How Vestium Is Redefining Statement Suits With Slow Fashion

With fall around the corner, cold weather shopping has already begun. Suiting is an essential part of our wardrobe, and this blazer and pant combo are a surefire way to look professional at the office — and even better if it can double for a night out.

We know tailoring has become a top fashion trend, be it double-breasted blazers, oversized, or fitted suiting. Whether you’re pairing it up with bras, t-shirts or collared shirts, suiting can go with dresses, skirts, or jeans.

One suiting brand is redefining power suits for men and women. Vestium, a suiting brand based in New York City, is redefining the tailored suit with metallics, velvet and corduroy to elevate the traditional suit to rockstar status.

The brand’s co-founders are Ksenia Konovalova, Dimitri Falk and Jimmy Raskin. “Our mission is to blend innovation—both in materials and technical fit—to transform Vestium from a custom house into a dynamic, accessible brand while maintaining the mystic quality of a custom experience,” said Falk, the creative director.

“Together, we aim to introduce novel materials and stylistic choices through capsule collections and advanced fit technology.”

The brand has a showroom on Fifth Avenue, and was born out of the ashes of Clifton Charles, a suiting brand that was acquired by Konovolova in 2015. The rebrand, Vestium, launched in 2020 with a goal of redefining suiting for everyone.

“We didn’t want to just be the brand that caters to people who had to wear professional clothing,” said Konovalova. “It’s open to people of all races, genders, and body types. As a woman, I remember working at previous companies and I would feel so frustrated that suits would only cater to men, and women who would want to have something made for them.”

The starting goal was to make versatile, customizable suits, with several collections, including fittings for weddings (all made to order suits take four to six weeks). Their clientele can buy suits online to fit their size, or visit the Fifth Avenue showroom for a custom fit. They also do remote fitting appointments.

One of their collections is their In-House Styles, their first gender neutral collection. It includes tuxedos, suits, coats, shirts, and accessories. The suiting styles include a pink velvet suit called the Velveteen Dream, which has silver linking, and the Rose Riche, a velvet corduroy single-breasted jacket suit made with fabric from Carnet, a renowned Italian mill.

Their Classics Reimagined looks back on traditional suiting and gives them a modern spin. There’s a Houndstooth suit, a velvet suit with retro touches called Fine and Dandy and a light wool suit in baby blue called The Diamond Dog. The collection also includes overcoats, like the Dorchester, and a women’s suit with a vest called Rogue Royale.

For something fun and adventurous, their sparkly Cosmic Opulence collection is the answer to shine (especially at night). This showstopping collection features one-button jacket suits in metallics, like gold, silver and pearl, as well as chic suits in ochre, olive and mint.

“It’s not really about what type of job you have, it’s more like who you want to be,” said Konovalova. “Are you owning your choices in life, are you reclaiming your agency in the world?”

A key part of their brand is their quality fabrics, which are sourced from Italy and England—from metallics, to corduroy, velvet and 100% lightweight wool from Fratelli Tallia di Delfino, a family-run Italian mill, as well as notable English mill, Huddersfield. “Silk metallics just gives that edge,” she said. “We’re playing with different shapes, awesome metallics and the traditional silhouette. There’s a lot of piping on pants, like this is a traditional tuxedo.”

Actors Mickey Sumner, Cameron Douglas and Tisha Campbell have worn Vestium, while they’ve made custom suits for Tré Cool of Green Day, Lucinda Williams and even punk legend Lenny Kaye for editorial and stage.

Vestium is defining slow fashion in today’s fast-fashion market. “The best garments are meant to last a lifetime, and our pieces are like a slow cooked meal,” said Konovalova.

“We partner with the finest mills, which are powered by renewable energy and are dedicated to the highest standards of fabric in the world,” she said.

“There are only a few places in the world where fabric mills produce with soft water supply. It adds a different finish to the fabric, it’s softer and more luxurious.”

The brand is into more than just craftsmanship. They recently collaborated with Japanese artist and fantasy illustrator Yoshitaka Amano, best known as a founder of the anime genre, having worked on anime films, series and video games from the 1970s onward. Their collection with Amano, called “Supernatural,” prints out his characters and scenes onto fabrics, used for Vestium suiting, made of a silk, seaweed and recycled cotton blend.

The Supernatural collection features a suit called the Prosecco Prince, is from an artwork by the artist called Universe, a landscape full of cascading shapes and anime characters. The collection includes their Dream Girl sneakers, a cap, t-shirts, sweaters and scarves, all emblazoned with the artist’s work. A highlight is the Universum coat, which is lined with detailed illustrations, and is made from a seaweed-based fiber and organic cotton superblend, which is knitted in Portugal.

“We call it wearable art,” she said. “We love working with artists and bringing their vision to life with fashion.”

Next up, Vestium is working on a ready to wear collection that will sell their suits for under $1,000 (under half of what they currently retail as). The collection will feature Vestium’s exclusive house fabric, crafted from natural woven fibers like seaweed and recycled cotton blends, for a luxurious feel.

“We want to open up our price points and make them more affordable,” she said. Vestium is also working on building an AI-driven app that helps customers select on the right sizing through a sophisticated photo software program.

They’re also in conversation with other collaborators for future artist collaborations for capsule suit collections. “We try to be more than just a fashion brand,” said Konovalova. “We want to be a movement towards a more inclusive, stylish, and innovative future where people own their choices and embrace their unique style, empowering them to turn every moment into a masterpiece.”

Follow @vestiumny on Instagram.