Knights & Lords

Knights & Lords is one of the few Dubai tailors whose founders claim formal training on Savile Row, and the business is built around that claim. Pawan and Ashish Ishwar measure each client and cut each pattern themselves, which they described to Esquire Middle East in 2015 as the core of bespoke: the hands that measure should be the hands that cut. Esquire put the handwork at about 70 percent of each suit, where most local tailors send fabric to a workshop that makes 90 percent of the suit by machine. The firm says it cuts by the drape method, marking directly on the fabric, and fits clients in semi-finished, basted garments.

The training claims come from the brothers. Pawan says he spent five years at Norton & Sons, starting as a buttonhole maker, and Ashish seven at Davies & Son, starting on trousers; neither firm has confirmed this publicly, and we found no independent record. Their background is consistent with it. Their father and grandfather ran Al Sharif, an Abu Dhabi uniform maker, and Gulf News describes a team of 15 sewers working under the brothers, who supervise each suit from consultation to delivery. King Oyo of Uganda was fitted by them at the Burj Al Arab.

Prices have been moderate for bespoke. Esquire gave a starting price of $700 in 2015, with most clients spending $950 to $1,100, and Arabian Business later gave a range of $700 to $9,500. The firm publishes no current price list, so ask for a quote. Shirts, shoes, ties and pocket squares are also made to order.

Choose it for a first bespoke suit in Dubai with an English line and a cutter you deal with directly. The business has moved from its early premises in JBR to a showroom on Sheikh Zayed Road in Umm Al Sheif, where it receives clients by appointment.