IGN. Joseph: The Man In The Red Shoes
“You know, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life looking like someone else. I want to die in style.”
These are the words that stood out most in my nearly two hour phone conversation with Mr. Ignatious Joseph the mastermind behind his own shirting company IGN. Joseph. The quote above is delivered from a hushed and subtle voice tinged with a soothing Sri Lankan accent. His life’s work and story is that of self made man driven by passion for quality which harkens back to a time when making clothes was nothing short of making art.
Like many of us Ignatious was not born into this role but rather found himself there out of frustration of the mediocre. Although having success in the hotel and hospitality business, Ignatious was continuously ridiculed by his superiors for not following the standard “uniform of choice” forced upon him. Even though many times his clients would tell him how perfectly he was dressed, the powers that be dissuaded him from truly expressing who he really is through his clothing.
And so in 1997 after having served 20 years in the hotel business he left and broke out on his own to make, out of all things, luxury shirts.
“My ambition was (and is) to marry the grand European shirt tradition and its centuries-old textile and tailoring crafts to produce a shirt that is the embodiment of dynamic elegance and extravagant quality-bridging the gap between bespoke and imported ready-to-wear. The challenge was to translate this tradition into a shirt that was also compatible with a young, dynamic and mobile clientele, like those I learned to serve in the international hotel business.”
Now I know we are just talking about a shirt here but after Ignatious sent me my very own sample to keep I realized just how incredible his vision is. First, the shirt arrives in a simple yellow textured box that simply says IGN. Joseph on it. When asked about the intent behind the minimalism, Ignatious offered this:
“I had to make a strategic decision: did I want to bring a logo or a shirt to market. Years in the hotel and hospitality industry had taught me the value of personal confidence and commitment in the quality of a service. If I was to deliver a distinct shirt then I had to bring to it what I knew best-the way to deliver quality service. That meant there was no alternative but to sell my shirts personally. So I took my suitcase, choosing the retailers that best understood style and service as I did. My first order for 148 shirts to a small, but distinguished retailer in Bonn, Germany set the tone for a marketing approach which eschews logos and slogans in favour of personal trust and a bit of panache.”
What lies inside the box, however, is the real treat. These are not made to measure or bespoke pieces but they are crafted in a completely soft Neapolitan fashion meaning there is absolutely no fusing inside the collar or cuffs. If you watch a movie from the 40′s or 50′s you will see that most of the shirts are constructed this way and Ignatious has not only honored that look and feel but mastered it.
One of the biggest differences between his shirts and another ready to wear is that when you move your elbow up and down the cuffs actually stay in place. In other words if you are wearing a suit and lift your elbow up the shirt doesn’t creep up under the sleeve. It stays exactly where it should. Couple that with little details like super thick mother of pearl buttons, very fine fabric and bold yet sophisticated patterns and you have one fine shirt.
What I really love about Ignatious is how passionate he is about his work. Every time I speak to him on the tele he’s coming back from meeting clients all over Europe and then spends Sundays, his only day off, making calls to people like me just to spread the word about his work. Not only is his ferocity for what he does something to admire, it’s also something to aspire towards.
Whenever I put on the shirt he sent to me I’m reminded just how lucky we are to have people like Ignatious doing what he does in this world:
Creating quality.
Company headquarters
Ignatious Joseph
Rolandstrasse 24a
Germany
D-40476 Düsseldorf
Telephone: +49-0211-4985001
Telefax: +49-0211-4985053
I.Joseph@ign-joseph-shirts.com
