A Queensborough couple believe Columbia Street is the perfect fit for their bespoke clothing business.
Zahir Rajani and Anastasia (Sasha) Besiou are the co-founders and co-creative directors Rajani Bespoke in downtown New West, where they offer custom-made bespoke suits and garments for men and women.
“We do shirts, trousers, skirts, vests, jackets, suits and overcoats. And we sell some made-to-order shoes as well and then all the accessories,” Rajani said. “The idea is that you walk in here and you have the ability to walk out with everything you need for an occasion. And if we don't carry it, we will help source it for you.”
Rajani Bespoke’s customers include business professionals, soon-to-be newlyweds, students who are graduating, and folks who may not easily fit into something that's off the rack, such as a bodybuilder or someone who is extremely tall.
“So you come in here, and we make something that's made just for you,” Rajani said.
In 1984, Rajani’s parents opened their first Tasleem’s store in Vancouver. Women’s fashions were among the store’s offerings.
“My grandfather, my mom's dad, was a tailor, and my mom is a certified seamstress,” he recalled. “So it's always been around me, and I always had an interest.”
Accompanying his parents on buying conventions to places like Las Vegas and watching his grandfather do alterations inspired Rajani’s passion for fashion.
“He was a suit guy. He'd always wear a suit whenever he went out. At the very least he would not leave the house without dress pants and a dress shirt,” he recalled. “I'm going to guess – because they emigrated from East Africa, which was obviously colonized by the British – I think that's just how people used to dress. They moved here in the 70s.”
In 2007, Rajani and his parents started a custom clothing line for Tasleem’s.
“What prompted it was we had a bunch of weddings in the family. I was like, ‘Hmmm, this might be a good opportunity to dress up my family.’ Really, it started by accident,” he recalled. “And so I was like, ‘Let's give this a shot. My family will forgive me if something goes wrong.’ And it turns out everybody looked good; it worked out. And that that sort of prompted or that was the genesis.”
In 2010, Rajani’s parents decided to retire and closed Tasleem’s.
“I took the custom clothing part of it and kept running with it, but very, I would say, modestly. A lot of it was word of mouth. A lot of it was for the same friends and family, for myself,” Rajani explained. “And I just kept it kept it alive, so to speak, and had fun with it and learned. You iterate your designs and styles and you try new things. And you can you can experiment a little more when it's on a smaller scale. And so that's what I did.”
At the same time he was doing custom orders, Rajani was working in commercial real estate. His roles included being the senior vice-president of commercial property management at Onni Group of Companies and senior vice-president of asset management at Spira Equity Partners.
In late 2022, Rajani told his wife that he was itching to start a bespoke garment business. She supported the idea and suggested they also launch a bespoke women’s wear line.
Rajani Bespoke launched in May 2023. For the couple who had moved to Queensborough in March 2022, downtown New Westminster was the perfect place to open their shop.
“We've always liked New Westminster,” Rajani said. “It is the Royal City, and a lot of what we do has sort of a linkage and lineage to London and Westminster and Savile Row.”
A print of Savile Row is displayed on a wall Inside the Rajani Bespoke space on Columbia Street.
“Savile Row is the birthplace of bespoke tailoring,” Rajani said. “The suit came out of being a uniform for the military, for the English military. And that's how you have a suit. A suit is really two things that match; they suit each other.”
Rajani is thrilled with the couple’s decision to open a business in downtown New West. He said one of the reasons for choosing a location on Columbia Street was its proximity to neighbouring businesses that would appeal to its clients.
“We picked downtown New Westminster as our location very deliberately,” he said. “Number 1, I believe in supporting the community that you live in. I'm a big believer that – if you can – you give back to where you are first. … It was important for us to support local.”
Bespoke tailoring
Rajani Bespoke is located on the second floor of a 1901 building at 627 Columbia St.
Music, a selection of beverages and comfortable seating create an atmosphere where customers can browse through clothing samples and browse through books with fabric samples from Italy and England.
Unlike off-the-rack items available in retail stores, bespoke garments are custom-designed and custom-made. Determining the customers’ needs (is it for a wedding, business, another occasion?), the type of item needed (a suit, a jacket, a skirt, etc.), and the fabric (personal taste and weather are among the factors in the selection) are part of the process.
“It's very personal,” Rajani told the Record. “You can literally customize every aspect of the garment.”
Once customers have decided on the type of garment they want and the details of the garment (fabric and style), they’re measured and describe their preferred fit. They’ll return in four to six weeks and try on their custom-designed garment that’s been made in Asia. Some customers may leave with their garment that day, while others may prefer to have some final tweaks made to their one-of-a-kind item.
“If any adjustments are needed, everything is done locally; we have an amazing set of master tailors that we work with,” Rajani said. “And then the customer is generally back within one to two weeks to do a final fitting. And they're out the door with their bespoke garment.”
Bespoke garments are crafted in such a way that the item conforms to its owner’s body over time, Rajani said.
“The suit literally starts to take your shape,” he said.
According to Rajani, prices start at $ 1,498 for a two-piece suit, with prices driven up or down based on the fabric selected. He said a two-piece suit could surpass $10,000 if it’s made from a limited-run or rare, special-order fabric (such as fabric made from goat hair).
Whatever garment customers choose to have made, Rajani said there’s nothing like wearing a bespoke garment.
“The confident feeling that you walk out wearing something that looks just incredible on you, it's hard to describe,” he said. “For me, when I put on one of my suits … I feel different than I do wearing my pajamas at home, or a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. It just sits right on you. It feels amazing. The idea is you should be able to wear it all day and feel comfortable.”
Rajani has no regrets about leaving a career in commercial real estate to launch Rajani Bespoke.
“This is my passion,” he said. “This is what I enjoy.”
Less than a year after opening their first shop, the owners of Rajani Bespoke are considering plans to add a second location in the Lower Mainland at some point. But for now, they’re focused on their New West location – and road trips.
“We're also focused on what we call trunk shows out of the city. We have one coming up in Las Vegas in April. We have one coming up in Kenya – that's where my dad's from, that's where my wife's from. So we actually have some clients there that want to be suited up,” Rajani said. “We'll be travelling with some of our books and our kit to do that.”
No matter where it’s working, Rajani Bespoke is committed to ensuring its customers are happy with their garments.
“You will not leave this showroom until you are 100 per cent satisfied with what you are wearing,” Rajani said. “It has to look good on you in the mirror, and if it doesn't, then we have to make it right. Because that's why you've come in here – you've come in here because you've likely gone somewhere else that wasn't able to give you what you wanted or you weren't able to find something off the rack. So you're relying on us to be able to make that for you. You won't leave here until you're happy.”
