Miami, FL – July 20, 2017 – Suitsupply CEO / Founder, Fokke de Jong, and Vice President Nish de Gruiter hosted an evening to celebrate the opening of their newest location of the European contemporary menswear brand in Brickell City Centre. The boutique was packed with Miami tastemakers and fashion aficionados who enjoyed bubbles, bites and beats by DJ Gaby Mejia. The store boasts nearly 3,164 square feet to present its finest curated collection of suits, jackets, trousers, shoes, outerwear and accessories.

World Red Eye spoke with Vice President Nish de Gruiter who gave us a more in-depth look into what makes this brand stand out amongst the rest and why customers keep coming back for more.

Style and elegance are universal; you can be elegant whether you’re 25, or 65, regardless of age. We’re here for the guy who’s serious about style, but likes to have fun with it too.

Nish de Gruiter, Suitsupply Vice President

WRE: How did Suitsupply get its start?

NDG: It all started in 2000 in Amsterdam, when our founder & CEO Fokke de Jong noticed that his university colleagues were looking, let’s say, sub-professional, and saw an untapped market for well-fitting, high-quality suits at an attainable price. In the early days, de Jong started hosting tailoring parties out of his dorm room in an effort to gauge interest and opportunity. As interest grew, he began selling suits out of the trunk of his car, and the rest is history.

WRE: Why is Brickell City Centre a good home for the latest Suitsupply store?

NDG: Brickell has been on our wish list for a long time. Our online sales in the Brickell area have been growing rapidly over the last few years, so this was the logical next step for customers to get closer to the product services by giving them their own store.

WRE: What are some key components that go into making the perfect suit?

NDG: I’d say a good suit is made from natural fabrics, like wool or cotton, and has little or no synthetic  blends. Details like hand-stitched finishing, and accents like functioning buttonholes and a well- crafted butterfly lining are also markers of a good quality suit. One of the biggest indicators aside from using fine, 100% pure Italian wool from the famed Biella region, is what’s on the inside. There’s is a special layer of interlining called the canvas, which is a cotton canvas fabric infused with horse and camel hair, which gives a jacket structure and the ability to take on the wearer’s natural shape. A floating canvas, which is specially stitched, as opposed to fused, which uses glue and pressure to keep a canvas in place, is one of the best signs of a quality jacket. A great suit, however, comes down to a perfect fit—you can have the world’s best fabrics and details, it all gets lost if you don’t have the right fit.

WRE: What should every guy know when buying a suit for themselves?

NDG: The most important thing to know is what the suit’s primary purpose is—work, weekend, a special occasion etc. When it comes to fabrics, taking the location and season into consideration is important. If you’re working for a law firm in Florida, for example, you might want to go with a cotton-linen blend in a light grey or blue shade; it’s classic, versatile and will keep you comfortable. If you’re traveling often, then a crease-resistant suit or jacket from our Traveller collection is one for you.

WRE: Describe the kind of guy that is rocking a Suitsupply suit?

NDG: Style and elegance are universal; you can be elegant whether you’re 25, or 65, regardless of age. We’re here for the guy who’s serious about style, but likes to have fun with it too.

WRE: What sets the suits at Suitsupply apart from other suit makers in the game?

NDG: I think we’ve been successful at proving that an emphasis on a quality product and customer service is what really sets us apart. Thanks to technology, we’re bringing the same personalized shopping experience across all channels, including our on-line store. At the same time, we see great value in traditional skills. In fact, we worked for years on introducing old-fashioned techniques and craftsmanship which were hardly ever used except for at the high-end level. Take our jackets, for example; we give them shape using classic Italian techniques by weaving a thin layer of horsehair-reinforced canvas into specific parts of the suit. As you wear it, this support begins to conform to your body’s shape, thereby becoming your perfect fit. Moreover, we use only fine Italian fabrics, offer in-store tailoring, and train our staff to be experts through  our in-house Suitschool program—all of this comes together to create a quality product that fits impeccably, and, thanks to our vertical integration, remains at attainable price points. This isn’t so new to fast fashion brands, but it’s a first in the luxury market.

WRE: What different type of materials go into a suit? Does it vary within season?

NDG: Indeed fabrics and material are largely dictated by season. Our fall/winter collections use a lot of wool, silk, and noble fabrics like alpaca, cashmere and mohair. Summer collections offer a lot of cotton, silk and linen blends, and bring a lot of unlined options. But no matter the season, all fabrics are sourced from some of the world’s most renowned fabric mills, like Zegna, Vitale Barberis Canonico, and Ferla, from the weaving region of Biella, Italy.

WRE: There are Suitsupply stores all over the world, do the styles of suits vary from country to country?

NDG: While we generally offer our full collections in every store, we do adjust collections in certain regions depending on the climate. Those with tropical climates, for example, might receive different pieces, or more piece, in fabrics like linen and cotton.

WRE: What kind of different styles does Suitsupply offer? What is the most popular fit people buy?

NDG: From traditional Neapolitan-inspired mainstays like our Napoli, which is a versatile fit with classic features that are perfect for just about any occasion, to slim, modern cuts like our peak lapel Washington, and even updated double-breasted fits like our Soho, we offer a broad range that has something for everyone. Among our most popular are the adaptable Napoli and Lazio, though our Traveller suits and jackets in our crease-resistant Traveller fabrics is also a huge hit, especially among those who travel often. Of course, we also offer made-to-measure suiting, which allows clients to customize a suit or jacket to their unique measurements.

WRE: Where do you see the Suitsupply brand in 10 years?

NDG: We can’t predict the future, but we’re working hard to make Suitsupply a household name—in 10 years we expect to see a lot more guys sporting our style.