Featured: Meet Vincenzo Fazzari of Atelier Munro
Talking shop with Atelier Munro's Vincenzo Fazzari on made-to-measure, his departure from Harry Rosen, and launching Atelier Munro in Toronto.
Photography: Stephanie Juliet Algieri for Klein’s Journal
There’s a good chance you’ve seen him before. Maybe you’ve stumbled across one of his videos on Instagram or Tiktok. His regular how-to guides have been helping gents elevate their wardrobes across the country. Even for me, as a diffident bystander, his videos have drawn pure enthusiasm for a game I know little about. But more than that, it’s Vince’s expertise and larger-than-life attitude that makes me want to do business.
Due to the pandemic — and the fact I’m south of the border — Vince and I caught up for the first time in May 2021 via Zoom. I was introduced to him through my brother, Eric, who had told me Vince’s posts were “the greatest creation of the pandemic.” We chatted for a few hours about the menswear game and how he got his start. As it turns out, it’s been a natural progression for Vince. From a young stock runner on Queen West to becoming a top advisor at Harry Rosen, it was only a matter of time before Vince branched out on his own.
Before sizing up Bay Street’s finest, Vince spent his early days at Brandy Melville where he was responsible for maintaining the brand’s stock nationwide. It brought him across Canada and back again. A few years later, Vince moved into a managerial role before calling it quits to contemplate a Master’s Degree. “I wanted time to sort out my career trajectory,” he says. It wasn’t until he found himself at Coach that his story began to take shape.
“At the store, I was approached by a woman who said she knew somebody at Harry Rosen. I told her my story and we started talking,” Vince says. “It was her brother-in-law or something like that. But I thought nothing of it.”
The next afternoon Vince got the call. He sat down with Harry Rosen’s team at Sherway Gardens. It was here that Vince met his mentor and long-time Harry Rosen manager, Dominic Esposto. Under Dominic’s mentorship, Vince joined the ranks at Harry Rosen and learned about the retailer’s brands and made-to-measure offerings. (The two would later go on to open Atelier Munro together).
In 2016, Harry Rosen introduced a new made-to-measure brand to its arsenal called Atelier Munro (Munro Tailoring at the time). Based out of Amsterdam, Atelier Munro was a custom menswear brand with fabrics sourced directly from Italy. It was then, and remains today, one of the few made-to-measure brands that offers quality and affordability. If you’re a fan of Suit Supply’s fast fashion regime, you can likely thank Atelier Munro for it.
For Vince, selling Atelier Munro’s made-to-measure pieces was a game changer. “I’m a big boy,” Vince says. “So it was hard for me to find things that fit properly. When I started selling made-to-measure products to my clients, it came from a place of experience and understanding. I was excited about the product and it showed.”
Within Vince’s first season at Harry Rosen, he surpassed the retailer’s made-to-measure sales record. By his third year he was leading a team of twenty and had sold approximately $1 million, with 50% of those sales coming from Vince personally. Vince quickly became Atelier Munro’s top sales advisor in Canada and found himself dressing an elite crop of bankers and investment firms.
“At that point I was dressing whole floors at BMO,” Vince says. “I moved to the Eaton Centre location and my clients would come see me during lunch. For me, the excitement is the relationship. My job isn’t to sell custom clothing, but to encourage my clients to be comfortable in trying something new.”
Atelier Munro has since dressed other famous figures in the menswear space including Alexander Liang or Paul Poirier. But up until that time the fashion house hadn’t gone direct-to-consumer. It was only available exclusively through Harry Rosen, something that Vince and Dominic would help change in the coming years.
“For me, the excitement is the relationship. My job isn’t to sell custom clothing, but to encourage my clients to be comfortable in trying something new.”
When the pandemic broke out in 2020, everything had changed. The retail industry shifted as a whole. Many shops closed their doors indefinitely and the tailoring industry had to pivot accordingly. But even before the pandemic disrupted the economy, Vince had the feeling he was ready for more, and he wasn’t sure that Harry Rosen could offer it to him. After all, he was nearing a decade in the business, had became the go-to made-to-measure specialist at Canada’s leading men’s luxury retailer, and had become Atelier Munro’s top salesman nationwide. He had made incredible relationships in the business both domestically and abroad. One of these relationships was a gentleman named Jasper, a key figure who would later court Vince into helping Atelier Munro expand into Canada’s direct-to-consumer market.
Jasper previewed Atelier Munro’s concept of opening its own shop in Toronto. Vince knew everything about the brand and championed its philosophy. To Jasper, Vince was the perfect candidate to help the brand successfully launch in the Canadian marketplace. And with Dominic’s help, it seemed a sure-fire move.
In the summer of 2020, the former Harry Rosen boys accepted an invitation to meet with Atelier Munro’s team in Amsterdam. They received a roundtrip flight to Holland, all expenses paid. For Vince, this was exactly the level of commitment and camaraderie he was looking for. He decided to take a chance on Atelier Munro, and on the day before leaving Pearson International he sent his resignation to Harry Rosen.
The trip abroad would mark the most important chapter in Vince’s rising career. In Amsterdam, Vince and Dominic were introduced to Atelier Munro’s executive team. The brand explained their plans to enter the direct-to-consumer market in Canada. If Vince accepted the role, he and Dominic would be afforded the freedom to run their own shop, and they’d have the support and guidance from an established international brand.
When they landed back in Toronto, they were tasked with putting a team together. They kept it small and nimble, focusing on sustainability and one-on-one service. Vince made it clear that he didn’t want this endeavour to be a Harry Rosen-spin off. He wanted to shed the fat that larger retailers often suffered from. He wanted the shop to be mobile and available with a young and vibrant team.
“We’re focusing on sustainability and one-on-one service. We want to create a more approachable and personal experience for the client with a team that is young and vibrant. ”
In the fall of last year, Atelier Munro opened their doors quietly at their temporary showroom at King & John. In the meantime, the brand is currently focusing on growth while searching for their permanent location. The vision is avoid the typical showroom atmosphere by creating an exclusive yet unpretentious clubhouse where clients and friends feel at home — a place for gathering, socializing, and dressing under one roof. It’ll offer the custom-made retail service you’d expect from an industry leader while seizing a new era of youthful, high-quality made-to-measure products.
So far, their mission has been paying off. Even while adapting under the economic restrictions, the team has been thriving together and on their own. This enthusiasm is evident when you talk to Vince. His lust for life is a clear indicator that he’s not only here to stay, but that he’s here to lead, innovate, and transform.
For some much needed wardrobe inspiration, you can chat with Vince directly at vince.fazzari@ateliermunro.com. To shop the latest from Atelier Munro, visit here.
VINCENZO FAZZARI ON INSTAGRAM | @DONVINCENZO
SHOP THE LATEST BY ATELIER MUNRO | SIMO ZBIRI