that he has more ability, more confidence. And then when I look at it, it is perfect. Most of the time, information technology's perfect. It'due south similar an orgasm, y'all know?" he quipped.
These days, Goncalo travels the world to meet clients, 80 to ninety per cent of whom are foreigners living abroad.
"I accept customers from Singapore, England, Italy, Switzerland, Brazil, Republic of angola, all around the world," he said. "We call the plumbing equipment room of a tailor 'The Confessionary' because the client tells you lot things about his life. You are like a psychologist to your customer because he tells you about his problems, he speaks to yous near his business concern, his tastes."
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/remarkableliving/ayres-bespoke-tailor-portugal-176801
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