Azhar Zainal

Commissioning

The process

A commission is not something that happens in an afternoon. This is the shape of it, honestly stated, so you know what you are agreeing to before you begin.

  1. 01

    Request

    You leave your email and a note. I read it myself and reply personally. If the date is not possible, or what you want is outside what I do well, I will say so plainly rather than take the booking and disappoint you later.

  2. 02

    Appointment

    We meet in the atelier or by video. We talk about the occasion, the body, the cloth and the budget. You leave knowing the price. I leave knowing whether I can build it.

  3. 03

    Design & pattern

    Sketches, then a pattern drafted to your measurements. Not graded from a standard block, but drafted. This is where a garment stops being a picture and becomes a structure.

  4. 04

    Fittings

    First in calico, then in the real cloth. Bodies change, and a garment made ahead of a wedding has to be corrected close to the day. Fittings are not optional.

  5. 05

    Finishing

    Hand-work: hems, beading, appliqué, linings, closures. The slowest part, and the part that separates a made-to-measure garment from a bought one.

Every commission is designed and fitted personally, so the book closes when it is full rather than stretching to fit.

Investment

On price

I do not publish a price list, because no two commissions cost the same. A figure is given at the appointment, before any work begins, and it does not move unless you change the brief.

Request an appointment