Interview by Robert Joseph Sheckler
Writeup by Leah Whalen
Duane MacLeod could best be described as a serial maker. His career was in healthcare, but he always loved to build things (houses and sailboats being two examples). So, fifteen years ago, when his daughter encouraged him to make his own overcoat out of a Japanese sewing pattern book, he was up for the challenge. “I didn’t know any Japanese, but I wanted to make a winter coat for myself,” he recalls. “If you told me then that I would end up going to tailoring school in the UK, I would never have believed you. But that’s exactly what happened.” Inspired by his coat-making odyssey (he made all the coats in the book, blogging the whole process), he became one of the first foreign students at the Tailoring Academy in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in the textile heartland of the UK. Now Duane runs Hold Fast Bespoke, a tailoring company based in Georgetown, Maine, where he makes fine custom jackets, coats, and waistcoats for clients all over the state.
Taking his company name from the MacLeod clan motto, “Hold Fast,” Duane rigorously applies what he learned at the Tailoring Academy. “I work one on one with my clients,” he notes. “Connections I made as a student make it possible for me to offer them some of the finest fabrics woven in Great Britain, Ireland, and Italy. Commissions start with a set of measurements from which I develop patterns unique to the individual. Through a series of fittings, the garments are produced using traditional materials and techniques.” His clothes are the antithesis of fast fashion: “With proper care,” he says, “the clothes I create in collaboration with my clients could possibly last a lifetime.”
After returning to Maine from tailoring school, Duane took his handmade garments to David Wood, an exclusive men’s apparel boutique in Portland. There he found kindred spirits. “The folks at David Wood understood what I was doing and wanted to work with me,” he relates. “At the time, they had beautiful clothes but didn’t have as much quality outerwear as they wanted.” Duane responded by making a series of raglan-sleeve overcoats for the shop; he says they are flexible in terms of fitting, which is helpful for off-the-rack pieces. Still, his heart lies with his bespoke work. He truly enjoys working one on one with clients: “The client has the vision, and I’m focused on problem solving and bringing their vision to life,” he says.
The focus of Duane’s collection at STITCH will be what he calls “real clothes.” He says his goal is, as always, “to make real clothes for real people that can be worn and will last.” He plans to show six entirely different kinds of menswear (mostly outerwear), from big greatcoats to upscale jean jackets. One especially unusual runway item will be Duane’s interpretation of a safari jacket; its fabric is a linen/pineapple blend (yes, fiber made from pineapples!). He will also show the six runway garments in his Style Market booth so that people can really examine and try them on. It’s a chance to feel how the garments sit on the body, while feeling the fabrics too. Duane will also be bringing fabric swatches from his suppliers.
Please join Duane on the STITCH runway and in the Style Market on Thursday, June 4th!