Have a high-risk client who continually gripes about the cost of coverage? You might want to send them for a suit fitting of the highest calibre.
One Toronto tailor shop, Garrison Bespoke, decided to create a more stylish means for executives to wear their protection close to the vest, creating a custom three-piece bulletproof suit that shields while looking sharp and slick.
The suit has attracted a niche clientele among executives in the mining, oil and finance industries since it first appeared in November. Although they aren’t dodging a hail of gunfire on a regular basis, they do travel to unfamiliar parts of the world that make them a little nervous.
Toronto tailors collaborated with an American military contractor to get their hands on the same technology used by the U.S. Special Forces in Iraq. Maxwell Morgan, CEO of Aramor Payments, was one of the first to buy the garment.
“People can tell if you're tense in meetings," Morgan told Profitguide.com, a family man who travels a lot. “This suit makes me feel comfortable and keeps me looking sharp.”
The currently waiting list stands at 22 orders for a suit that will cost you $20,000.
But the cost reflects the trial and error that went into making a suit that was both life-saving and lightweight.
To begin, the tailors first tried being creative with Kevlar by masking its bulk with texture and colour.
But, according to marketing chief David Tran, it was like “putting makeup on a pig;” so carbon nanotubes were used instead. (continued.)
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While Kevlar is 50 per cent heavier, carbon nanotubes look and feel like cotton thread but behave like steel. After being tightly packed together, the nanotubes are woven into the back of the jacket and inside the front of the vest (which always stays buttoned). Not much thicker than a finger-width, the material only adds an extra kilogram to the suit.
There are three specific layers to the protective fabric: the first sheet stops penetration, the second disperses kinetic energy and the third reduces body trauma.
All told, the suit took six months to develop.
The armour is strategically placed in the front of the vest and the back of the jacket, so the wearer stays cool while keeping all his vital organs protected. Since it's the vest that contains the front protection, the wearer can put his hand in the pockets and unbutton the jacket without revealing to the casual observer that he is wearing armour.
