This Tailoring Company with a Famous Client List Will Help You Look Like a Gentleman
Suit It Up Manila is well known for creating bespoke suits and barong Tagalogs at reasonable rates. It is even more popular within the circles of Instagram due to its hefty roster of celebrity ambassadors and clientele.
COO Franco Ongkingco admits the star power of its famous clients has certainly helped the company's popularity, but despite the fanfare, the tailoring outfit remains true to its principle of merging global tailoring traditions with excellent Filipino craftsmanship to create suits for the modern man.
Here's what you need to know about one of the most well-known contemporary suiting outfits in Manila.
Suit it Up Manila is a family affair.
Though it may be a relatively young brand, having been launched in 2013, Suit It Up Manila has decades of experience in formal wear, as it is an offshoot of the MEGI Group. MEGI is a company founded by Franco's mom, Marilyn Ongkingco, and has over 47 years of experience in custom-made tailoring.
Today, Suit it Up, with its bespoke and made-to-measure suits and barongs, is at forefront of the group; Franco and his father, Bienvenido Ongkingco, also lead the parent company.
It has a long list of celebrity clients.
Suit it Up has arguably the most star-studded client list, as evidenced by its Instagram feed filled with images of celebrities wearing its pieces. Erwan Heussaff, Nico Bolzico, Adrien Semblat, Arthur Burnand, and Moritz Gastl count themselves as the brand’s most ubiquitous ambassadors, having worn the tailor's suits at their own weddings.
Other regulars include Dingdong Dantes, Alden Richards, Dennis Trillo, and Arjo Atayde, all of whom Suit it Up has dressed for their award-winning moments.
It doesn't just do suits.
Despite the name, Suit it Up doesn’t just do suits. It also creates other kinds of formalwear like the barong Tagalog. In fact, it dressed up actors Coco Martin and John Pratts for the ABS-CBN Ball: Martin’s featured a rounded club collar and modern embroidery, while Pratt's had a sharp point collar.
It has also done other formal garments, as seen in Christian Bautista’s wedding to fiancée Kat Ramnani. The singer sported a Bollywood-inspired embroidered Jodhpuri suit. The garment, which is traditionally worn by grooms in northern India, is an homage to his partner’s Indian heritage.
It's an inclusive bespoke suiting brand.
Suit it Up describes itself as “a very inclusive brand” with authentic and inclusive customer experience. It does not limit itself to a male clientele. Aside from catering to women, it also does suits for LGBTQ clients, especially for weddings.
Its luxury fabrics are sourced from English, French, and Italian retailers.
Suit it Up Manila is acknowledged as the top seller of luxury branded fabrics in the Philippines and the second-best seller of Dormeuil fabrics in Southeast Asia. It sources luxury fabrics from countries well-known for their suiting practices, including England (Holland & Sherry), France (Dormeuil), and Italy (Vitale Barberis Canonico).
Unit A1, 1018 Antonio Arnaiz Ave, Makati
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