ICONS – Alan Flusser

Posted by: on Aug 1, 2011 | 6 Comments

For the second installment in the ICONS series, I popped into the Alan Flusser Custom Shop for a chat with the master himself.  Like Leonard Logsdail, Mr. Flusser’s shop is housed above street-level in Midtown Manhattan, and from the moment you step out of the elevator it feels more like a Deco gentleman’s club than a place to buy suits.

 

Alan’s a much-talked-about legend in the menswear world.  He’s taught multiple generations of men how to dress and is showing no signs of slowing.  Very upfront about the fact that he’s not a tailor himself, Alan is just as focused on the cerebral aspects of dressing as on the physical.  When it comes to learning to dress there are lots stupid questions, and Alan’s goal is to provide his followers with smart questions with even smarter answers.

Through books, an iPhone app, and of course the Custom Shop itself, Alan and his cadre of taste mongers pull no punches.  For our meeting, Alan walked in with his jacket cuffs rolled up and his glazed croc Belgian Shoes gleaming.  The volume here is turned up to eleven, but tastefully so.  There’s quiet elegance, and then there’s “Flusserized” elegance, a term his team threw around to describe Alan’s own person brand of in-your-face style.  Colors are a little brighter, details a little more pronounced, and the propensity for aggressive styling a little less reserved.

But, it may surprise you to hear, the color and glamour is all secondary to Mr. Flusser’s approach.  First are fit and proportion.  He starts most of his clients off in a plain, dark suit, with reserved accessories and trimming to teach them to perfect the basics.  Without a basic understanding of what shapes and sizes make you look your best, the rest is a wild goose chase.

He might be most famous for dressing Gordon Gekko in the film Wall Street, but Alan’s whole philosophy centers around livable style.  It’s about always looking your best, your most appropriate, and most importantly about having your clothing serve you and not the other way around.

 

 

6 Comments

  1. G. Bruce Boyer
    August 1, 2011

    I think this article gets it right: Alan has taught more guys how to dress well in a tailored international sense than anyone else I can think of.

    Reply
    • Stephen
      August 1, 2011

      Thanks very much.

      Reply
  2. M. M.
    August 9, 2011

    As someone that gets their clothes made I hate to say that AF is not what he used to be. His modern taste has no connection to what he is famous for. We know to be well dressed you may have to break some rules but it just doesn’t work for him. AF should go back to his old Savile Row style, he’s gotten a little too Caraceni. AF stick to yourself!

    Reply
  3. David Reeves Bespoke Maßschneider aus New York — Maßanzug — Gentleman's Gazette
    August 11, 2011

    [...] ein paar Wochen war unser Autor Stephen Pulvirent in New York um u.a. Alan Flusser und Schneider wie Leonard Logsdail zu besuchen. Während dieses Aufenthalts traf er auch David [...]

    Reply
  4. Leoardo McIntosh
    December 20, 2011

    Class and Elegance Personified..During An Era..That Was Dominated By Such Designers As Gorgio Armani.

    Reply
  5. gentleman
    September 6, 2012

    I had the chance to meet with Alan Flusser not too long ago, and he mentioned that he likes “to talk a lot”. So if you visit you will always learn something.

    Reply