The Interview: Dylan Welsch, Savile Row

Dylan Welsch
Custom Clothier & Digital Marketing Specialist
Savile Row Custom Clothiers

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I was born in St. Louis and graduated from Hazelwood West High School in 2015. I was very active growing up. I spent a lot of time on stage in my school and community theaters,  and earned my Eagle Scout. I also loved to cook, and muck around in the garden, which I still do. I took a gap year between high school and college and lived in Munich under the auspices of Rotary international – it was incredible. So if any German speakers read this, melde dich mal! I still love speaking the German language. I then enrolled at Washington University in St. Louis studying physics. I joined Savile Row as an intern in 2019 on a flight of curiosity. I guess it was a good fit! I just graduated and get started full-time on June 1.

So, what is the thing that gets you out of bed every day?

Too many things to mention. My family always makes fun of me for having too many things in my brain, but I love the stimulation. I think the broad strokes are learning, creative exercise, and civic participation. All of which read pretty clearly from what we just talked about. They’re just different sides of the same coin. Going out into the world, discovering something new or forgotten, sharing it with people – teaching and learning – and working together to use that new knowledge to create something beautiful. Making the world that much better. It can be anything, really. Putting on an old, interesting play or, like I’m about to do, introducing a younger guy like me to the whole language and beauty of tailored clothes.

What is it about the custom clothing business that excites you?

You’ll have to stick with me here, but it’s the fact style is a language. When we get dressed, we’re telling people about ourselves – our values and intentions. So helping people design their wardrobe is like ghost-writing their autobiographies. A sacred relationship, no doubt, exciting, and interesting as heck. You could call a genre like tailored clothing a dialect, with its own syntax and grammar – ‘rules,’ some would say. So, you have huge creative possibility like a writer; and the security and structure of the grammar, which you can bend and play with, but will actually guide you in making something other people can pick up and read. 

I think I’ve always had that sense about style. It goes back at least to the first time I wore a tux. Aged four, I was the ringbearer at a family wedding, and when I put that thing on, something just clicked. My mom tells me they couldn’t get me to take the thing off!

What are you seeing from today’s young professionals and how they view their wardrobe relative to their business and everyday lives?

Many guys my age or younger came into the business world not being required to dress up for work, which was partly due to Covid. So I think dress codes at the office are going to be pretty limited. Civil servants, and attorneys, mostly. BUT – and there are probably tomes and tomes written about this, I think there is a substantial percent in my age group who are curious about lapsed traditions and time honored crafts. It’s what they saw from their parents and maybe even more, grandparents.

You’ve been working with Savile Row customers for a few years. What have you learned from those interactions?

I’m still learning about how many questions to ask and how much help I give them. Some clients want the full experience, controlling all the options and being involved in every detail, and some just want me to guide them in designing a daily driver.

I believe people come to Savile Row to find quality , and they want to feel it and experience it. Like  they were walking into the Astoria. They want a solid, substantial product AND an experience that oozes luxury and quality. They love the tradition and the craft of making custom clothes. I don’t blame them.