Jack Menashe and James Mansour, the duo behind Lounge Soho and the Limelight Marketplace, have teamed up again on a new retail concept intended to shake up the staid made-to-measure menswear space.
Called Sartoria Studio, the 1,500-square-foot store on West Broadway and Wooster Street in SoHo delivers a luxe downtown edge to a category most often seen as staid and traditional.
The “modern haberdashery” was designed by Mansour and features walls filled with artwork, patterned rugs, comfortable seating areas and one-of-a-kind lamps, tables and other pieces used as decoration that are also being offered for sale. As the pieces sell, they will be replaced, allowing the aesthetic of the store to be changed frequently.
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Mansour, principal of Mansour Design, described the store this way. “The intimate club-style interior expresses that ephemeral spirit of sprezzatura — quintessentially cool, unmistakably Italian nonchalance layered with the textures, colors and flavors of New York City’s resurgent SoHo district.”
Both the design of the store as well as the merchandise is inspired by workshops in Florence, a city long admired by chief executive officer Menashe. “Sartoria Studio brings the experience of the best Italian tailoring to [Lounge] Soho, offering the most luxurious fabrics, hand finishes, and the precision fit you can only get from a made-to-measure garment,” he said.
“It’s like taking a tour of a culture zone,” he added. ”We juxtaposed Italy and the U.S., celebrity and rock ‘n’ roll.”
Mansour added: “We wanted to do something different from the competition. Coming out of the pandemic, people want to travel again and we brought that point of view to the store.”
“It’s high-end luxury, but not high-end stuffy,” Menashe said.
Sartoria Studio, which is having its grand opening on Tuesday, offers everything from suits and sport coats to tuxedos and shirts made from fabrics from the finest mills including Loro Piana, Dormeuil, Drapers by Vitale Barberis Canonico, Holland & Sherry and others. Details available to customers to personalize their garments include hand-stitched bone or mother-of-pearl button, monograms and cashmere and silk pocket squares.
Upon entering the store, there is a gallery space where a rotating exhibition of limited-edition collectibles, artworks and design objects will be on display. Still a work in progress, Menashe said it will change frequently and offer everything from watches and jewelry to accessories.
And he even brought along some vintage pieces from the former Lounge stores that are also being sold in Sartoria Studio. Lounge had operated a 16,000-square-foot store on Broadway in SoHo with a distinct rock ‘n’ roll vibe. It closed in 2009. Three years later, an outpost opened in Greenwich, Connecticut, which is also closed.
Down the road, Menashe hopes to eventually create a brand under the Sartoria Studio name that will sell personalized sweaters, pique polos and other basic staples in addition to the tailored clothing. Denim will also be offered and Menashe is in the final stages of settling on a facility in Italy that will produce the jeans.
The suits and the other products are also made in Italy in factories also used by some of the world’s top luxury brands. The samples in the store are created from a variety of solids and patterns and are shorter and more fitted than a lot of American garments.
Prices for sport coats start at $1,200, suits at $2,000 and tuxedos at $3,800. And he’d also like to eventually offer a lower-priced line for customers who may not be able to afford these garments. But the aesthetic will be the same, he stressed.
Although the store is new to the market, it is already giving back. For the month of February, 10 percent of all sales will be donated to the Fashion Group International Foundation benefiting the non-profit advocacy group Zero — The End of Prostate Cancer.
Menashe said Sartoria Studio is completely self-funded and he has plans for expanding the concept in the future. He said Mansour believes the concept can work well on Rodeo Drive and they’re also hoping to open a pop-up in the Hamptons this summer. A tuxedo-only concept is also in consideration.