Hello all my MMWOS readers! I am finally back with a brand new interview and new feel to Milan Malan Word on the Street. Today I am bring you a exclusive interview with the Jeff Lee, CEO of Marcella North America. Marcella is a Marcella is a custom apparel retailer located in NYC (Soho) and Singapore! Marcella is all about building your own style.
So Here is MMWOS Fashion Talks to Jeff Lee, CEO of Marcella North America!
So Here is MMWOS Fashion Talks to Jeff Lee, CEO of Marcella North America!
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| Photos courtesy of Marcella North America |
Tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from? What's your educational background?
I grew up in southern California in Orange County which is about an hour south of Los Angeles. I studied art history at Harvard and graduated in 2011. I went to law school for one semester before realizing that life is too short and moved to New Zealand to play water polo. After living in New Zealand for 6 months, I moved to Singapore and lived there for a year and a half, which is where I first encountered Marcella.
Explain how Marcella came to be.
Marcella was started about 4 years ago in Singapore by a group of university friends. With job interviews and school presentations, there just weren't any affordable options available for good fitting, high-quality shirts and suits. There were small, hole-in-the-wall tailors that had opaque pricing and questionable quality and off-the-rack options that didn't fit quite right. There had to be a better solution.
What makes Marcella different from other tailored apparel sites/showrooms?
Convenient, hassle-free, high-quality, not pretentious. We want to make the custom process as easy and streamlined as possible. You can come in to our store without an appointment, design your shirt, get measured, and be on your way all in 15 minutes. The shirt takes about 2-3 weeks and we provide free alterations on site. We save all your measurements in our system that allows you to re-order online or in any of our stores worldwide.
How would you define your personal style?
I would say it's an interesting blend between the styles you see in both southern California and the East Coast. I like to keep it casual but am also not afraid to go all out with a nice custom suit that includes subtle details like working cuff buttons and contrast details, pairing it with a nice pocket square.
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What are some of your proudest accomplishments at Marcella?
Opening the store in NYC. The amount of work that went into the preparations, negotiations, legal work, and renovations were all worth it when we opened the store for the very first day back in May.
Who are some of your favorite designers/labels?
Not to be biased, but I literally only wear Marcella clothes now. Shirts, polos, suits, socks, accessories, besides pants, it covers everything for me.
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What is your favorite part about working and representing Marcella?
The wide range of people I get to meet, from our customers I see in our store to the people helping us make the business grow every day.
If they had the chance to dress *anyone* who would it be ?
I think it would be a lot of fun to work with a professional NBA player, someone like JR Smith of the New York Knicks. JR has a great sense of style and he definitely needs custom fitted clothes because of his height!
Two people who I follow closely are Denny Balmaceda (@denny623) and Steven Onoja (@stevenonoja). Both Denny and Steven are able to seamlessly mix vintage pieces with new, cutting-edge pieces, styles which truly speak to who they are.
What do you hope Marcella achieves in the industry?
We want to make custom apparel accessible to everyone around the world. No one should have to settle for off-the-rack clothing that was made for a faceless, 5'10, genderless mannequin in a factory. In 10 years, we hope to reach as many people as we can worldwide and let them know that they don't have to settle for less anymore
Readers can drop by our store in Soho across from the James Hotel at 28 Grand St., Monday-Saturday from 11am-8pm and Sunday from 11am-7pm. If you're ever in Singapore, you can shop at any of our stores there and pick it up there or in New York! You can also shop online at www.marcellacustom.com.
Check out more from Marcella on
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/marcellacustom
Instagram at http://instagram.com/marcellacustom/
Tumblr at http://marcellacustom.tumblr.com/
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