A SHREWSBURY CLOTHIER BRINGS LUXURY MENSWEAR TO A NEW GENERATION OF SHARP-DRESSED CLIENTELE

BY ERIK SCHONING • PHOTOS BY ALEX BARRETO

The fashion industry has changed since 1985, the founding year of E-Z Custom Tailoring, the business that would eventually become Duru Luxury Clothing. Trends ebb and flow (the ‘80s neon power suit with oversized shoulders, for example, is today a foregone relic), but four decades after its launch, the Duru family business remains a testament to the timelessness of quality clothing, attention to detail, and craftsmanship.

In 2001, Michael Duru faced a tall task: to take over his father’s tailoring business and bring it into a new millennium. His vision was simple: to expand the company to include custom clothing and retail. Eventually he brought on his brother, Matt Duru, to help steer the ship of Michael Duru Clothiers. Today Matt is the sole owner of the business, with newly retired Michael serving as an advisor and guide through the ever-shifting retail landscape. Under Matt’s steerage, the company has been rebranded Duru Luxury Clothing.

From the beginning, the brothers took to heart a lesson integral to the success of their father’s tailoring business: relationships are everything. “A specialty store like ours has to have family roots,” Matt Duru said. “If it’s important to our clients, it’s important to us. And that’s what we built our business on: it’s the selection of merchandise, yes, but it’s also the selection of people who work with us in the store.”

The longevity of Duru Luxury Clothing is tied to those relationships; Duru has clients who have been with him for his 20-year-plus run, and he also has employees who have stayed with him for the same length of time. In a crowded retail landscape flooded with “fast” clothes where attention to detail is often lost the brand’s crowning achievement is its ability to offer timeless styles for men of all ages.

Tucked just off Broad Street in Shrewsbury, Duru Luxury Clothing is still somewhat of a hidden gem, a standing that Duru believes works in his favor; it’s not the kind of boutique a person just stumbles upon. It’s more of a club, and years of recommendations have built a loyal and committed client base, many of whom no longer even reside in New Jersey. Since taking over, Duru has reimagined his business to meet the needs of a new generation of customers, including the children of those same lifelong clients.

“The younger generation is coming into the workforce and replacing their parents,” Duru said. “No young person wants to shop where their dad shops. But we’re attracting the younger guy by staying modern without losing the integrity of how we built our business. To run a successful, ongoing business, you have to adapt and change.”

Thankfully, there are some things that never go out of style. Fads come and go, but there has always been an appetite for well-made, sharp-fitting clothing, a hunger that has only grown among younger buyers in recent years. As Duru pointed out, people want clothes they can depend on, clothes that will last.

Duru is responsible for sourcing all the clothing and fabrics in the store. He has cultivated partnerships with vendors and often travels across the country to find clothing that meets his discerning standards while hitting a competitive price point. Even more importantly, he ensures his staff is deeply familiar with every item he sells.

“You need a relationship not only with your customers, but with your vendors,” Duru said. “Any time I bring somebody new into the store, I schedule an in-depth training. My salespeople need to understand the fit. They need to understand what the company was thinking when they made this item, and why this product is in the store versus something else.”

When a client walks through the door, the process always begins with a conversation, allowing Duru and his staff to get to know the customer’s wants and needs before a single item of clothing is tried on. Next, team members draw on their vast tailoring expertise, whether designing a custom suit or fitting a client from the ready-to-wear selection. It’s here where attention to detail particularly shines: proper fit is an art form mostly lost in modern retail, and it’s an art Duru takes seriously. After all, it’s his heritage.

Duru Luxury Clothing 801 Broad Street, Shrewsbury

732.741.1999 / michaelduru.com