Suit Luxe is a suit business specializing in bespoke suits, shirts and shoes. It was founded by Xolisa Mgqubeni, who is originally from a town called Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Mgqubeni then moved to a small township called Khutsong located in Carletonville, in the West Rand during his junior school years, where he lived with his grandmother. This is his story, in his own words.
Growing up I’ve always had an eye for fashion and when I look back today, I’d say it runs in my blood. My late grandfather had his own tailoring operation, my grandmother is a retired seamstress and my mother is a seamstress. I was brought up in a family that has a special relationship with cloth construction; hence I say I believe it’s in my bloodstream.
I have always been obsessed with garments, well-fitted ones to be specific, and I used to despise defective/poorly-constructed clothes. At the tender age of 13, I had already taught myself how to alter clothes and I would alter my school uniform to my desired fit. All the alterations I did were handmade because, unfortunately, I was not allowed to use sewing machines. Both my mother and grandmother are very sentimental when it comes to their sewing machines, so I resorted to handwork.
Fast forward to my tertiary education days, and my love for fashion grew stronger. At this point in my life, I realized that my love for fashion was specific to bespoke suits. Bespoke/custom-made suits are known to be expensive, and because I was still in varsity, I couldn’t afford one so I resorted to ready-made suits. I would stock up on these ready-to-wear suits and alter them to my best fit. A lot of students noticed and loved my suits. I would get approached by a lot of graduation students and because I am a business-minded guy, I decided to start my own suit business instead of telling them where I sourced my suits.
I was the intermediary guy in this case. Graduation students would pay me to source ready-made suits on their behalf and alter them to perfectly fit them. I was obsessed with how a suit should fit, my favorite tagline was: “If you can’t invest in a good quality suit, then invest in a perfect fit”, and that’s how I executed my business back in university.
Now I run my own suit brand, Suit Luxe, specializing in bespoke suits. We are based in Johannesburg, South Africa, and we pride ourselves on our luxury craftsmanship and high-end material from domestic and international textile suppliers.
My brand is making waves, I have dressed some well-known South African stars, the likes of Cassper Nyovest, Zakes Bantwini, Robert Marawa, Happy Jele, Boity Thulo, Nandi Madida and many more.
Suit Luxe has also been receiving amazing traffic from neighboring African countries, which is why we are now launching the brand in Namibia.
We believe that a well-crafted suit from Suit Luxe will give you that ego boost, whether it’s for showing up at business meetings to secure business deals in style, showing up on your wedding day to complement your beautiful bride or for your day-to-day elegant office/work suits, made of breathable, natural stretch luxurious fabrics.
Our team – from our tailors to our stylists and consultants – is passionate about style and great craftsmanship.
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