Tinker Tailor

Tinker Tailor is, according to the group’s website, “the world’s first digital destination for the creation and customization of luxury fashion.” It’s a big statement, but it’s true. They’re the first to take online clothing customisation (previously limited to novelty t-shirts for stag do’s and group holidays) into the luxury realm, and they’ve done it with style.

They work with A-list labels like Marchesa, Emilio de la Morena and Barbara Tfank, often offering exclusive designs not available anywhere else, and let customers tailor them to their exact specifications. It’s the digital equivalent of having an haute couture atelier, or at the very least a personal tailor, in your laptop.

It sounds complicated, but the process is surprisingly streamlined and straightforward. You choose a piece in the Tinker Tailor online store (so far it’s dresses, skirts and tops, but we’re hopeful that in the future they’ll expand into trousers, shoes and accessories) and click through options to customise the silhouette, fabric and embellishments. It might be as simple as selecting a bolder print or as dramatic as changing the silhouette completely, and it’s entirely up to you. The results arrive in about six weeks – an incredible turnaround time for one-of-a-kind clothing that’s been constructed according to your wishes.

We’re really excited to see whether the idea will take off, and if Tinker Tailor is onto something big. Lately there’s been a definite shift in the fashion frame of mind: it used to be all about fitting in and adopting the uniform of the latest trends, but lately we’re seeing more and more brands work to offer bespoke solutions. At Burberry, one of the most forward-thinking and digitally-minded luxury brands out there, you can “build” a trench coat according to your exact wishes. Everything from the fabric and colour to the details on the cuff can be customised, for the ultimate investment piece. 

We can’t wait to see whether it’s an idea that other designer labels will play with: maybe someday in the future we’ll be able to customise our own 2.55 Chanel bag in minutes, or build a pair of Manolo Blahniks to our exact specification. The fashion industry has been famously slow to adapt to online technology in the past, but we think this trend could be different.