A couple of months ago I started the process of trialling Craftsman Co, a new and small Hong Kong-based company that is making leather and suede jackets.
The process was smooth and well run, but the end results were a little mixed: good but not perfect fit, and some quality issues.
Craftsman Co was set up in 2015 by three young menswear enthusiasts who met on a forum in Hong Kong.
They observed that their options for buying leather jackets were largely over-priced fashion brands or low-quality high-street stores, both of which changed their collections every season.
So they set up Craftsman Co to produce classic designs, at a high level of quality but below designer prices.
All the jackets are made to order, and all sales online. So they take full advantage in their pricing of having no stock, no overheads, and local (Hong Kong) manufacturing.
They also offer a made-to-measure service for a small uplift, which is what I tried. This added $50 to the ready-to-wear price of $880.
The MTM process involves taking a set of measurements on yourself (I involved a local tailor) and then being sent a voile fitting to try on and note alterations. You also take photos at both stages.
The design I picked was the A1 flying jacket in snuff suede. The guys sent across several samples of suedes and linings on a card, and even secured a different version of the snuff.
However, one thing it was difficult to judge was the final colour, from just a small sliver of the suede.
The resulting jacket was more orange than I anticipated, and between the two options of a lighter-coloured ribbing (shown here) and a darker version, I should perhaps have chosen the latter.
The fitting I received was pretty good - just a little big in the waist and long in the sleeves. Small adjustments.
The final jacket, however, had a few issues. The fit in the waist was good, as was the length of the body and sleeves. But it was tight across the chest and shoulders, and my sloping shoulders could have been better dealt with at the front.
The fit was still better than most RTW options, but there were obvious areas that could be improved.
Although it’s not necessarily a fair comparison - given his experience and being done face to face - the fit of my jacket from Davide Taub at Gieves & Hawkes was a lot better.
The quality of the suede was decent, if not amazing. On a par, for example, with Ralph Lauren Polo suede jackets I’ve had, but not Purple Label.
The buttons and hardware were good, as was the bemberg lining.
The work inside, however, was a little uneven. In the image above, look at the finishing around the side of the inside pockets, where the same spot has been repeatedly sewn over back and forth, leaving quite a messy finish.
I think there’s potentially a good service here if Craftsman Co can improve their fitting process further and correct some quality issues. After all, there are few MTM leather jackets out there under $1000.
For the moment, I’m concentrating on having some of my RTW jackets altered - which has the the advantage of being able to see the design and leather first hand, and then improve its fit.
More on that in December.
Shirt: denim-linen from Luca Avitabile
Jeans: My mid-rise bespoke Levi's in Cone Mills denim. Wearing in very nicely - some sick fades
Photography: Jamie Ferguson @jkf_man
Dear Simon, looks great! I have one very similar jacket bought at Dorianis, heavily lined in a beautiful cashmere. Sadly it’s a tad large now that I’ve lost some weight, do you know if one could alter a leather jacket like that? Who’d you give it to?
Very good question, and as stated at the end of this post, something I’m going to report on soon….
Hi,
I believe the correct nomenclature is “sick fades”.
Thanks! Clearly no denimhead
I believe you can only be considered a true denim head if your jeans are raw, non sanforised, thirty years old and have never been washed (apart from a quick dip in the Californian Pacific, followed by a roll in the sand)
Simon
As a young-ish reader, it’s great to see you continuing to experiment with more casual pieces rather than preaching the formal jacket/shirt/tie-even-at-weekends mantra espoused elsewhere. Hard to tell fit from the photos but it looks great. I picked up a similar jacket from Eidos recently but made from navy casentino wool, suprisingly versatile. Cheers.
Simon Compton stars as The Tango Man!!
I love your pieces on casual (bespoke) wear! Would like to see more of them. Nice jacket, but not my colour.
Simon,
As usual, an interesting read.
Although all of us are “unique” in our physical requirements compared to a chart “normal”, you appear to be relatively trim etc.
Have you ever thought of having an associate who is perhaps less “ideal” come alone, and get a similar garment made to see how someone tall and slender, or perhaps more portly was serviced?
Is it possible some tailors are better “suited” to work with the truly difficult to fit, given that their goals may be someone different (working around body shape, limb-length etc.)
I am not sure, perhaps they would have a different take on the outcome ?
Interesting point, perhaps that would work well if I interviewed those I knew had a lot of bespoke, about their physiques and how different tailors dealt with it.
In general, my impression is tailors with greater experience are generally best and handling more difficult figures – and it’s one thing younger tailors often struggle with
Very interesting question from ANM.
Although your articles about your personal commissions are always very insightful, the six million dollar question that remains unanswered is with what level of skill do tailors adapt their house styles to deal with the long, broad and short of it ?
It would be great if you could find a way to address this issue. In reality this is what bespoke is all about.
Nice jacket! I was wondering if you’d compared it to something like the A-1 from the Aero Leather Company in Scotland? I don’t think they offer a specifically made to measure option, but I know people go to the factory and can be measured. For the price, it would be interesting to see how their less MTM version compared.
I haven’t specifically tried this jacket in Aero, but I have had Aero things in the past, as well as things Aero have made for others (eg Cabourn).
Aero are very traditional, and great at what they do, but more similar to Chapal in that respect – certain styles, designs, approach overall to make, but usually only if you want that look.
As with any leather garment, the quality of the leather is key, and as I understand it, access to the best leather is tricky for a new player.
What shoes are you wearing in this outfit?
Brgds
Brown suede derbys
“sick fades” is not something I expected to see here!
Hi Simon,
Considering the price of Craftsman, will their jackets be a better investment to a Valstar?
Is the quality of leather on par with Valstar?
You also mentioned in the post there are other MTM leather makers out there under €1000- can you tell me who they are? I know the recent Anglo-Intalian does one under £1k.
Thanks
No, I would stick with Valstar to be honest – unless you really need MTM from a size point of view, for example.
I can’t remember mentioning other MTM leather companies under €1000 – maybe point me towards the right post and that might help
Hi Simon,
Interesting that you said to go for Valstar considering the price of them are circa £700 compared to the $950 of Craftman- that’s more or less the same price so wouldn’t one go for Craftman for the added benefits of fit, choice of colour, lining etcetc.
Quite intrigued why you said to go for Valstar?
Regarding the comment about other MTM leather jacket makers- it’s actually in this post-
this is what you said-
“I think there’s potentially a good service here if Craftsman Co can improve their fitting process further and correct some quality issues. After all, there are few MTM leather jackets out there under $1000.”
Hi Pat.
You can pick details with Craftsman Co, yes, but the finishing wasn’t great on the one I had – as I mentioned. Better on Valstar.
There’s also a decent risk that if you start changing the details, and the fit, that you will end up with something worse, not better. So on my Craftsman jacket, for example, I didn’t like the colour I ended up with that much.
On my quote, I meant that there are few makers, ie there aren’t many. Not that there are ‘a’ few. It’s a turn of phrase, intended to mean that there aren’t any I’m aware of.
Thanks Simon,
Looks like I need to brush up on my English first before doing anything else!
Can beat a good leather jacket.
Hi Simon,
I’ll be doing an in-person bespoke safari jacket with them and was wondering if an unlined navy lambsuede safari jacket was appropriate for summer/spring. Would wool work better? I’d like to wear the jacket out casually and dress it up during work.
I personally love the look and feel of suede but wonder if it will be too hot to wear even if unlined in Southern California weather.
It would be warm, yes, though wool wouldn’t be much better. If you want something that can cope with heat then you’d need linen or cotton.
I’d worry more about the style – it will be quite unusual, particularly in suede, so make sure it is really going to be suitable to all the places you’d want to wear it
Simon
This looks like a relevant post. Looking for good quality suede jacket, under $1000 US. It appears you said very few if any makers as of late 2016. Anything change? Take on Schott,suede ? Or newcomers to the game, you can recommend?
or worth spending the Valstar as for fit/quality, value even if north of 1K?
Hi Brett,
Personally I do think it’s worth paying the extra, but it’s all relative of course. You certainly get better suede from someone like Valstar compared to Schott or others in that price bracket. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worth paying that – up to you whether you care about that extra fineness and softness or not.
Both are better value than any large designer brand
thanks simon
quick follow up. in your opinion is the valstarino (post you had on brown suede 3 ways ) true to size, im usually 38. you get more wear out of that or the reversible valsatarino with waterproof lining? which is your favourite.
The reversible is my favourite, but it’s largely sold out. And no, I’d size up generally, so a 40
I would like to alert fellow readers of Permanent Style that Craftsman Co. has essentially devolved into a scam. Check any post of theirs on Instagram for comments from other frustrated customers. I placed an order for two explicitly in-stock trousers only to be told a week later they weren’t in stock. Delivery deadline after delivery deadline passed. It was only until I opened a case with PayPal that their abysmal customer service (run by a fictional woman named “Bianca”) answered me–with another fake delivery deadline! I’ve since escalated my case to a claim and am waiting, probably in vain, for a refund of my $440. In fine, Craftsman is a scam and should be avoided at all costs.
I agree. I purchased a pair of Gurkha jeans, and the belt buckle broke fairly easily. Received the same stock response from “Bianca” saying that a replacement buckle was ready to be shipped. The same response has been given since 3 Jan this year, with no sign of any replacement. Very disappointing considering the price of the clothing.
Simon, I’m not sure if there is a way you can help by alerting readers to this as you have some posts reviewing the brand? Alternatively, have you thought of whether the reviews should remain on the site given the current situation?
Good question Julian. I guess I’d want to try and speak to them – to give that right to reply – before I took any kind of action like that. But if they won’t reply to me or others it’s hard to do so. I guess you could give them a certain amount of time, or notice to reply
Wish I’d seen this sooner. I don’t buy clothes often and went in on some of the ‘new’ gurgkha linen trousers. Got the same ‘it’s out of stock’ excuse. Emailed with ‘Bianca’ several times about it. I didn’t do my purchase via Paypal. You think there’s any other way to try to get a refund? Such a bummer. I went for this brand when I found it on a list of brands making quality items sustainably and with good labor practices. Feeling so discouraged from trying to do other purchases through independent brands.