July 11, 2025 • 36 mins
In this episode, we sit down with Rythum Singh, founder of Darzi Studio, whose work redefines tailoring as a deeply personal art form. With roots in Sikh culture and a reverence for craftsmanship passed through generations, Rhythm shares how clothing became both his voice and his canvas.
We explore how Darzi’s bespoke approach honors individuality, cultural tradition, and the quiet power of dressing with intention. From pastel palettes and tailored silhouettes to beadwork that tells love stories, this conversation weaves together style, identity, and the rituals of self-expression.
We also talk design philosophy, client rituals, the misconceptions around wool, and even a suit built to hold a detective’s handcuffs and sidearm.
Check out Darzi's work: https://www.darzi.studio/
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Special thanks to Katherine Van Brunt (Global Wealth Office) and Drishti Gangwani (Closr) for hosting “Couture For A Cause” at the Lincoln Isham House on June 12th, 2025- featuring designs from Darzi Studio, Vellachor, Megan Renee, and OX-NY.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Good morning, everybody.
(00:27):
Welcome back to Peace& GoodWealth.
Today's guest is Rhythm Singh,the heart and soul behind Darzee
Studio.
Rhythm is more than just adesigner.
He's someone who sees style asstorytelling.
craftsmanship as connection andspaces as soulful expressions of
who we are.
Whether he's designing atailored look or a full
environment, he bringsthoughtfulness, presence, and a
(00:50):
deep respect for beauty andidentity.
We're excited to get into hisjourney, his creative rituals,
and how Darzi came to life as anextension of who he is.
Welcome, Rhythm.
SPEAKER_00 (01:01):
Thank you, Loy, for the introduction.
That was really sweet of you.
I'm super excited to be here andchat about Darzi.
It's been a passion project ofmine.
It started about three years agoand I can't wait to explain it
to you exactly how I started,where it's headed, and what we
have in store next.
SPEAKER_01 (01:15):
Perfect.
So let's start from thebeginning.
Where did this all begin foryou, the passion for design?
When did you realize design wasyour calling?
SPEAKER_00 (01:27):
It was actually my parents.
I mean, my dad's one of the mostfashionable people that I know.
Growing up, seeing him go intothe store, picking out items
that he wanted to wear.
He wears a turban in ourreligion, Sikh.
he wears a lot of colorful onesand he needs to find outfits
that match that.
So he just sort of, you know,kind of sparked that in me.
My mother as well, she studiedfashion design, but she never
(01:50):
really pursued it.
Now she does as a passion and,you know, she has her like
parties in her groups whereshe's like the voice of design,
what to wear and, you know,who's dressing who, who's
wearing what and whatnot.
Family business has also beenfashion, but I was never really
a part of it.
You know, Chad around dinnertables and things like that.
(02:11):
I guess subconsciously, it wasalways like fed into my mind.
And three years ago, I was like,you know what, let's take the
leap.
But I think growing up, I foundconfidence through fashion.
I was a really quiet kid growingup.
And I think fashion was one ofthe loudest forms of expression
for me.
So I decided to partake in itand then just sort of turned
(02:32):
into this business that I havenow.
And it's great, man.
I get to work with amazingpeople that sort of had similar
journeys as I did, where theywanted to get into fashion and
they didn't really necessarilyknow what to wear.
They didn't have the influencesthat I had in my life.
And I wanted to be that voicefor them in the back of their
head saying, Hey, you know what,this is how we're going to start
your tutorial journey.
SPEAKER_01 (02:52):
So, okay.
So, so, um, it is basically yourvoice.
It's a form of communication.
It's a form of also identity,you know?
So let's talk a little bitabout, is there a difference
between cultures, um, in the waywe look at fashion?
SPEAKER_00 (03:05):
Absolutely.
I think, you know, I thinkfashion is definitely a
synonymous voice.
I think, you know, you can frommany parts of the world where
you wear, where you're from, youcan wear the clothing that
either represents the culturethat you come from, or the
country or the region or thetemperature, whatever it may be.
But I think at the core of it,it does the same thing, right?
(03:26):
It expresses who you are and howyou feel and how you see
yourself, but how you want toproject yourself out into the
world and how you step out ofthe house.
I think, you know, it's assimple as, you know, you walk
out of the house wearing at-shirt and sweats, you're going
to feel a certain type of way,versus you walk out of the house
wearing a suit, you'll feel aspecific type of way.
SPEAKER_01 (03:46):
Well, also, but also in, this is what I try to
explain to people, you know, weare, I think the Western, well,
America, I think, I should say,because Europeans are different
as well.
We come out of our apartments orour homes, et cetera, and we're
wearing sweats or T-shirts, etcetera.
(04:10):
In other cultures, there's avery defined way you go out and
what you should look like.
And people expect that sort of alittle bit more formality when
you're going.
You shouldn't look like likeyou're going to the gym if
you're going out.
And then, especially with Asianculture as well, I think there's
always people looking at howyou're dressed and they gauge
(04:36):
your level of education, yourlevel of sophistication based on
how you conduct yourself inpublic and that includes
fashion.
SPEAKER_00 (04:47):
Absolutely.
I couldn't agree more.
And I think when it comes toAmerica specifically, We tend to
have this new trend that'sbrewing up, especially in the
younger generations, likeathleisure, a little bit more
relaxed, looser-fittingclothing.
But fashion wasn't always likethat, right?
That's a trend that happenedmaybe the last five years.
(05:08):
The rest of the world is stillcatching up, but I think in
America, what we really do haveis we are the central point of
the world in a way when wedefine culture, when we define
these trends, the world usuallydoes follow.
I am not the one to follow thatjust because I think that
clothing, apart from justrespecting yourself and how you
wear and put yourself together,when you walk into a room, you
(05:31):
don't want to walk into a roomwhere everyone else is dressed
and doing their part and you'rewalking in with sweats or a
t-shirt.
It's how you, A, commandrespect, but how you are also
respectful to other people as
SPEAKER_01 (05:41):
well.
And also, I think fashion has away, has a strange way of
influencing people.
how you feel and then how youact as well.
If you're dressed very, youknow, if you're dressed in a
suit, you know, you conductyourself a certain way versus if
you're wearing, you know, justcasual clothes, right?
So if you're walking into ameeting wearing casual clothes,
(06:02):
you know, that sort of likepersonality comes out.
Whereas if you're walking into,you know, a meeting wearing a
suit, that personality alsocomes out, right?
SPEAKER_00 (06:11):
Absolutely.
There was this one, you know,this is many moons ago when I
was living the corporate lifeduring the nine to five I was
working at at an ad tech companydoing sales for them.
And one of my mentors, he was myformer boss and a really, really
close friend of mine, thisamazing British guy always wore
a three-piece suit And you'rewalking into a media agency and
(06:33):
you see everyone there wearing aT-shirt, a hoodie, just casual
clothing all together.
And then you see this guy comein with this three-piece suit
wearing, you know, with hisBritish accent and coming in,
walking into a room and reallycommanding the space, right?
And, you know, he may not liketo admit it, but I feel like
that has gotten him so manydeals.
And that translated into mebecause I clearly saw that, you
know, he put himself together,A, not only just to go in and,
(06:56):
you know, like as a power moveinto the room, but more so to
feel a little bit more powerfulhimself.
Like you said, clothing makesyou feel a specific type of way.
And even when the world shutdown and we were into COVID,
he'd still be the guy that wouldgo on a Zoom call in a
three-piece suit.
And it becomes sort of like auniform.
You kind of reshift the mindsetthat you're in in the clothing
(07:17):
that you wear.
SPEAKER_01 (07:18):
Well, I have an uncle and I do the same thing.
That even if I'm working athome, like during COVID, right?
You're working from home and Iwould still get up, get dressed,
take a shower, get dressed.
Maybe it's not as formal as ifI'm going to the office, but put
on a decent pair of slacks and adress shirt, just go to work
(07:39):
because mentally that changes.
But there's also, especially inmy field, I think in your field
as well, If you dress upproperly, it also shows respect
to the person that you'remeeting, that you respect their
time and who they are.
I think sometimes when you'renot properly dressed, it's
(08:04):
almost like dismissing the valueof meeting with them, et cetera.
SPEAKER_00 (08:09):
It's the effort that you put in, right?
SPEAKER_01 (08:11):
Right.
Now talk about Darzi.
I think a lot of people don'tknow or may not know the
definition of Darzi.
SPEAKER_00 (08:19):
Yeah, Darzi is essentially a tailor in Indian
culture.
Anyone from any caste, from therichest of the rich to the
poorest of the poor.
And when you look at India'shistory, there's a huge
disparity between the two.
But one thing that was common inbetween all of them and anyone
and everyone was a Darzi.
A Darzi is a a tailor who you'dgo and bring fabric to and say,
(08:42):
hey, make me a kurta.
Kurta is a really relaxed formof attire that we have in Indian
culture.
Or make me a suit.
Women will go to a dhursi andsay, hey, I bought this
beautiful fabric.
Make me a sari.
Or a family member would be adhursi.
It'd either be a grandma or it'dbe a grandfather that would sew
(09:03):
the clothes for the entirefamily.
And the reason why I wanted toname the brand dhursi is because
I wanted to bring that here tothis culture where, you know, we
go, we have this culture ofbuying from fast fashion or
buying from these clothes thatfrom these brands that, you
know, uh, come up with these newtrends in the, in, and they
(09:23):
dictate how, you know, theculture is, is going to be moved
and things that we'd wear.
But, but, why isn't it the otherway around, right?
Like, why aren't we decidingwhat to wear and really putting
thought into it?
And like you're saying, right,you want to command respect in
the room you go into, but youalso want to respect yourself.
You also have your own selfidentity.
And there's the studio is a wayto do that.
You come to me and, you know,you don't have to necessarily
(09:45):
bring the fabrics.
I can take care of that.
But you come in with a vision.
You come in with an idea.
You come in, you know, with yourpersonality and we just stitch
that together for you.
SPEAKER_01 (09:54):
And it's interesting because that's, you know, that's
the world I grew up in, youknow, so the world of bespoke
and tailored things were notnecessarily something that was
unusual to me.
And I found it unusual thatpeople thought that buying
clothes from a department storewas the more usual thing.
Because if you look at ourfamily photos, I'm wearing the
(10:17):
same shirt as my dad because webought the fabric.
And my mom went to the tailorand said, okay, make a shirt for
my husband and my kids.
And everything was like that.
And they would come up with,based on what you would like and
how you would like to look orhow you would like it to fit,
you know they would tailor youknow a dress or a suit or a gown
(10:42):
you know based on that and thefabric also you know you
understood what fabric didbecause if you wanted it to be
more formal or more elegant youchose you know different fabrics
or if it's in the middle of thesummer you know you chose
different fabrics and you chosethe design and you chose the
colors of all of that stuff andsomebody created this wonderful
(11:03):
you know bespoke piece you knowfor you which you know is now
you know i think you know fairlylost because now everyone just
goes and and and and the thestyle back then the style was
something you've you you createdyourself um and now the style is
something that you put togetheryeah um because the piece is
(11:24):
already pre-done you know foryou so talk about um your your
process a little bit um you knowhow do you How do you begin the
process when you're creatingsomething?
SPEAKER_00 (11:35):
Yeah, and it starts with a conversation, right?
So, you know, a client wouldreach out to me and say, hey,
I've heard about you through afriend or, you know, I saw, you
know, your videos on Instagramor whatever it may be.
However, they're able to findme.
My first initial step is to havea conversation, hop on a phone
call, hop on a Zoom call, oreven invite them into the
studio.
And just ask them outright, likewhat is it that you're trying to
(11:56):
accomplish here in terms of notlike what are you trying to buy
or purchase from me, but more sowhat is the goal, what event are
you going to, what are youtrying to dress up for, what you
know and get to know them alittle bit better through
conversation their personalitiesthings that they're comfortable
with you know i can recommendyou know a suit to like five
people but not all five of themwould be comfortable wearing
(12:17):
that so i think it has to startwith understanding who is going
to be wearing that item and thenjust breaking down from there so
uh asking what are youcomfortable with what colors
work for you um you know gettinga little information about the
occasion if it's a specific likewedding they're going to or a
specific event that's coming upin life breaking down those
(12:38):
questions and then selectingfabric once we decide the fabric
then we start selecting design Ilike to do fabric before the
design just because specificfabric once you decide the
fabric then you narrow down thetypes of designs you can have
not every design can fit intothe very certain fabrics that
there are so I start from thatand then once the design is
complete you've approved it youknow and and you're completely
(13:01):
satisfied, we then get intoproduction.
Once it's a production, it comeshere to the States and we
basically do a fitting.
outright, you know, you can takeas many measurements as possible
and every Thursday, every tailorknows this.
Not every single item is goingto drape specifically on that
person exactly the way they wantit.
(13:22):
So I think a fitting is veryimportant.
You kind of want to see how theyfeel comfortable wearing it,
right?
There's a set way of wearing it,whether it's a European cut,
whether it's a British cut,whatever cut it is, you know, it
still needs to fit you the wayyou like it to fit.
You know, European cuts areslightly slimmer, but if you're
a guy that doesn't like a slimcut around the waist, we want to
(13:43):
give you the opportunity to openthat up.
We're not married to anyspecific cuts or silhouettes.
We're married to what what youwant, and that is the truest
form of a Thursday.
SPEAKER_01 (13:52):
Is there a time where a particular client comes
in, they want a particular cut,a particular look, and you're
thinking, this is not going towork?
SPEAKER_00 (14:03):
Oh my God, so many
SPEAKER_01 (14:04):
times.
How do you very elegantly guidethem to what would at least look
a little bit better?
Because I think part of that,too, is you're not just
creating...
For them, I guess anyone wouldbe able to do so.
But when they do wear itsomewhere, it's your reputation
(14:29):
as well.
And people might say, what'swrong with the person who did
that for you?
So how do you finesse whatsomething is?
that a client would like thatmay not necessarily be the best
for them and what you feel wouldbe right.
SPEAKER_00 (14:48):
Yeah.
No, absolutely.
It's a conversation that happensvery often.
And how to navigate that isessentially just, A, you kind of
build that rapport.
They need to see the credibilityin you.
And one way I do that is I wearmy goddamn best suit all the
single time whenever I go into ameeting.
So they know that this guy knowswhat he's talking about when it
(15:10):
comes to suits or any specificitem that they're building.
Then you honestly just have tokind of have that really blunt
conversation with them because Ithink, you know, they need to
come to the fact that maybe thatitem that they want or that cut
that they want might not fitthem, you know, the way that
they idealize in their mind.
But then navigate them and pushthem towards something that you
(15:30):
think can, you know, persuadethem into getting.
So my goal is not to like justshut it down completely.
My goal is to say, okay, hey,this is how this is going to fit
on you based on the experiencethat I have.
This is not going to drapeaccordingly the way you think in
your mind, but this one will be.
And I think it always startswith really just kind of having
(15:50):
that gentle conversation andkind of Not so, you know,
hand-holding, but also just apartnership, right?
Like you said, my reputation'son the line when they go wear it
out.
So they are my models, right?
And that's how I treat them.
Like, hey, you know, this isyours, but this is also mine.
So we're going to go on thisjourney together.
So I need to be a part of itjust as much as you do.
(16:12):
And that's when they reallyjust, you know, kind of
understand that, hey, you knowwhat?
It's going to be a funexperience.
I'm going to trust Rhythm to dowhat he does best and go from
there.
SPEAKER_01 (16:19):
And what about the choice of fabric?
You know, are there...
Are your, you know, do you showthem, you know, something that,
you know, is in your inventoryor do they come in one day and
say, okay, this is the fabric Ireally want to use.
What can we do with them?
And what happens if the patternon the fabric doesn't
(16:43):
necessarily match what they'retrying to do?
SPEAKER_00 (16:45):
Yeah.
And, you know, honestly, Ireally did wish that people came
in with their own fabrics a lotmore often than they do.
It's not that I will push thingsthat are in my inventory.
I do show them the wide array offabrics I do have and they can
select from it.
there's different challengeswith each, right?
One might be geographicallylocated somewhere else and it
(17:06):
might not match the lead timesthat they have in mind.
One's price point may be a lothigher than they anticipated.
You know, one may in their mindthought, you know, was the right
fabric, but it wasn't when theycome into the studio.
But not many clients come inwith their own fabrics.
I would, you know, I think therehave been a few that have, and I
thoroughly enjoy thoseconversations because they're
(17:28):
already coming in with a vision,with something that, you know,
they already have in mind and Ihave to kind of like break that
down and it's a differentprocess for me versus when
someone comes in and I'm helpingthem select fabrics, that
conversation is entirelydifferent, right?
Because I'm not only showingthem fabric but also educating
them on the fabrics that willwork towards the event or the
(17:53):
end result of the item thatthey're trying to build.
SPEAKER_01 (17:55):
So describe Darzee as a brand.
What's the messaging behindDarzi.
There are a lot of people whoare saying, look, we could do
bespoke tailoring for you.
What defines you?
SPEAKER_00 (18:14):
My goal with Darzi is to introduce people that
there's another layer ofcustomization and
personalization they can getwith their clothing.
It doesn't just happen withspecific styles and silhouettes.
Like you mentioned, there's alot of brands out there doing
bespoke, bespoke suiting, butthey're limited to just those
products.
For me, I think I think it'smore so helping men and women
(18:34):
start their sartorial journey.
And it's really ties in withlike a few essentials that
you'll select.
You know, you'll have a suit,you'll have a shirt, you'll have
trousers, and then building uponthat specific wardrobe and just
making it truly their own,right?
So it's not only just aboutfabric selection.
It's not only about, you know,hey, this is what Darzy's
(18:55):
offering is just a suit or like,you know, a pair of trousers.
It's more so understanding whothey are, helping them, guiding
them, educating them on how theycan improve their current
wardrobe and just starting thatsartorial journey into being
more confident and comfortablein the clothing that they do
SPEAKER_01 (19:12):
wear.
And is Darzy generationalclothing?
Is there a specific demographicthat you have right now?
Are you looking to expand that?
SPEAKER_00 (19:24):
Yeah, I mean, I definitely do have the
demographic.
Honestly, it's quite broad.
You won't believe it.
It's been all word of mouth.
It's been people that know me orknow of me, and they kind of tag
the brand with the way I dressand my style.
And I think over the years,that's a tool that I've
(19:45):
sharpened myself.
I genuinely do.
just like to dress up the way Iwould, like, you know, wearing
this pink t-shirt with this,like, moff color, like, suit.
Not everyone would assume thatthat's fashion, but for me this
is, right?
And I think I do a good job ofarticulating that pretty well
and, you know, kind of holdingthat credibility of, like, hey,
(20:05):
this is my style, but let'sdevelop yours.
So I think there's no setdemographic.
I think it definitely gearstowards, like, I want to say the
– the people that are juststarting their careers or just
starting their independent lifeoutside of the home, outside of
college, whatever it may be.
(20:25):
And really just trying to, theyhave a little bit more money in
their pockets and they're tryingto really up their fashion game.
But I think the doors are openfor anyone and everyone.
I've designed clothing fortoddlers whose father's suits
that I've made.
And then I've designed suits forfathers whose son's suits that
(20:46):
I've made that are my friends.
So there's no set demographic.
And anyone out there listeningthat wants to start this eternal
journey, I mean, there's thesestudios, doors are wide open.
SPEAKER_01 (20:56):
How about women?
Are you looking to expand towomen's wear as well?
Or maybe even women's suits?
SPEAKER_00 (21:04):
Absolutely, man.
I think that's a market that I'mmissing.
That's an area that I'mdefinitely missing.
But I have started on.
I think that the feedback thatI've gotten from just chatting
with the people that step ininto the studio, they'll walk in
there with their partners andthe partners would say, hey, do
you have this in women's or doyou make women's blazers or
(21:24):
suits?
It's not within my expertisejust because I don't wear it,
but I think it's an entirelywider market that I definitely
want to tap into.
I think it's super fun.
I think a lot of feminine cutsalso can translate into a lot of
masculine cuts that we do have.
And to match them and pair themtogether, I think would be
(21:44):
really, really fun.
SPEAKER_01 (21:45):
And it's also when Hillary Clinton sort of
introduced the world to thepantsuit and Kamala Harris was
going around, you could see thatwomen especially women who are
executives of power, could wearvery elegantly these suits.
And also, I think there could bea lot, some of the work that you
(22:07):
have have really intricatebeading and stitch work, right?
So talk to us about that.
How does that come about?
In Asian culture, I think that'ssomething that we would see more
often than in the Westernculture.
But the beadwork in a lot ofways, especially for formal
(22:28):
wear, is super important.
And the stitch work is superimportant as well.
So talk to us about thatprocess.
How do you design something likethat and what goes into it?
SPEAKER_00 (22:43):
Absolutely.
And I'm glad you touched uponthis point.
I mean, I think beadwork,embroidery, focusing on the
stitching and the tapestry ofspecific items and dresses and
suits is very focal to SouthAsian culture, right?
Like we're really, really goodat that in that side of the
world.
And that's something that Iwanted to showcase out to the
(23:05):
modernization of what ThursdayStudio is.
Think of suit as like a blankcanvas and you build up on that.
Obviously, you know, noteveryone stepping into the
studio is looking for to be thatloud or to, you know, include
that in their attire.
But I love working with couplesand it's been mostly couples
for, you know, their wedding,their big day, where they want
to incorporate some sort ofmotif on that Western silhouette
(23:28):
of a suit, of a tuxedo, of theirbride's langa or sari or their
dress.
So there's been many times wherewe've actually taken pieces of
the bride's outfit andincorporated it into the tuxedo,
whether it's like addingtrimming to the cuff, whether
it's, you for simply putting thebeads on there.
There was this one couple thatcame in.
(23:49):
They really were infatuated byStarlight, and we made this
Starlight tuxedo for them whereit was two separate tuxedos, but
it was a piece of one, where oneside was Starlight on the left
side for one of the gentlemen,for the other gentleman it was
on the right side.
So when they stood together andthey were taking a photograph,
(24:11):
their one piece.
So beadwork works like that,right?
It's, it's, it's sort of, youknow, it tells a story within
itself.
Um, and I just use suits as ablank canvas to start on that.
SPEAKER_01 (24:21):
Is, is that the craziest thing you've been asked
to do or are there, what is themost, um, it's not outrageous as
it is a term, um, you know, but,but different, um, thing that
you've done and you, whereyou've said, wow, this, this
really ups the level of, ofcreativity.
SPEAKER_00 (24:40):
Yeah.
I, you know, I think One of themost fun projects that I've ever
had, growing up as a kidwatching James Bond and watching
these secret agent movies andevery kid wants to be a secret
agent when they grow up.
There's a New York Citydetective, I won't say his name
obviously, who came in to thestudio and he was like, you know
what, I love wearing suits, butI carry a lot of equipment on
me.
How do I sort of...
(25:01):
incorporate this into the outfitthat I'm wearing and I don't
want to wear like a vest or likea belt because you want to be
concealed and discreet so Iremember this it was like it was
nighttime oddly enough and we'rein like this dimly lit room
oddly enough and we have laidout this fabric it's a pattern
of a suit that we're buildingand he just like whips out his
gun and he puts it on the tableand we're like outlining his
(25:23):
like weapon and making like aholster in his suit and then he
takes out his handcuffs and allthese little gadgets that you
know that that he uses on a dayin and day out.
We're putting on the table andtrying to figure out how we can
make this suit as functional anddiscreet as possible.
I think that was a really funproject because it was cool.
It was like Inspector Gadget.
(25:44):
Yeah, exactly.
I was
SPEAKER_01 (25:45):
going to say, Inspector
SPEAKER_00 (25:47):
Gadget.
There's this movie by JackieChan that I used to be in love
with called The Tuxedo.
I don't know if you guys haveseen it, but it was like a smart
tuxedo.
So hopefully the technologycatches up and we can build
something like that too.
SPEAKER_01 (25:58):
Now, most of your clientele also, a lot of your
clientele also are ultra highnet worth, you know, clients,
right?
You know, for these, you know,and we've seen how Indian
weddings can be super, superluxurious, super expensive.
So how do you make, you know,your pieces both, you know, you
(26:18):
know, for these private clientdoes both feel very intimate,
but also, you know, accessible.
SPEAKER_00 (26:23):
Yeah.
Intimate, for sure, in terms ofpersonalization.
We can pretty much incorporateany sort of motif, any sort of
signature touch that you'd wantto on the item.
However, when it comes toaccessibility, I think it's a
misconception that, like, suitsare supposed to be, like, super
expensive or suits are supposedto be, you know, either you can
(26:43):
go super cheap or you can gosuper expensive.
I think it really starts withfabric selection and being
educated on how to manipulatedifferent fabrics to a different
specific cut.
However, there is a baselinequality that, you know, that is
there.
And I think...
you either have to work your wayup to it or you really need to
know what you're looking forwhen it comes to like the type
(27:05):
of cut you want, the type offabrics you want inside the
suit.
There's a lot of things that goinside a suit rather than just
like the fabric on the outsidelayer.
So there's ways to make it moreaccessible by, you know, kind of
trimming the fat out of thesuit.
So like, let's say for example,if a customer comes in and
usually the, you know, the highnet worth individuals that do
know what goes in a suit is afull canvas suit.
(27:25):
It's horse hair.
There's a lot of differentcomponents and interlock and
interfacing that goes inside ofa suit that needs to be there to
retain the structure of it.
So a customer that's looking forthat, I already know right off
the bat that customer's lookingfor longevity of that suit.
Someone that is going to alreadytake care of that suit, someone
that either has multiple suitslike that and can appreciate
investing in an article likethat.
(27:48):
Whereas there's customers thatcome in and they say, hey, you
know what?
I love this look, but I don'tnecessarily want to spend too
much on it because I'm onlygoing to wear it once or twice
at this specific event.
And there's ways to work aroundthat, right?
So we'll make a half canvassuit.
We'll use less interlocking.
We'll make a fused suit, whichis the most affordable.
We'll use a blended wool fabricversus 100% wool fabric.
(28:13):
And there's ways to kind ofmanipulate that.
Most of the customers that docome in, pretty much are ready
to invest in a longevity, adurable suit.
So I don't have to face thatconversation too often, but
there are times and I don't wantto say no, right?
Because it's the first step.
It's the introduction into theworld of their sartorial
(28:34):
journey.
SPEAKER_01 (28:34):
What is the most common misconception about
suits?
SPEAKER_00 (28:37):
The most common misconception is that...
wool is a really thick fabriconly for winter time or fall
time.
That is far, far from truth.
There's really fine wool outthere that can be used for
spring and summer.
And I think, you know, as soonas, and it happens all the time
when I say, hey, you know, youwant 100% wool suit, the
customer will be like, no, no,no, I'm going to wear this in
(28:59):
the summer.
And that's the most commonmisconception that I've heard in
and out.
SPEAKER_01 (29:03):
And more and more, also, I think more and more
these days, if you go shoppingfor a suit, they they all begin
to look you know the same youknow it's a year after year it's
the same suit that's uh that'syou know hung on on you know in
in the stores um what what Andcolor, especially color.
(29:25):
Color is getting worse and worseand worse.
I think it's become, it looksexactly the same color as it was
last year and the year beforethat and the year before that.
Whereas there are many differentfabrics.
So talk to us about, let's do alittle bit of a color education.
Depending on who's wearing it,right?
And the cut and the fabric,there's certain colors that
(29:46):
really stand out.
What do you think are the colorsthat people should really be
exploring a little bit more thanjust- just your basic black or
charcoal gray
SPEAKER_00 (29:57):
or blue.
I genuinely love to stay awayfrom the blacks, the charcoal
grays, and the navies.
Although navy, I would say everyshade of blue is probably one of
my favorite colors.
I am really into pastels.
I think a muter pastel colorthat is still colorful but is
not too loud is one of myfavorites.
(30:19):
Perry, the pink one that he woreto the event you guys hosted, I
absolutely love that color.
The green one that you wore wasanother example of a pastel one.
And this mauve one is anotherexample of it.
I think this is a really easyway to incorporate different
colors into your wardrobewithout being so loud.
(30:40):
when it comes to even this pinkshirt.
It's a very muted pink.
It's a very pastel pink versuswhen you say, hey, you should
wear a pink shirt.
People will think really loud orhot pink or something that's in
your face.
But there's so many differentvariations of it.
And this is where fabric comesinto play.
You can use muted fabric thatdoesn't really have the
(31:02):
consistency of a lot of shine,which is always helpful to
incorporate a little bit ofcolor.
So I would say definitelypastels, but But this is not
color, but it's pattern.
I think experimenting withpatterns in a suit, not many
people do.
And they're really afraid ofbecause they don't know how it's
going to look.
But I think a pinstripe hasalways looked good and it's
always going to look good onanyone and everyone that wears
(31:23):
it.
A Glenn plaid, which isbasically...
really five layers of smallstripes with one large stripe
going across.
And that is a really royal suit.
We actually have one in like thearsenal called like the Glen
Royal.
That's probably one of myfavorite suits.
It's actually synonymous withlike royalty, you know, Prince
(31:45):
Charles used to wear it all thetime.
And it's just, it's one of myfavorites.
So colors and patterns aredefinitely a way to kind of
experiment and get out of theoriginal like black blues and
grays.
SPEAKER_01 (31:56):
What about, you know, fashion sort of like, you
know, fads, right?
So people talk about lapels,number of buttons, how short or
how long it is, whether it'ssingle breasted or double
breasted.
I mean, is that something thatwe should really be concerned
about?
Or is it more like, look, it'show you look and how you feel in
the suit?
SPEAKER_00 (32:15):
The latter.
It's how you look and how youfeel.
There's so many times someonecomes in and says, hey, no, a
double breast will not look goodon me.
That is far from truth.
A double breast will look goodon anyone and everyone.
You just have to cut it right.
You just have to choose theright fabric.
You just have to, you know,choose the right lapel size.
There are certain principlesthat you should still follow,
right?
(32:36):
Like if your frame is on thesmaller side, you shouldn't go
for extra large lapels.
It'll just look offproportionately.
So what we like to do is we'lltake your measurements and we'll
basically proportionateeverything.
We'll make sure that thebutton's placed where you're in
accordance to where your waistis and how large your waist is,
how small your waist is.
We'll take the lapels and makesure that it's in accordance to
(32:57):
the neck size, to the chestsize.
And I think you still need tofollow those principles in order
to really, you know, make areally good fitting suit.
But I think those fads can goaway.
You know, like a double breastis not meant for older, you
know, older people and oldergeneration.
I think it's one of the mostmodern suits out there.
This is a double breast.
(33:17):
And I think it's one of myfavorite cuts.
Some ways, like, you know, youmentioned this before, how you
walk into a store looking for asuit or, you know, looking for a
dress shirt.
not much has changed, right?
You still have your six buttondouble breast.
You know, you still have yourtwo button single breast.
How we like to kind ofmanipulate that and how we like
to innovate on that is changingthat, right?
(33:40):
Like this is a double breast,but it's only a two button with
a single button hole.
And I'm wearing it like open asa single breast.
So, Changing a few aspects of asuit and innovating on that is
another way to kind of modernizeit and open it to a wider array
of people.
SPEAKER_01 (33:59):
So currently, fashion, we'll do a rapid three
question here.
Oh, man.
Let's just in and out.
Obviously, it changes everysingle time.
French cuffs and cufflinks, inor out?
SPEAKER_00 (34:12):
French cuffs and cufflinks.
For me, I don't wear tuxedosthat often.
For me, out.
Okay.
Ties?
Out.
I cannot wear a tie.
Dress shirts or t-shirts?
I would say a nice knitted crewneck would look really good.
I think it's right in the middleof informal and formal.
(34:32):
And like this is, I thinkthat'll do the trick.
I opt for on the day in and dayout because I'm always on the go
and on the move for t-shirts.
But I have seen dress shirtswork.
Those won't go away anytimesoon.
SPEAKER_01 (34:43):
Pocket squares?
100%.
SPEAKER_00 (34:45):
I love pocket squares.
They're probably my favorite.
Minus today, I should have wornone.
But pocket squares is a really,really fun way to get creative
with a suit and add a nice popof design.
designer color.
SPEAKER_01 (34:55):
So what's next?
What's next for Darzee?
What's next for you?
Where do you want to take thebrand from here?
SPEAKER_00 (35:01):
I want to get as many people involved in this
journey as possible.
And right now it's just beenmen, but I would love for women
to join the journey as well.
You know, I want to start aready to wear collection where
it's a capsule wardrobe that isbuilt initially for me because
that's how I've kind of grownwith the brand and envisioned
(35:23):
the brand and introduced that topeople, right?
And these would be essentialswhere you can kind of mix and
match the different outfits thatare included.
Let's say, for example, there's10.
There's no right number in mymind just yet, but let's say
there's 10 to 12 outfits in thatwardrobe.
The entire...
use case of that wardrobe isthat you can mix and match the
different fabrics, the differentstyles and make multiple
(35:44):
permutations in differentoutfits with it.
Have
SPEAKER_01 (35:46):
different looks for the same, you know, basically
the
SPEAKER_00 (35:49):
same products and materials.
Exactly, yeah.
You hand me your credit card andI'll charge it just once a
quarter.
Right.
That's fantastic.
SPEAKER_01 (35:55):
Well, thanks so much, Rhythm Singh.
That's it for us.
Thanks for coming and good luckto you and to Darzy.
Thank you.
And that's it for us in Peaceand Good Wealth.
Thank you, Colin.
Thank Thank you, Perry.
Thank you, Kenneth.
Thank you, Dieter.
This is Lloyd Carlos wishing youpeace and good wealth.
Good morning, everybody.
(00:27):
Welcome back to Peace& GoodWealth.
Today's guest is Rhythm Singh,the heart and soul behind Darzee
Studio.
Rhythm is more than just adesigner.
He's someone who sees style asstorytelling.
craftsmanship as connection andspaces as soulful expressions of
who we are.
Whether he's designing atailored look or a full
environment, he bringsthoughtfulness, presence, and a
(00:50):
deep respect for beauty andidentity.
We're excited to get into hisjourney, his creative rituals,
and how Darzi came to life as anextension of who he is.
Welcome, Rhythm.
SPEAKER_00 (01:01):
Thank you, Loy, for the introduction.
That was really sweet of you.
I'm super excited to be here andchat about Darzi.
It's been a passion project ofmine.
It started about three years agoand I can't wait to explain it
to you exactly how I started,where it's headed, and what we
have in store next.
SPEAKER_01 (01:15):
Perfect.
So let's start from thebeginning.
Where did this all begin foryou, the passion for design?
When did you realize design wasyour calling?
SPEAKER_00 (01:27):
It was actually my parents.
I mean, my dad's one of the mostfashionable people that I know.
Growing up, seeing him go intothe store, picking out items
that he wanted to wear.
He wears a turban in ourreligion, Sikh.
he wears a lot of colorful onesand he needs to find outfits
that match that.
So he just sort of, you know,kind of sparked that in me.
My mother as well, she studiedfashion design, but she never
(01:50):
really pursued it.
Now she does as a passion and,you know, she has her like
parties in her groups whereshe's like the voice of design,
what to wear and, you know,who's dressing who, who's
wearing what and whatnot.
Family business has also beenfashion, but I was never really
a part of it.
You know, Chad around dinnertables and things like that.
(02:11):
I guess subconsciously, it wasalways like fed into my mind.
And three years ago, I was like,you know what, let's take the
leap.
But I think growing up, I foundconfidence through fashion.
I was a really quiet kid growingup.
And I think fashion was one ofthe loudest forms of expression
for me.
So I decided to partake in itand then just sort of turned
(02:32):
into this business that I havenow.
And it's great, man.
I get to work with amazingpeople that sort of had similar
journeys as I did, where theywanted to get into fashion and
they didn't really necessarilyknow what to wear.
They didn't have the influencesthat I had in my life.
And I wanted to be that voicefor them in the back of their
head saying, Hey, you know what,this is how we're going to start
your tutorial journey.
SPEAKER_01 (02:52):
So, okay.
So, so, um, it is basically yourvoice.
It's a form of communication.
It's a form of also identity,you know?
So let's talk a little bitabout, is there a difference
between cultures, um, in the waywe look at fashion?
SPEAKER_00 (03:05):
Absolutely.
I think, you know, I thinkfashion is definitely a
synonymous voice.
I think, you know, you can frommany parts of the world where
you wear, where you're from, youcan wear the clothing that
either represents the culturethat you come from, or the
country or the region or thetemperature, whatever it may be.
But I think at the core of it,it does the same thing, right?
(03:26):
It expresses who you are and howyou feel and how you see
yourself, but how you want toproject yourself out into the
world and how you step out ofthe house.
I think, you know, it's assimple as, you know, you walk
out of the house wearing at-shirt and sweats, you're going
to feel a certain type of way,versus you walk out of the house
wearing a suit, you'll feel aspecific type of way.
SPEAKER_01 (03:46):
Well, also, but also in, this is what I try to
explain to people, you know, weare, I think the Western, well,
America, I think, I should say,because Europeans are different
as well.
We come out of our apartments orour homes, et cetera, and we're
wearing sweats or T-shirts, etcetera.
(04:10):
In other cultures, there's avery defined way you go out and
what you should look like.
And people expect that sort of alittle bit more formality when
you're going.
You shouldn't look like likeyou're going to the gym if
you're going out.
And then, especially with Asianculture as well, I think there's
always people looking at howyou're dressed and they gauge
(04:36):
your level of education, yourlevel of sophistication based on
how you conduct yourself inpublic and that includes
fashion.
SPEAKER_00 (04:47):
Absolutely.
I couldn't agree more.
And I think when it comes toAmerica specifically, We tend to
have this new trend that'sbrewing up, especially in the
younger generations, likeathleisure, a little bit more
relaxed, looser-fittingclothing.
But fashion wasn't always likethat, right?
That's a trend that happenedmaybe the last five years.
(05:08):
The rest of the world is stillcatching up, but I think in
America, what we really do haveis we are the central point of
the world in a way when wedefine culture, when we define
these trends, the world usuallydoes follow.
I am not the one to follow thatjust because I think that
clothing, apart from justrespecting yourself and how you
wear and put yourself together,when you walk into a room, you
(05:31):
don't want to walk into a roomwhere everyone else is dressed
and doing their part and you'rewalking in with sweats or a
t-shirt.
It's how you, A, commandrespect, but how you are also
respectful to other people as
SPEAKER_01 (05:41):
well.
And also, I think fashion has away, has a strange way of
influencing people.
how you feel and then how youact as well.
If you're dressed very, youknow, if you're dressed in a
suit, you know, you conductyourself a certain way versus if
you're wearing, you know, justcasual clothes, right?
So if you're walking into ameeting wearing casual clothes,
(06:02):
you know, that sort of likepersonality comes out.
Whereas if you're walking into,you know, a meeting wearing a
suit, that personality alsocomes out, right?
SPEAKER_00 (06:11):
Absolutely.
There was this one, you know,this is many moons ago when I
was living the corporate lifeduring the nine to five I was
working at at an ad tech companydoing sales for them.
And one of my mentors, he was myformer boss and a really, really
close friend of mine, thisamazing British guy always wore
a three-piece suit And you'rewalking into a media agency and
(06:33):
you see everyone there wearing aT-shirt, a hoodie, just casual
clothing all together.
And then you see this guy comein with this three-piece suit
wearing, you know, with hisBritish accent and coming in,
walking into a room and reallycommanding the space, right?
And, you know, he may not liketo admit it, but I feel like
that has gotten him so manydeals.
And that translated into mebecause I clearly saw that, you
know, he put himself together,A, not only just to go in and,
(06:56):
you know, like as a power moveinto the room, but more so to
feel a little bit more powerfulhimself.
Like you said, clothing makesyou feel a specific type of way.
And even when the world shutdown and we were into COVID,
he'd still be the guy that wouldgo on a Zoom call in a
three-piece suit.
And it becomes sort of like auniform.
You kind of reshift the mindsetthat you're in in the clothing
(07:17):
that you wear.
SPEAKER_01 (07:18):
Well, I have an uncle and I do the same thing.
That even if I'm working athome, like during COVID, right?
You're working from home and Iwould still get up, get dressed,
take a shower, get dressed.
Maybe it's not as formal as ifI'm going to the office, but put
on a decent pair of slacks and adress shirt, just go to work
(07:39):
because mentally that changes.
But there's also, especially inmy field, I think in your field
as well, If you dress upproperly, it also shows respect
to the person that you'remeeting, that you respect their
time and who they are.
I think sometimes when you'renot properly dressed, it's
(08:04):
almost like dismissing the valueof meeting with them, et cetera.
SPEAKER_00 (08:09):
It's the effort that you put in, right?
SPEAKER_01 (08:11):
Right.
Now talk about Darzi.
I think a lot of people don'tknow or may not know the
definition of Darzi.
SPEAKER_00 (08:19):
Yeah, Darzi is essentially a tailor in Indian
culture.
Anyone from any caste, from therichest of the rich to the
poorest of the poor.
And when you look at India'shistory, there's a huge
disparity between the two.
But one thing that was common inbetween all of them and anyone
and everyone was a Darzi.
A Darzi is a a tailor who you'dgo and bring fabric to and say,
(08:42):
hey, make me a kurta.
Kurta is a really relaxed formof attire that we have in Indian
culture.
Or make me a suit.
Women will go to a dhursi andsay, hey, I bought this
beautiful fabric.
Make me a sari.
Or a family member would be adhursi.
It'd either be a grandma or it'dbe a grandfather that would sew
(09:03):
the clothes for the entirefamily.
And the reason why I wanted toname the brand dhursi is because
I wanted to bring that here tothis culture where, you know, we
go, we have this culture ofbuying from fast fashion or
buying from these clothes thatfrom these brands that, you
know, uh, come up with these newtrends in the, in, and they
(09:23):
dictate how, you know, theculture is, is going to be moved
and things that we'd wear.
But, but, why isn't it the otherway around, right?
Like, why aren't we decidingwhat to wear and really putting
thought into it?
And like you're saying, right,you want to command respect in
the room you go into, but youalso want to respect yourself.
You also have your own selfidentity.
And there's the studio is a wayto do that.
You come to me and, you know,you don't have to necessarily
(09:45):
bring the fabrics.
I can take care of that.
But you come in with a vision.
You come in with an idea.
You come in, you know, with yourpersonality and we just stitch
that together for you.
SPEAKER_01 (09:54):
And it's interesting because that's, you know, that's
the world I grew up in, youknow, so the world of bespoke
and tailored things were notnecessarily something that was
unusual to me.
And I found it unusual thatpeople thought that buying
clothes from a department storewas the more usual thing.
Because if you look at ourfamily photos, I'm wearing the
(10:17):
same shirt as my dad because webought the fabric.
And my mom went to the tailorand said, okay, make a shirt for
my husband and my kids.
And everything was like that.
And they would come up with,based on what you would like and
how you would like to look orhow you would like it to fit,
you know they would tailor youknow a dress or a suit or a gown
(10:42):
you know based on that and thefabric also you know you
understood what fabric didbecause if you wanted it to be
more formal or more elegant youchose you know different fabrics
or if it's in the middle of thesummer you know you chose
different fabrics and you chosethe design and you chose the
colors of all of that stuff andsomebody created this wonderful
(11:03):
you know bespoke piece you knowfor you which you know is now
you know i think you know fairlylost because now everyone just
goes and and and and the thestyle back then the style was
something you've you you createdyourself um and now the style is
something that you put togetheryeah um because the piece is
(11:24):
already pre-done you know foryou so talk about um your your
process a little bit um you knowhow do you How do you begin the
process when you're creatingsomething?
SPEAKER_00 (11:35):
Yeah, and it starts with a conversation, right?
So, you know, a client wouldreach out to me and say, hey,
I've heard about you through afriend or, you know, I saw, you
know, your videos on Instagramor whatever it may be.
However, they're able to findme.
My first initial step is to havea conversation, hop on a phone
call, hop on a Zoom call, oreven invite them into the
studio.
And just ask them outright, likewhat is it that you're trying to
(11:56):
accomplish here in terms of notlike what are you trying to buy
or purchase from me, but more sowhat is the goal, what event are
you going to, what are youtrying to dress up for, what you
know and get to know them alittle bit better through
conversation their personalitiesthings that they're comfortable
with you know i can recommendyou know a suit to like five
people but not all five of themwould be comfortable wearing
(12:17):
that so i think it has to startwith understanding who is going
to be wearing that item and thenjust breaking down from there so
uh asking what are youcomfortable with what colors
work for you um you know gettinga little information about the
occasion if it's a specific likewedding they're going to or a
specific event that's coming upin life breaking down those
(12:38):
questions and then selectingfabric once we decide the fabric
then we start selecting design Ilike to do fabric before the
design just because specificfabric once you decide the
fabric then you narrow down thetypes of designs you can have
not every design can fit intothe very certain fabrics that
there are so I start from thatand then once the design is
complete you've approved it youknow and and you're completely
(13:01):
satisfied, we then get intoproduction.
Once it's a production, it comeshere to the States and we
basically do a fitting.
outright, you know, you can takeas many measurements as possible
and every Thursday, every tailorknows this.
Not every single item is goingto drape specifically on that
person exactly the way they wantit.
(13:22):
So I think a fitting is veryimportant.
You kind of want to see how theyfeel comfortable wearing it,
right?
There's a set way of wearing it,whether it's a European cut,
whether it's a British cut,whatever cut it is, you know, it
still needs to fit you the wayyou like it to fit.
You know, European cuts areslightly slimmer, but if you're
a guy that doesn't like a slimcut around the waist, we want to
(13:43):
give you the opportunity to openthat up.
We're not married to anyspecific cuts or silhouettes.
We're married to what what youwant, and that is the truest
form of a Thursday.
SPEAKER_01 (13:52):
Is there a time where a particular client comes
in, they want a particular cut,a particular look, and you're
thinking, this is not going towork?
SPEAKER_00 (14:03):
Oh my God, so many
SPEAKER_01 (14:04):
times.
How do you very elegantly guidethem to what would at least look
a little bit better?
Because I think part of that,too, is you're not just
creating...
For them, I guess anyone wouldbe able to do so.
But when they do wear itsomewhere, it's your reputation
(14:29):
as well.
And people might say, what'swrong with the person who did
that for you?
So how do you finesse whatsomething is?
that a client would like thatmay not necessarily be the best
for them and what you feel wouldbe right.
SPEAKER_00 (14:48):
Yeah.
No, absolutely.
It's a conversation that happensvery often.
And how to navigate that isessentially just, A, you kind of
build that rapport.
They need to see the credibilityin you.
And one way I do that is I wearmy goddamn best suit all the
single time whenever I go into ameeting.
So they know that this guy knowswhat he's talking about when it
(15:10):
comes to suits or any specificitem that they're building.
Then you honestly just have tokind of have that really blunt
conversation with them because Ithink, you know, they need to
come to the fact that maybe thatitem that they want or that cut
that they want might not fitthem, you know, the way that
they idealize in their mind.
But then navigate them and pushthem towards something that you
(15:30):
think can, you know, persuadethem into getting.
So my goal is not to like justshut it down completely.
My goal is to say, okay, hey,this is how this is going to fit
on you based on the experiencethat I have.
This is not going to drapeaccordingly the way you think in
your mind, but this one will be.
And I think it always startswith really just kind of having
(15:50):
that gentle conversation andkind of Not so, you know,
hand-holding, but also just apartnership, right?
Like you said, my reputation'son the line when they go wear it
out.
So they are my models, right?
And that's how I treat them.
Like, hey, you know, this isyours, but this is also mine.
So we're going to go on thisjourney together.
So I need to be a part of itjust as much as you do.
(16:12):
And that's when they reallyjust, you know, kind of
understand that, hey, you knowwhat?
It's going to be a funexperience.
I'm going to trust Rhythm to dowhat he does best and go from
there.
SPEAKER_01 (16:19):
And what about the choice of fabric?
You know, are there...
Are your, you know, do you showthem, you know, something that,
you know, is in your inventoryor do they come in one day and
say, okay, this is the fabric Ireally want to use.
What can we do with them?
And what happens if the patternon the fabric doesn't
(16:43):
necessarily match what they'retrying to do?
SPEAKER_00 (16:45):
Yeah.
And, you know, honestly, Ireally did wish that people came
in with their own fabrics a lotmore often than they do.
It's not that I will push thingsthat are in my inventory.
I do show them the wide array offabrics I do have and they can
select from it.
there's different challengeswith each, right?
One might be geographicallylocated somewhere else and it
(17:06):
might not match the lead timesthat they have in mind.
One's price point may be a lothigher than they anticipated.
You know, one may in their mindthought, you know, was the right
fabric, but it wasn't when theycome into the studio.
But not many clients come inwith their own fabrics.
I would, you know, I think therehave been a few that have, and I
thoroughly enjoy thoseconversations because they're
(17:28):
already coming in with a vision,with something that, you know,
they already have in mind and Ihave to kind of like break that
down and it's a differentprocess for me versus when
someone comes in and I'm helpingthem select fabrics, that
conversation is entirelydifferent, right?
Because I'm not only showingthem fabric but also educating
them on the fabrics that willwork towards the event or the
(17:53):
end result of the item thatthey're trying to build.
SPEAKER_01 (17:55):
So describe Darzee as a brand.
What's the messaging behindDarzi.
There are a lot of people whoare saying, look, we could do
bespoke tailoring for you.
What defines you?
SPEAKER_00 (18:14):
My goal with Darzi is to introduce people that
there's another layer ofcustomization and
personalization they can getwith their clothing.
It doesn't just happen withspecific styles and silhouettes.
Like you mentioned, there's alot of brands out there doing
bespoke, bespoke suiting, butthey're limited to just those
products.
For me, I think I think it'smore so helping men and women
(18:34):
start their sartorial journey.
And it's really ties in withlike a few essentials that
you'll select.
You know, you'll have a suit,you'll have a shirt, you'll have
trousers, and then building uponthat specific wardrobe and just
making it truly their own,right?
So it's not only just aboutfabric selection.
It's not only about, you know,hey, this is what Darzy's
(18:55):
offering is just a suit or like,you know, a pair of trousers.
It's more so understanding whothey are, helping them, guiding
them, educating them on how theycan improve their current
wardrobe and just starting thatsartorial journey into being
more confident and comfortablein the clothing that they do
SPEAKER_01 (19:12):
wear.
And is Darzy generationalclothing?
Is there a specific demographicthat you have right now?
Are you looking to expand that?
SPEAKER_00 (19:24):
Yeah, I mean, I definitely do have the
demographic.
Honestly, it's quite broad.
You won't believe it.
It's been all word of mouth.
It's been people that know me orknow of me, and they kind of tag
the brand with the way I dressand my style.
And I think over the years,that's a tool that I've
(19:45):
sharpened myself.
I genuinely do.
just like to dress up the way Iwould, like, you know, wearing
this pink t-shirt with this,like, moff color, like, suit.
Not everyone would assume thatthat's fashion, but for me this
is, right?
And I think I do a good job ofarticulating that pretty well
and, you know, kind of holdingthat credibility of, like, hey,
(20:05):
this is my style, but let'sdevelop yours.
So I think there's no setdemographic.
I think it definitely gearstowards, like, I want to say the
– the people that are juststarting their careers or just
starting their independent lifeoutside of the home, outside of
college, whatever it may be.
(20:25):
And really just trying to, theyhave a little bit more money in
their pockets and they're tryingto really up their fashion game.
But I think the doors are openfor anyone and everyone.
I've designed clothing fortoddlers whose father's suits
that I've made.
And then I've designed suits forfathers whose son's suits that
(20:46):
I've made that are my friends.
So there's no set demographic.
And anyone out there listeningthat wants to start this eternal
journey, I mean, there's thesestudios, doors are wide open.
SPEAKER_01 (20:56):
How about women?
Are you looking to expand towomen's wear as well?
Or maybe even women's suits?
SPEAKER_00 (21:04):
Absolutely, man.
I think that's a market that I'mmissing.
That's an area that I'mdefinitely missing.
But I have started on.
I think that the feedback thatI've gotten from just chatting
with the people that step ininto the studio, they'll walk in
there with their partners andthe partners would say, hey, do
you have this in women's or doyou make women's blazers or
(21:24):
suits?
It's not within my expertisejust because I don't wear it,
but I think it's an entirelywider market that I definitely
want to tap into.
I think it's super fun.
I think a lot of feminine cutsalso can translate into a lot of
masculine cuts that we do have.
And to match them and pair themtogether, I think would be
(21:44):
really, really fun.
SPEAKER_01 (21:45):
And it's also when Hillary Clinton sort of
introduced the world to thepantsuit and Kamala Harris was
going around, you could see thatwomen especially women who are
executives of power, could wearvery elegantly these suits.
And also, I think there could bea lot, some of the work that you
(22:07):
have have really intricatebeading and stitch work, right?
So talk to us about that.
How does that come about?
In Asian culture, I think that'ssomething that we would see more
often than in the Westernculture.
But the beadwork in a lot ofways, especially for formal
(22:28):
wear, is super important.
And the stitch work is superimportant as well.
So talk to us about thatprocess.
How do you design something likethat and what goes into it?
SPEAKER_00 (22:43):
Absolutely.
And I'm glad you touched uponthis point.
I mean, I think beadwork,embroidery, focusing on the
stitching and the tapestry ofspecific items and dresses and
suits is very focal to SouthAsian culture, right?
Like we're really, really goodat that in that side of the
world.
And that's something that Iwanted to showcase out to the
(23:05):
modernization of what ThursdayStudio is.
Think of suit as like a blankcanvas and you build up on that.
Obviously, you know, noteveryone stepping into the
studio is looking for to be thatloud or to, you know, include
that in their attire.
But I love working with couplesand it's been mostly couples
for, you know, their wedding,their big day, where they want
to incorporate some sort ofmotif on that Western silhouette
(23:28):
of a suit, of a tuxedo, of theirbride's langa or sari or their
dress.
So there's been many times wherewe've actually taken pieces of
the bride's outfit andincorporated it into the tuxedo,
whether it's like addingtrimming to the cuff, whether
it's, you for simply putting thebeads on there.
There was this one couple thatcame in.
(23:49):
They really were infatuated byStarlight, and we made this
Starlight tuxedo for them whereit was two separate tuxedos, but
it was a piece of one, where oneside was Starlight on the left
side for one of the gentlemen,for the other gentleman it was
on the right side.
So when they stood together andthey were taking a photograph,
(24:11):
their one piece.
So beadwork works like that,right?
It's, it's, it's sort of, youknow, it tells a story within
itself.
Um, and I just use suits as ablank canvas to start on that.
SPEAKER_01 (24:21):
Is, is that the craziest thing you've been asked
to do or are there, what is themost, um, it's not outrageous as
it is a term, um, you know, but,but different, um, thing that
you've done and you, whereyou've said, wow, this, this
really ups the level of, ofcreativity.
SPEAKER_00 (24:40):
Yeah.
I, you know, I think One of themost fun projects that I've ever
had, growing up as a kidwatching James Bond and watching
these secret agent movies andevery kid wants to be a secret
agent when they grow up.
There's a New York Citydetective, I won't say his name
obviously, who came in to thestudio and he was like, you know
what, I love wearing suits, butI carry a lot of equipment on
me.
How do I sort of...
(25:01):
incorporate this into the outfitthat I'm wearing and I don't
want to wear like a vest or likea belt because you want to be
concealed and discreet so Iremember this it was like it was
nighttime oddly enough and we'rein like this dimly lit room
oddly enough and we have laidout this fabric it's a pattern
of a suit that we're buildingand he just like whips out his
gun and he puts it on the tableand we're like outlining his
(25:23):
like weapon and making like aholster in his suit and then he
takes out his handcuffs and allthese little gadgets that you
know that that he uses on a dayin and day out.
We're putting on the table andtrying to figure out how we can
make this suit as functional anddiscreet as possible.
I think that was a really funproject because it was cool.
It was like Inspector Gadget.
(25:44):
Yeah, exactly.
I was
SPEAKER_01 (25:45):
going to say, Inspector
SPEAKER_00 (25:47):
Gadget.
There's this movie by JackieChan that I used to be in love
with called The Tuxedo.
I don't know if you guys haveseen it, but it was like a smart
tuxedo.
So hopefully the technologycatches up and we can build
something like that too.
SPEAKER_01 (25:58):
Now, most of your clientele also, a lot of your
clientele also are ultra highnet worth, you know, clients,
right?
You know, for these, you know,and we've seen how Indian
weddings can be super, superluxurious, super expensive.
So how do you make, you know,your pieces both, you know, you
(26:18):
know, for these private clientdoes both feel very intimate,
but also, you know, accessible.
SPEAKER_00 (26:23):
Yeah.
Intimate, for sure, in terms ofpersonalization.
We can pretty much incorporateany sort of motif, any sort of
signature touch that you'd wantto on the item.
However, when it comes toaccessibility, I think it's a
misconception that, like, suitsare supposed to be, like, super
expensive or suits are supposedto be, you know, either you can
(26:43):
go super cheap or you can gosuper expensive.
I think it really starts withfabric selection and being
educated on how to manipulatedifferent fabrics to a different
specific cut.
However, there is a baselinequality that, you know, that is
there.
And I think...
you either have to work your wayup to it or you really need to
know what you're looking forwhen it comes to like the type
(27:05):
of cut you want, the type offabrics you want inside the
suit.
There's a lot of things that goinside a suit rather than just
like the fabric on the outsidelayer.
So there's ways to make it moreaccessible by, you know, kind of
trimming the fat out of thesuit.
So like, let's say for example,if a customer comes in and
usually the, you know, the highnet worth individuals that do
know what goes in a suit is afull canvas suit.
(27:25):
It's horse hair.
There's a lot of differentcomponents and interlock and
interfacing that goes inside ofa suit that needs to be there to
retain the structure of it.
So a customer that's looking forthat, I already know right off
the bat that customer's lookingfor longevity of that suit.
Someone that is going to alreadytake care of that suit, someone
that either has multiple suitslike that and can appreciate
investing in an article likethat.
(27:48):
Whereas there's customers thatcome in and they say, hey, you
know what?
I love this look, but I don'tnecessarily want to spend too
much on it because I'm onlygoing to wear it once or twice
at this specific event.
And there's ways to work aroundthat, right?
So we'll make a half canvassuit.
We'll use less interlocking.
We'll make a fused suit, whichis the most affordable.
We'll use a blended wool fabricversus 100% wool fabric.
(28:13):
And there's ways to kind ofmanipulate that.
Most of the customers that docome in, pretty much are ready
to invest in a longevity, adurable suit.
So I don't have to face thatconversation too often, but
there are times and I don't wantto say no, right?
Because it's the first step.
It's the introduction into theworld of their sartorial
(28:34):
journey.
SPEAKER_01 (28:34):
What is the most common misconception about
suits?
SPEAKER_00 (28:37):
The most common misconception is that...
wool is a really thick fabriconly for winter time or fall
time.
That is far, far from truth.
There's really fine wool outthere that can be used for
spring and summer.
And I think, you know, as soonas, and it happens all the time
when I say, hey, you know, youwant 100% wool suit, the
customer will be like, no, no,no, I'm going to wear this in
(28:59):
the summer.
And that's the most commonmisconception that I've heard in
and out.
SPEAKER_01 (29:03):
And more and more, also, I think more and more
these days, if you go shoppingfor a suit, they they all begin
to look you know the same youknow it's a year after year it's
the same suit that's uh that'syou know hung on on you know in
in the stores um what what Andcolor, especially color.
(29:25):
Color is getting worse and worseand worse.
I think it's become, it looksexactly the same color as it was
last year and the year beforethat and the year before that.
Whereas there are many differentfabrics.
So talk to us about, let's do alittle bit of a color education.
Depending on who's wearing it,right?
And the cut and the fabric,there's certain colors that
(29:46):
really stand out.
What do you think are the colorsthat people should really be
exploring a little bit more thanjust- just your basic black or
charcoal gray
SPEAKER_00 (29:57):
or blue.
I genuinely love to stay awayfrom the blacks, the charcoal
grays, and the navies.
Although navy, I would say everyshade of blue is probably one of
my favorite colors.
I am really into pastels.
I think a muter pastel colorthat is still colorful but is
not too loud is one of myfavorites.
(30:19):
Perry, the pink one that he woreto the event you guys hosted, I
absolutely love that color.
The green one that you wore wasanother example of a pastel one.
And this mauve one is anotherexample of it.
I think this is a really easyway to incorporate different
colors into your wardrobewithout being so loud.
(30:40):
when it comes to even this pinkshirt.
It's a very muted pink.
It's a very pastel pink versuswhen you say, hey, you should
wear a pink shirt.
People will think really loud orhot pink or something that's in
your face.
But there's so many differentvariations of it.
And this is where fabric comesinto play.
You can use muted fabric thatdoesn't really have the
(31:02):
consistency of a lot of shine,which is always helpful to
incorporate a little bit ofcolor.
So I would say definitelypastels, but But this is not
color, but it's pattern.
I think experimenting withpatterns in a suit, not many
people do.
And they're really afraid ofbecause they don't know how it's
going to look.
But I think a pinstripe hasalways looked good and it's
always going to look good onanyone and everyone that wears
(31:23):
it.
A Glenn plaid, which isbasically...
really five layers of smallstripes with one large stripe
going across.
And that is a really royal suit.
We actually have one in like thearsenal called like the Glen
Royal.
That's probably one of myfavorite suits.
It's actually synonymous withlike royalty, you know, Prince
(31:45):
Charles used to wear it all thetime.
And it's just, it's one of myfavorites.
So colors and patterns aredefinitely a way to kind of
experiment and get out of theoriginal like black blues and
grays.
SPEAKER_01 (31:56):
What about, you know, fashion sort of like, you
know, fads, right?
So people talk about lapels,number of buttons, how short or
how long it is, whether it'ssingle breasted or double
breasted.
I mean, is that something thatwe should really be concerned
about?
Or is it more like, look, it'show you look and how you feel in
the suit?
SPEAKER_00 (32:15):
The latter.
It's how you look and how youfeel.
There's so many times someonecomes in and says, hey, no, a
double breast will not look goodon me.
That is far from truth.
A double breast will look goodon anyone and everyone.
You just have to cut it right.
You just have to choose theright fabric.
You just have to, you know,choose the right lapel size.
There are certain principlesthat you should still follow,
right?
(32:36):
Like if your frame is on thesmaller side, you shouldn't go
for extra large lapels.
It'll just look offproportionately.
So what we like to do is we'lltake your measurements and we'll
basically proportionateeverything.
We'll make sure that thebutton's placed where you're in
accordance to where your waistis and how large your waist is,
how small your waist is.
We'll take the lapels and makesure that it's in accordance to
(32:57):
the neck size, to the chestsize.
And I think you still need tofollow those principles in order
to really, you know, make areally good fitting suit.
But I think those fads can goaway.
You know, like a double breastis not meant for older, you
know, older people and oldergeneration.
I think it's one of the mostmodern suits out there.
This is a double breast.
(33:17):
And I think it's one of myfavorite cuts.
Some ways, like, you know, youmentioned this before, how you
walk into a store looking for asuit or, you know, looking for a
dress shirt.
not much has changed, right?
You still have your six buttondouble breast.
You know, you still have yourtwo button single breast.
How we like to kind ofmanipulate that and how we like
to innovate on that is changingthat, right?
(33:40):
Like this is a double breast,but it's only a two button with
a single button hole.
And I'm wearing it like open asa single breast.
So, Changing a few aspects of asuit and innovating on that is
another way to kind of modernizeit and open it to a wider array
of people.
SPEAKER_01 (33:59):
So currently, fashion, we'll do a rapid three
question here.
Oh, man.
Let's just in and out.
Obviously, it changes everysingle time.
French cuffs and cufflinks, inor out?
SPEAKER_00 (34:12):
French cuffs and cufflinks.
For me, I don't wear tuxedosthat often.
For me, out.
Okay.
Ties?
Out.
I cannot wear a tie.
Dress shirts or t-shirts?
I would say a nice knitted crewneck would look really good.
I think it's right in the middleof informal and formal.
(34:32):
And like this is, I thinkthat'll do the trick.
I opt for on the day in and dayout because I'm always on the go
and on the move for t-shirts.
But I have seen dress shirtswork.
Those won't go away anytimesoon.
SPEAKER_01 (34:43):
Pocket squares?
100%.
SPEAKER_00 (34:45):
I love pocket squares.
They're probably my favorite.
Minus today, I should have wornone.
But pocket squares is a really,really fun way to get creative
with a suit and add a nice popof design.
designer color.
SPEAKER_01 (34:55):
So what's next?
What's next for Darzee?
What's next for you?
Where do you want to take thebrand from here?
SPEAKER_00 (35:01):
I want to get as many people involved in this
journey as possible.
And right now it's just beenmen, but I would love for women
to join the journey as well.
You know, I want to start aready to wear collection where
it's a capsule wardrobe that isbuilt initially for me because
that's how I've kind of grownwith the brand and envisioned
(35:23):
the brand and introduced that topeople, right?
And these would be essentialswhere you can kind of mix and
match the different outfits thatare included.
Let's say, for example, there's10.
There's no right number in mymind just yet, but let's say
there's 10 to 12 outfits in thatwardrobe.
The entire...
use case of that wardrobe isthat you can mix and match the
different fabrics, the differentstyles and make multiple
(35:44):
permutations in differentoutfits with it.
Have
SPEAKER_01 (35:46):
different looks for the same, you know, basically
the
SPEAKER_00 (35:49):
same products and materials.
Exactly, yeah.
You hand me your credit card andI'll charge it just once a
quarter.
Right.
That's fantastic.
SPEAKER_01 (35:55):
Well, thanks so much, Rhythm Singh.
That's it for us.
Thanks for coming and good luckto you and to Darzy.
Thank you.
And that's it for us in Peaceand Good Wealth.
Thank you, Colin.
Thank Thank you, Perry.
Thank you, Kenneth.
Thank you, Dieter.
This is Lloyd Carlos wishing youpeace and good wealth.
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