Ralph Fitzgerald builds bespoke clientele of stars and executives in Manhattan

Ralph Fitzgerald, a 32-year-old British tailor, runs Fitzgerald Bespoke from an atelier on 60th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and has become a tailor to movie stars, financial executives and the fashion designer Marc Jacobs. Fitzgerald apprenticed at Douglas Hayward at 16 and salvaged brown paper patterns from famed clients — including Warren Beatty, David Niven, Tony Curtis, Paul McCartney, Francis Ford Coppola and Ralph Lauren — that are now housed in his studio.

He cuts about 10 suits a month; each can take as much as 10 weeks from first fitting to delivery. His suits start at $6,000 and tuxedos at $6,800, and clients often favor discretion as well as the “Hey, where’d you get that” mystique. After working at Kilgour and then Huntsman, Fitzgerald moved to the United States in 2017 when Huntsman expanded to Manhattan.

Marc Jacobs became a public client and introduced him to Aby Rosen, who offered Fitzgerald space in the Chrysler Building; Fitzgerald later relocated his business to 60th Street. He works alone, about 25 blocks from where he lives with his wife and daughter. The article notes that bespoke tailoring is diminished though not dead, with some venerable ateliers having closed and fewer young people taking long unpaid apprenticeships.

Key Topics

Culture, Ralph Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald Bespoke, Marc Jacobs, Douglas Hayward, Upper East Side