MASTERS Member of the week: Bart Jan Smittenaar

Each week we highlight a unique MASTERS Member who is a member of MASTERS League. With a passion for clothing and fabrics, Bart Jan Smittenaar started I am Luigi in 2013. The menswear company works with English and Italian fabric weavers to create high-end suits tailored to the customer's wishes and needs.Text: Larissa Schaule Jullens
Image: Marlies Hofstede

I am Luigi

With a passion for clothing and fabrics, Bart Jan Smittenaar started I am Luigi in 2013. I am Luigi creates high-end tailor-made clothing together with English and Italian fabric weavers and is made to the wishes and needs of the customer. After all, a nice tailored suit or sporty jacket is a great investment for any man. "Everyone thinks of tailored clothing only in terms of suits, but we make much more than that. Nowadays we are going more and more for smart-casual clothing, so that's sporty jackets, tailored pants, shirts. The emphasis is especially on something more sporty."

Full-service concept

Until now, I am Luigi has focused only on men's clothing, but that will change in the future. "We would have actually launched a women's label early this year, but we are postponing this to next year," said Bart Jan. Good service comes first at I am Luigi, and they owe their uniqueness to the full-service concept. This means that they come to people's homes. This allows certain men, such as celebrities or men who do not like shopping to still buy tailored clothing.

Gunfactor

"Networking is mega important to me. Everything we do is award-based and beyond just making beautiful products you want people to be able to see it. Networking is tangible. If we show up in nice clothes and then you build a good relationship, the rest will come naturally. To network on some level, with like-minded people in a nice location is nice though."

MASTERS Member

Bart Jan has only been a MASTERS Member member since 2019. "I am fresh off the press. Last year I had my own booth at Masters of LXRY and then I became a member. In the new year came corona, so unfortunately I have not yet been able to experience an event of the MASTERS Member League. However, I did attend the Men's Lunch during the fair where members of the MASTERS Member League were also present. From that lunch I made many contacts and met nice people and new things arise from that later."

Take a look at I am Lugi's website here.