ne shopping, operating on a reliance on heavy sales periods,” Wakefield explained. “Through lockdowns, obviously that meant more of an online model, where shoppers could use the measurements saved to their profiles without a hiccup, and we were able to push our casual ranges, rather than formal suiting.” Soon after lockdowns ended, InStitchu re-opened all its Australian showrooms, boosted its staff levels, and got back into what it does best: helping customers get the perfect fit in clothes made to measure and made to last with sustainable materials. “Everyone is now realising there are alternatives to fast fashion and through brands like InStitchu you can purchase tailored clothing for the same price as off-the-rack mass-produced garments – less clutter for the customer, less waste for brands, and less impact on the environment,” Wakefield said. Post-Covid fashion trends  Even before the pandemic, many workplaces had adopted fairly casual dress, though as the founders of InStitchu are quick to observe, casual doesn’t equate to careless. So those old T-shirt and jeans combinations won’t cut it for professionals returning to the office. Instead, they suggest the same focus on quality, materials, and fit people look for in a suit can be applied to chinos, blazers, or knits: “Performance fabrics – wool with a little stretch or a high-quality knit – are proving to be really popular as an in-between option, because they’re comfortable, functional and versatile,” McGowan said. “Having said that, by far our biggest focus is suiting and workwear. It’s really clear from our sales that people are keen to get back into a suit and out of their tracksuits.”  Plus, InStitchu has a two-year backlog of wedding parties to suit up, along with fitting new suits for guests whose fashion tastes or measurements have changed during lockdowns. A well-tailored customer experience Visitors to InStitchu’s physical showrooms get to experience the visceral pleasures of a traditional tailoring experience, with what Wakefield describes as a touch of technology. “Flicking through beautiful fabrics you can touch, inspecting the lapels on a mannequin, chatting with someone who knows their trade, and doing it all with a whisky in your hand is part of our brand,” he said. “And our Perfect Fit Guarantee empowers our staff to go above and beyond for our customers – they know they’re going to get something they love, with no extra or hidden expenses around tailoring.” Thanks to proprietary technology that manages customer relationships offline and online, when a customer visits a showroom, InStitchu’s stylists can review their digital and real-world interactions, previous selections, and even which fabrics they’ve checked out. “Their measurements and shopping follow them across the whole process,” McGowan said. “If you think about a wedding party, that’s a pretty rare service. Groomsmen can go to their local showroom together or by themselves, or if they’re busy or in another city or country, they can do it all online with the click of a few buttons. If you come to a showroom, you get a dedicated stylist per customer – that’s a pretty luxurious and personalised experience, particularly considering our very reasonable pricing. “ 2022: Big stitches in store InStitchu opened its second Perth showroom at Claremont in 2021 during lockdowns, and remarkably, the whole launch was run entirely over Zoom: “Our staff put in amazing work in executing the launch, and it’s pretty incredible they co-ordinated an amazing launch in the prestigious Claremont Quarter entirely remotely,” McGowan said. “It’s also a very public signal we’re going to continue to service our customers in person – and that we’re going to continue to expand on the other side of this pandemic.” They’re also predicting the big retail trends for 2022 will include several things already in their domain, including: Customisation aided by sizing technology, which they’ll bolster with new ranges of customisable products and many more design and fabric choicesSustainable fashionPhygital (interactive experiences across both the physical and digital worlds), such as augmented reality. “We’re also incredibly excited about the strategic partnerships we’ve got in place ahead of an IPO round – we’re really confident in our position and our relationships,” Wakefield declared.  McGowan added: “The pandemic definitely changed international expansion plans for a lot of retailers. We still see a lot of orders coming from online, so we’ll look to add more retail locations to service those customers, but we still see a lot of opportunity in Australia, so it’s fair to say we’re going to continue to focus on our national expansion.” This article was originally published in the 2022 Australian Retail Outlook, powered by KPMG.