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RIGHT: Zaharoff's suits come in a variety of fabrics and styles. BELOW: Slim-fit light blue plaid shirt ($110) and sapphire blue tie with bouclé yarn ($100). BOTTOM: Clients can handpick fabrics in the upstairs atelier. "My Zaharoff man is somebody who goes out there after his dreams." —GEORGE ZAHAROFF Zaharoff himself has with brilliant shades of vermilion, jade, periwinkle, and bright yellow. He's long been that very travel- also using heat-resistant bamboo fabrics from Japan as well as his favorite ing businessman. Since Italian linens. These are the types of textiles customers will find in Zaharoff's launching his line at the in-progress atelier on the third floor, which he's modeling after the European age of 21 after graduating fashion houses. "I am going to have a 'fabric library,'" the designer explains. from DePaul University— "Bolts of very special fabric I find in my travels, which will be shown only to where he studied operations my very special clients." Among them are lush bamboo silks; Zaharoff is also management because, he was working on a collaboration with Japanese mills known for their magnificent told, "Little boys can't grow up to be fabrics. He'll keep no more than 10 yards of each—enough for only a few suits fashion designers"—Zaharoff has trav- or jackets—guaranteeing a unique product every time. And then comes the designer's favorite part: putting it all together. "[As eled to more than 100 countries. From Greenland to Hong Kong to West a designer] you create art, but the wearer is the completion," Africa, he's picked up patterns, color palettes, and fabrics and says Zaharoff. "Like when an artist signs his name—to me it's met manufacturers who are doing things differently. He when the suit becomes part of the person, that's the complealways travels with an open mind. "The moment you're judgtion. That's the finished piece." Zaharoff, 110 E. Oak St., mental," he says, "you block off. Then you'll be in another Hue and cry: 312-285-2100; zaharoff360.com MA part of the world, and you'll miss something. You have to be "Plaids are huge open to anything and everything." He looks at the world in this summer patterns—the tie he wears when we meet bears a motif he disand will become more popular." covered on wooden doors in Zanzibar; a shirt he stocks is Material issue: patterned after a damask wall he saw in a Russian palace. "I love linen—the On one spring day, Zaharoff is clad in a mix of patterns tied Italians have together by auburn accents: a thin stripe in the plaid of his pants mastered linen and the stripe of his sock, a part of the motif of his tie. For sumto an art form." mer he lightens things up with linen, bright colors, and Flip out: "Flipbreathable leather shoes. Just don't expect to see George flops should Zaharoff in shorts, ever. In the past, he contends, "shorts were only be worn at the beach or the worn by children until they reached maturity, and only then pool—that is it." would they receive their 'big boy' pants. Men did not wear shorts in public until after World War II." His answer to the faux pas: "Summer in Chicago is perfect for what I call 'tropical' 100 percent wool fabrics. The yarn is twisted before it is woven, giving it bounce and making it wrinkle resistant. It allows the heat created by the body to escape easily." He adds: "Remember to wear a cotton undershirt, too." Zaharoff also makes it a point to encourage color. "In men's suits, every color sells as long as it's black, blue, or dark gray," he jokes. "So how do you mix it up? With the neckwear, the shirt, the socks." This summer, he's working INSIGHT MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 086-087_MA_SS_StyleSetter_SUMMER13.indd 87 87 6/18/13 12:18 PM