Meet the man behind the world-class Croatian tailor-made suits brand Fidelio
- by croatiaweek
- in Business
Damir Matešković (Photo credit: Dear Leader Joe, flash.hr)
A number of world-class products have come out of Croatia over the years, but tailor-made handmade suits would not be the first thing to spring to mind.
Rijeka-based Fidelio Tailor is a leading tailor-made handmade suits in Croatia, producing world-class suits.
Josip Novosel from Flash.hr caught up with the owner of Fidelio Tailor, Damir Matešković, to find out more.
“I wouldn’t agree with you that everyone normal wants to work in a state-owned firm. There are people who like to be part of the system because they feel safe and stay in the comfort zone, which is their choice. Slowly things are changing and I am sure that people who want to be happy and successful must start thinking with their head and take the fate of life into their own hands. I would call such people, including myself, optimists or even better visionaries. Every day is an uncertainty, but if we look at it as part of the game then you start playing, the fear disappears, you go forward and you can’t wait for a new day,” Damir, who has always had a passion for fashion, explains at the start of the interview.
Damir and wife Ines (Photo credit: Dear Leader Joe, flash.hr)
With a background in hairdressing, Damir has owned Gentlemen’s Shop, a popular barber shop in Rijeka for a number of years. Two years ago he decided to start the Fidelio brand.
“I was not educated in the direction of hairdresser or tailor, but I admired these traditional crafts. I have been living hairdressing for more than 15 years through running a salon and collaborating with top hairdressers, and my love for men’s fashion has always been present in my life. Because of my body size and the need to look different, I have always had a problem buying commercial clothing and I have noticed that there is nothing in the menswear market that can be personalised to your own measurements, desires, needs, lifestyle and stylist advice to help you make your decision and inform you about the details and rules of masculine style. That’s why we launched Fidelio,” Damir explains, before revealing the meaning behind the name.
“I’m a big fan of Stanley Kubrick’s “Eyes Wide Shut.” In the film, the word Fidelio was the code to enter a secret party under masks. I organised a similar party, in fact a copy of that party from the film, in Rijeka. Fidelio is the title of Ludwig van Beethoven’s only opera. In the opera, Fidelio is a woman who disguises herself as a man to save her lover. Fidelio (lat.) Trust or Belief (eng.). A name with a strong and deep meaning, especially today when no one trusts anyone.”
Gentlemen’s shop in Rijeka (Photo: Fidelio Tailor)
Fidelio suits are designed as a niche brand of tailor-made garments, with handmade, top-quality Italian and English fabrics, focused on customer satisfaction.
“Our professional stylists dedicate time to listen and understand the wishes, needs and habits of the client, but I must also emphasise that we take into account the body structure, irregularities that we need to reduce, choosing colour shades that match skin tone, hair colour and many more details that affects on good appearance,” he adds.
There is a motto that Fidelio live by – “You do not buy goods from us, you invest in the experience, the pleasure of designing your best suit that will be the crown of your wardrobe.”
Damir says that given the quality of materials and craftsmanship and complete personalisation, Fidelio suits are not be cheap, but they are also not too expensive and can be afforded by everyone “from people who want to look great for special life moments such as a wedding, to people who need to wear every day suits for business purposes and their goals are a sense of comfort and professional appearance because ultimately the suit does not make a man, but leaves a first impression that is difficult to change later.”
Damir Matešković (Photo credit: Dear Leader Joe, flash.hr)
Fidelio make both men’s and women’s suits to measure.
“Fidelio was designed primarily as a men’s brand, but today suits are part of women’s fashion and more and more women love the feeling of power provided by a top-tailored suit made to measure with the highest quality fabrics (without plastic), so we decided to include women’s tailor-made suits. Sanja Lopar is one of the ambassadors of Fidelio tailored women’s suits and our Eudaimonia project, and this exceptional woman is at the very top of the European cigar scene. Our only male ambassador is the singer Marko Tolja, because this man lives everything he does and with his performances he perfectly represents what the Fidelio brand itself is, and that is Eudaimonia,” Damir adds.
Sanja Lopar (Photo credit: Fidelio Tailor)
An important member of the team at Fidelio is Italian stylist Andrea Terzi. The pair met after Terzi, who is originally from Verona, opened commercial men’s goods store in Rijeka five years ago.
“We met in his shop in the centre of Rijeka and when I saw how this business lives and his approach, knowledge and skills, I realised that he was wasting time in a commercial store. I can say that we were attracted energetically and through spontaneous socialising we became friends with similar life values and love for men’s traditional clothing. I shared with him the idea of launching the Fidelio brand theme and offered him the role of stylist and co-star in the future. We are now together in that story and I can say that we learn a lot from each other and that Andrea is an important person in the development of the Fidelio brand,” Damir said.
In addition to business suits and tailor-made wedding suits, Fidelio offers customers tailored vests and shirts, tailored coats, tailored shoes, and soon custom-made jeans and sneakers.
“We are a niche brand, we are interesting to people that Fidelio looking for something special and different, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be something relaxed and casual. We could not focus only on tailored suits and shirts because there is competition in this segment, and the crisis situation has led us to expand the range, so we expanded the offer to other segments of men’s clothing such as shoes and sneakers, casual pants and jeans, coats and rain jackets, and fashion accessories,” he says.
Whilst based in Rijeka, Fidelio has an office in Zagreb on the 14th floor of the Sky Office Tower on Zagrebačka avenue at Damir will often be there to arrange fittings and arrange rehearsals with clients.
(Photo: Flash.hr)
You can find out more about Fidelio Tailor on their website HERE
