FEATURE: CLOTHSURGEON®
With his new boutique, modern-day visionary Rav Matharu aka clothsurgeon® has done what seemed unthinkable for so long: bringing elevated streetwear to the mecca of formal tailoring Savile Row. The shop offers bespoke streetwear in the forms of made to measure bomber jackets, baggy yet bespoke tracksuits and crossbody bags reconstructed from Balenciaga drip. With on-point oversizing, self-specific pocket placement and other such refinements, every piece that comes out of Rav’s atelier is sharply cut to the customer’s needs, and thus, like no other.
We spoke with Rav recently to hear more about his journey and the day-to-day realities of life on the Row /
Thanks for your time Rav, and congrats on the new space! Can we start by going back to your roots. You were initially a pro footballer, right? When did that passion begin, and when did it occur to you to move into fashion instead?
Like most boys, the obsession with playing professional football stuck with me through my childhood. That is what I wanted to be and do—and I was lucky enough to make that happen. By 17 years old I was playing for Leeds United, but when I reached 21 I didn’t see myself progressing further as a footballer.
The other thing I’ve always enjoyed besides kicking a ball is drawing. Growing up I used to draw my favourite creps and over the years, this fascination for products snowballed into tracksuits and streetwear, too. Having drawn for so long, I just thought of drawing and making my own garments. That’s when I enrolled in a foundation art degree at Loughborough. After completion, I was offered a spot at CSM and LCF, opted for the latter, but ended up dropping out because of the high costs of living in London.
Back home in Leeds I worked in retail for what was three brilliant years. Not only did I make great friendships, but it was extremely valuable in terms of looking at the way people shop and just seeing how stores are being run. However I did feel like I hit a plateau, and went back to uni in Leeds for a bachelor degree in fashion design, graduating with a first class honours.
So is that when you started clothsurgeon®?
I started clothsurgeon® in 2012. In the beginning I’d say we helped to pioneer the luxe leather trend seen in popular music at the time, with Kanye and Jay-Z’s Watch the Throne tour era. One piece in particular did incredibly well. It was a classic jersey sweatshirt that had motorcycle leather sleeves with zip cuffs. We sold enough of these to be able to reinvest in building larger collections and a website. That permitted us to progress to a bigger studio, as I was pretty much designing from my Dalston flat up to that point. Ever since, it’s just been growing organically.
The boutique opened its doors on Savile Row not too long ago, and that's a huge step forward. How’s it been going so far?
It’s been six months now. We’ve changed the whole space. I wanted it to look like an art-gallery-slash-Parisian-townhouse that would feel homely and inviting. I wanted to allow the space for the product on display to breathe. I’ve always imagined the shop as a space where people can come to us and create what they’ve got in mind. We’ve taken bespoke tailoring to another level… customers come here to sit down with us, pick the fabrication, go over ideas, and basically co-create a piece to their liking.
As much as benefiting from being located on Savile Row, I feel that equally your concept freshens the street up and brings with it something new and more relevant to todays luxury consumer…
We’re definitely bringing a new energy to the street. And as much as most followers of the brand are more streetwear-led, we’ve had people come through who didn't know a thing about our concept, but had read about it in Bloomberg or The Wall Street Journal, and loved the idea of creating what they want from scratch.
For me that’s true luxury. To offer something made to measure as opposed to going to the store and buying something that’s basically expensive fast-fashion. There are so many drops and collabs these days that are ultimately ephemeral and quickly forgotten. Yes, we do sell some off the rack products in small numbers, but we try to make things that will last the test of time. As an industry, we have got to be conscious of that going forward.
True. We seem to have lost this tradition of going to the tailor, but you would like to think that those who get their clothes tailor made will keep them longer and build a solid wardrobe over time.
Exactly. In the 1920s, everyone would get their clothes tailored for their daily, weekly, yearly lifestyle. They’d have a wardrobe build for their needs. We need to have this mentality more; it changes the whole way of shopping. This is what we want back to bring back, products that last. Obviously, there’s the tailoring aspect in our service, but as people are often wearing oversized clothes nowadays, we can adapt and make massively oversized jackets. The options are endless really.
What’s the process usually like when someone comes to see you?
For one thing, nothing leaves the studio unless both the customer and I are 100% happy with the result. But the way it works is that the customer would come in, sometimes with an idea of what they’d like, sometimes totally open to something new.
In any case, we offer guidance and reassurance on what seems to work for them. We’re kind of elevating what they already wear. I watch people try the clothes on and how they interact with their clothes and put their outfits together. There was this gent the other day who came in and bought three bomber jackets. He wanted them to be well-fitted, with certain pockets to accommodate and facilitate his travels. That is exactly the point of bespoke, even though the garment looked beautifully made and minimal, it’s got very specific intended details throughout that only the customer knows about.
“You can’t just go to the tailor and ask for a bespoke tracksuit custom fitted to you. Whereas, here, well, you can”
You’ve tailored many pieces for VIP clients through the years. Has this given you a chance to be more creative within the realms of their stage personas?
To a degree yes, there was this one time when we did a jacket for Nas, where we referenced lyrics of his songs by printing them into the lining. Another time, A$AP Rocky brought a Balenciaga piece in where the sleeves were too long for him, so we turned it into a crossbody satchel for him instead.
Do you often get to repurpose?
Quite often yes. I prefer deconstructing and making new pieces as opposed to customising them. We’ve turned Pendleton blankets into garments and reconstructed a Supreme x North Face tent into tracksuits, Prada Nylon rucksacks into coach jackets. The list goes on…
You get to do much more than tailoring then…
Definitely. I often say that we do reconstructed bespoke designs. We basically create new patterns for every single customer. Traditionally in a tailoring service, the customer would do a fitting, and then the tailor would come up with the pattern for say a pair of trousers with fabrication and pocketing chosen by said customer. But you couldn’t just go to a tailor and ask for a bespoke tracksuit fitted to you. Where as with us you can. Each item is a new design, the workload is a lot more, but thats part of the enjoyment.
It feels like it was long overdue for an elevated, street inspired concept to hit Savile Row, doesn’t it?
I completely agree. We’re bringing a new energy to Savile Row in terms of offering and service. It’s disruptive, but also very respectful. I’ve always been looking at some of the best makers and been up and down the row for the last 15 years, speaking to tailors, getting knowledge from people who have been doing this for 20, 30 years, from Scabal to Loro Piana. In return, they’ve actually been sending clients who were looking for something more casual to us.
Likewise, if someone’s into traditional tailoring, we’ll be referring them to other tailors on the row.
I’ve just always had that goal to be part of the Row but bring a new perception of what it can be—which, in a nutshell, is all about personifying craftsmanship.
