As yoga and holistic lifestyle have proven, the east tends to gravitate towards the west, picking up trends that the first world approves of, not realising that those trends had been established here long ago, before being abandoned as too ‘backward’. It may be odd to hear this statement being made about something as materialistic as a suit, but oddly enough, it holds true on that front too.
In the little state of Goa, there is no dearth of makers of suits. People need to be attired for weddings and other major events, and perish the thought that we should forget about celebrations at the time of Christmas and the New Year. New age boutiques are all the rage in the last quarter of the year. In fact, as Goa catches up with the rest of the world, buying suits off the shelf is becoming a trend, and a popular one at that. After all, brands and labels are synonymous with opulence. But again, in embracing said westernisation, we’ve forgotten a very major player in the very fabric (pun intended) of Goan attire: the suit maker.
In the face of all of this, one institution holds fast by their tradition of attiring the well-fitted man since: Welfit Tailors. These designers of suits and perhaps the last bastion of fine suit-making in the state, weave a story of their very own. Set up in the year 1961 by founder and still current incumbent, Alleluia Rodrigues Welfit Tailors was intended to be the one-stop shop for a gentleman’s bespoke fitting.
“I grew up in an agrarian setting in Backbhatt, Raia. However, I always knew that my calling lay elsewhere. I was fascinated with the idea of working with fabric, and chose to mould the course of my life in that direction,” shares Alleluia.
With that resolve planted firmly in his mind, he set out for Bombay, where he worked under the tutelage of Jacinto Vaz, honing his craft with a lot of care before returning home to start up a venture that he could call his very own.
“The year was 1961, and it was a troubling time as it was around the same time that the Portuguese were ousted. However, I rented a house in São Tomé. I began with a laundry and a tailoring outlet. However, over a period of time, it became evident that the laundry would not sustain itself, and as such, I decided to focus on only one of the two business enterprises; shutting the laundry in the process,” he says.
The years went by and business grew substantially, as the need for fitters of fine gentlemen was a trade that was always in demand; a demand that Alleluia was only too happy to supply.
It is quite literally the picture of Carmine Falcone calling Gotham’s underground to arms while being measured for size by his personal tailor that springs to mind when it comes to envisioning a bespoke suit in the making. Over the last century, America has made them increasingly popular, with custom made suits being sold for tens of thousands of dollars. Let us not even remotely get into how popular they have gotten with movies like ‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ and sitcoms like ‘Suits’. Yet, while it was always a part of Goan being to own such a bespoke suit, the habit of old has now, quite literally died, and this ownership is marginal; which in turn has seen many old-time fitters of gentlemen pull down their shutters and head into retirement.
However, in the face of all ‘developing trends’, Welfit has stood the veritable test of time. Now succeeded by his two sons, the meek, short pant-clad suit-maker continues to work in his original space in São Tomé, with Andrew, the older of the two having taken over production, and Arnold, the younger one, handling administrative duties.
This piece of news, that Welfit’s legacy will live on for at least another generation, will be comforting to the ears of those that still seek to explore the nuances of custom-made suits. After all, it has been said that the suit is the modern gentleman’s armour. And who doesn’t need a good suit of armour anyway?
