The Original Madras Trading Company and Alfargo’s Marketplace, two menswear authorities with generations between them, inked a capsule collection featuring a pair of button-downs oozing with sartorial consideration that can only be found from the duo.
Why is the petite capsule noteworthy? Fashion-aware men everywhere are tugging on their collars this summer. If an outfit’s complexity exceeds the painfully unremarkable tee+shorts uniform, the heat is magnified. One collaborator has dressed men in hot climates for decades, and the other knows what young customers want to see from pedigree menswear brands.
Original Madras Trading Company should sound familiar if you actively seek the crème de la crème of heritage menswear brands.
Since founder Prasan Shah’s grandfather arrived in New York City in the early 1970s with only enough fabric to wrap his arms around, the specialty brand has remained the nonchalant boss of all things madras fabric. No VC-funded scaling strategy or aggressive retail expansion, just unrelenting confidence in the quality, craftsmanship, and heritage that sets them apart from high-volume competitors.
For those unfamiliar with this specific fabric, madras is a lightweight, breathable cotton fabric originating from Chennai (formerly Madras), India. Known for its vibrant, multicolored plaid or check patterns, it often has a slightly rough texture due to its loose weave designed to keep up with the subcontinent’s brutal summer climate.
Contributing to the other half of the equation is much younger, but equally revered by NYC’s most polished: Alfargo’s Marketplace.
Alfargo’s Marketplace isn’t in the business of producing physical goods. They’re talent tastemakers for the East Coast’s most discerning and diligent vintage apparel merchants.
Founder Stephon Carson holds the menswear pop-up roughly once a month where guests are treated to a lavish charcuterie of second-hand tweed suits, military surplus, seersucker blazers, tassel loafers and anything else a prep historian could dream of.
Original Madras Trading Company isn’t the first to notice the waves Alfargo’s Marketplace is making, either. The pop-up periodical’s past collaborators include Rowing Blazers, J. Press, and Stitchdown’s Boot Camp.
But the product is only part of why the neo-flea market is on every New Yorker’s calendar reminders, it’s also the community of passionate connoiseurs behind them.
It isn’t uncommon to see someone dressed in early-1900s suiting (while somehow making it look modern) in conversation with a vintage anthropologist wearing an original Grateful Dead tour tee and training fatigues from the U.S.S.R.
With a bit of background on both of the players here, it’s easy to surmise why the partnership makes sense. With that, the duo is bringing the N°143 Alfargos Button Down Collar Shirt and the N°143 Alfargo Madras Pinstripe to a wooden garment hanger near you.
The former features the brand’s signature madras check pattern with fluorescent hues of yellow, light blue, and pink. Whether you’re a color maximalist or you’re searching far and wide for something captivating to sport under a neutral summer blazer, your quest ends here.
The red and white colorway on the N°143 Alfargo Madras Pinstripe is ideal if you’re looking for something with year-round sensibility from the collaboration. While it isn’t as breathable as madras fabric, the two ply oxford weave maintains all of OMTC’s quality, only with a more robust feel.
And, of course, both shirts are handmade by the Original Madras Trading Company’s team of talented artisans using proprietary looms.
The N°143 Alfargos Button Down Collar Shirt and N°143 Alfargo Madras Pinstripe retail for $175 and $195 respectively. Both are now live on the Original Madras Trading Company’s website in sizes XS-3XL.
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