Suit Geek n.8 - Mr. Nicolas Schmitt
“Suit Geek” is our feature column where we reach out to one of our customers & friends and ask him to share his work, life and his unique point of view on tailored suits & gentlemen style with us.
On our eighth interview for "Suit Geek", we invited our dear friend Nicolas Schmitt. For those who have been friends with us for a while know that Nicolas used to be our very own stylist & buyer for 4 years. Born in Paris, France, now a Beijinger, today Nicolas will be sharing his journey of classical menswear and tailoring and how he manages his ‘double identity’ as a filmmaker and a tie maker in life.
"I'm a filmmaker, and a tie maker."
On His Very First Suit
“You’re going to be disappointed because I don’t remember my very first suit haha! I only remember the picture - I was probably three years old in that picture wearing a double breasted navy blazer with gold buttons. I believe that was my first jacket."
"It was probably at a Christmas party. I would wear a jacket with a tie for Christmas parties or birthday parties, or even for family dinners, that’s how I would always dress myself back in Paris for occasions like dinners."
Nicolas' first jacket
On His Journey to Tailoring
My sartorial journey started relatively early. I remember one jacket I bought when I was like 9 or 10. I wore it on Christmas and birthday parties."
"I think it was my family who really inspired me on my sartorial journey. My grandfather and father, they were always very nicely dressed, for every type of situation. I admire them for that. They didn’t dress because they had to; they dressed because they loved classical menswear. My father used to have a really big wardrobe, with around 200 shirts in it, and 50 of them were all white shirts, and mostly bought from the same brand. I got so fascinated by that when I was a kid. He also had an amazing collection of ties, and I remember that I loved to go through his ties."
Double-breasted Suit made by PRINCIPLE M in 2017
"My father was born in 1939. When he was younger, thirty years old or so, that was 1960s in Paris, every guy would wear a suit or a jacket with a tie. That was the generation that grew up dressing in a suit."
"He also had a lot of clothings from French brands. Yves Saint Laurent, and some other Parisian brands that don’t exist anymore. He was very trendy like a dandy, which was quite different from my grandfather’s style, so I don’t think he got the inspiration from his father. it’s really two different generations in terms of menswear style."
Paris, 1968
On His Daily Style
"Right now, I’m mostly working from home. When I’m home, I usually dress very relaxed. T-shirt and shorts, ‘home outfit’. But, when I’m working on site, it depends. If I know it’s going to be outdoor, very tiring and sweaty, I would wear something slightly more comfortable and casual, maybe a jacket with a pair of jeans. I dress according to where I go and the situation.
Justin : Do you have a piece of clothing that has sentimental value for you?
"That’s a difficult question because I have a lot, and a lot of them all have a story behind. I don’t buy that much of clothing anymore. I would only buy something that I really like."
"What I really like is buying clothing during traveling, like a souvenir. It has a sentimental value to it, either the place where I’m traveling or the person who I’m with when I buy certain piece of clothing. A lot of my clothing is like that, when I put them on, I can instantly relate to those memories or stories.
Nicolas during a shoot
W.Bill Overcoat made by PRINCIPLE M
"There’s one story that I can share: my grandma used to like giving money to her grandchildren, very nice grandma. That was like 15 years ago. At that point, I remember I really wanted a pair of Berluti shoes, but others thought it was such a ridiculous thing to do - using that amount of money to just buy a pair of shoes. Others would put it into their saving account or use it on something else. Looking back, I don't regret that decision because 15 years later I still have those shoes, and I still enjoy wearing them. They remind me of my grandmother."
Justin : What would you wear for a first date?
"That depends if it’s on the weekend or the weekday. If it’s the weekend, like Saturday night or Sunday, I’ll probably slide into something casual - a jacket, a pair of chinos, and no tie. If it’s during the weekdays, I’ll wear a jacket with a tie and a pair of flannel trousers or wool trousers, or just wear a full suit."
Calabrese Scarf available at PRINCIPLE M online & in-store
Caccioppoli Suit made by B&Tailor
On His Lifestyle
Justin : Do you like cooking?
"I like cooking. I actually cook a lot. I cook for myself, and my son sometimes. I know what he likes, lasagna, spaghetti bolognese and burgers, so I would cook that for him. When I'm alone, I cook very simple stuff, mostly vegetables."
Justin : What’s your favourite drink?
"In Beijing, I like drinking beer and in France I prefer wine."
Justin : Any wine bar in Beijing you can recommend to us?
"Vin Vino. It’s just around my place, I’d invite you there."
Instagram: @nicolas_henri_schmitt
Justin : What's your favourtie film?
"One of my favourite films is Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker."
There's a documentary filmmaker I really like called Jonas Mekas. You should check out his work."
(Jonas Mekas, Lithuanian-American filmmaker, poet, who has been called "the godfather of American avant-garde cinema".)
Stalker, 1979
Justin : How did you start making ties?
"At first, I wanted to do something that I can do with my hands. I feel like that’s something missing when I’m living here in Beijing. When I’m back in France, I would do a lot of hand work, wood work in the countryside. Also, I have a passion for artisanal products, so I decided to learn how to make ties."
"I started from the scratch, learning how to fold the ties, creating the pattern and hand roll the ties...etc. During quarantine, I had a lot of free time and some spare silk, so I spent a lot of time doing that. It was very relaxing, just really focusing on doing one thing for the whole afternoon. It was almost like meditation, a very good feeling."
Nicolas' hand-made tie Old Bertie will be available exclusively at PRINCIPLE M next week, online & in-store. Stay tuned!
October 2020