Michal has always been keen on differently patterned shirts, while Ludvík has a preference for chequered shirts. We particularly like shirts that don’t need ironed, that don’t rip at the elbows, that have long enough sleeves without hanging too loose, that don’t come untucked when you bend to tie your shoelace, and that can be ordered easily online. But we couldn’t find any. That’s why we decided to produce our own and founded Bespoken.
Our first shirts were quite the success: unlike our website, which – in hindsight – we must admit looked terrible. Our friends who modelled for us were as close to Brad Pitt as polyester is to cashmere. What’s more, you required a PhD in computer programming to place a successful order, so hard was the website to navigate. Nevertheless, against all odds, we ended up selling tens, hundreds and – over time – even thousands of shirts. But was never about the numbers. Quite simply, we love wearing shirts and we love making them, too. Each shirt is unique and is carefully and lovingly packaged by Michal. That must be why 9 out of 10 customers come back for more.
Customers kept coming back not only for shirts but wanted more—jackets, suits, trousers. And that’s something that can’t be done online. So we opened our first brick-and-mortar store. And where else but in the neighborhood where we both grew up. Products woven with excellent service and a transparent approach quickly took off, and today we offer a full range of clothing. Crafted with a love for detail. Thanks to this, we are able to provide a complete service for grooms, wedding guests, managers, leaders, or simply connoisseurs. From head to toe.
Our aim is to make top-quality shirts from the very best materials, all at a reasonable price! That’s why it took us more than two years to find the most suitable suppliers who fit our quality criteria and work ethic. Simply put: we’re perfectionists, casting a critical eye over every one of our final products So we’re always thinking about what to improve and how. Ludvík is a stickler for stitch density and makes sure that all seams are perfectly straight and aligned with the patterns. Meanwhile, Michal test how many washing cycles each shirt can endure and monitors which non-crease technologies have hit the market recently.
At first, we wanted to produce shirts made from Czech fabrics in the Czech Republic. But it soon became clear that this would be the cheap and easy option, and would only lower the quality of our shirts. Naturally, that was off the table. That’s when our quest for the perfect tailor began. And we eventually found him in Turkey. Well actually, them – Aydin and Abidin. Two incredible tailors who have been working together for more than 40 years. And not in some factory either. They have a small family business built upon decades of experience. We supplied Aydin and Abidin with sought-after fabrics of the highest quality from some of the biggest-name brands on London’s Savile Row and in Milan. And finally, we perfected our Bespoken standard – 7 to 10 stitches per centimetre, handsewn Mother of Pearl buttons, split yoke and many other style details. And we keep making regular trips to Turkey to make sure the product is top-notch.
With our move ‘offline,’ it was also necessary to expand production. We searched for a long time until we found the right place. In Europe, in Portugal, right in Porto, where they can meet all our millimeter-perfect requirements. Suit fabrics from Loro Piana, Holland & Sherry, or the lesser-known Paulo Oliveira, are cut with laser precision. This way, with a suit or jacket, we can emphasize the line we want—or hide the one we don’t :). Perfection, reliability, and reasonable speed were and remain our core requirements for this collaboration. That’s why Porto.
Milán, často označovaný jako světové hlavní město módy, je místem, kde se setkávají elegance, inovace a tradice. Pánská móda v tomto italském městě není jen o oblečení, je to výraz životního stylu a identity.
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Holland & Sherry je producentem látek založen v Londýně v roce 1836 Stephenem Georgem Hollandem a Frederickem Sherrym. Od března 2003 ji vlastní společnost Individualized Apparel Group.
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