Franco Uomo is known for our extreme attention to detail. Our “special sauce” is that we take the time necessary to manicure every thread and sculpt every curvature of the fabric to create a perfectly fitted and customized Italian look. It’s the reason that our clients travel to us from across the country and it’s the foundation of the intimate relationship that we build with our clients.

This month, a client approached us with a new challenge; to tailor 25 suits for some of the world’s greatest athletes in under 72 hours. The service had to be world-class, the tailoring fit for global news coverage, and the turnaround at the speed of a ball flying into goal.

We met at the 10th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel in Palo Alto to find the Presidential Suite converted into a state-of-the-art tailoring studio equipped with custom made podiums and changing rooms.

We split our team into two groups with a tailor and an assistant dedicated to each station and with our Master Tailor floating back and forth to approve the alterations and make sure everything was being done consistent and to our set specifications.

Working with the athletes was also a joy as we heard what we hear all too often: they had never had a suit tailored to their body before. Even for the most decorated and lavished people in the world, this time-old experience held its value as a life-defining moment.

Franco Uomo Master Tailor Team (From Left): Jamie, Zabih, Olivia, Yosef, Daud, and Matthew.

With the fittings complete, we headed back to our Master Tailor Studio on Santana Row to get to work. Clever planning and organization gave us a clear picture of how many hours of work we had ahead of us. Triggers set workflows and backup plans such as tagging each individual garment went into place.

Alterations ranged from changing the drape on the body by moving the button to shortening the entire length of the jacket—a time consuming alteration only done in rare occasions.

Our biggest curve-ball was the jacket sleeves: the designer made the suit collection with a double layered sleeve that put a non-functional sleeve over the top of functional cuff button holes. “Functional Cuffs” allow the sleeves to be unbuttoned and rolled up in a more casual manner. They are traditionally called “Surgeon Cuffs” in reference to a surgeon’s need to roll up their cuffs.

Production suits tend to have non-functional cuffs to both save costs and make alterations easier. However, non-functional buttonholes also add the advantage of giving a sleek look. In this collection, the designer opted to grant the luxury of functional buttons while keeping the sleek unobtrusive look of the flat sleeve on top.

A quick huddle with the team of tailors with our Master Tailor and the improvised alteration was ready to go, delivering the shortened cuffs altered to the identical construction of the original production.

Last but not least; athletic regulations required that the brand logo on the breast of the suit be covered. The client’s solution was to add a second patch with the player’s initials over the top of it that could be later removed after the tournament.

By the time our 72 hour deadline arrived, we were already back to business as usual having delivered the suits to the client for processing 12 hours early.