With the vast majority of Americans quarantined and events canceled, several suit fittings have moved online. Colin Hunter, Co-founder of bespoke suit brand Alton Lane, has spent the past 10 days rapidly building and perfecting the infrastructure needed to get virtual fittings off the ground, to replace in-person fittings. The process has been informal and fast-moving, and fittings are now being conducted with customers over FaceTime, Google Hangouts and text. It’s Hunter hope that the virtual fittings, which kicked off last week, will be enough to see the brand through this rough period.

To transition, the company first created a digital catalog for its in-store stylists to use to conduct the virtual fittings. That involved digitising its thousands of fabric swatches so that customers could see high-quality images of available suit materials. Hunter said, with the catalog, associates can create a custom digital package of swatch options and cut recommendations for each customer in as little as 30 seconds. That is then emailed to customers before a fitting session.

Alton Lane is also working on a 3D tool that will let customers see those swatches transformed into full suits. To promote the new option, Alton Lane has been reaching out to regular customers directly, both through texts and emails, asking them to give an online fittings a try. A fitting appointment can be made for a range of styles, from dress shirts to full suits. Hunter did not disclose the brand’s exact sales figures or digital-wholesale breakdown, but he did say that sales slowed significantly since the COVID-19-induced store closures. The company has 12 stores, and a large majority of sales are made in-store.

Another custom suit brand, Sene Studio had already invested quite heavily in online fittings and orders, with more than 90 per cent of the brand’s orders coming from the company’s online fit quiz.