Arzmy Hargreaves Keeping it Classy with Gavroche

THE first impression of a person at one glance is always important as it molds the perception of the person upon meeting another. “I used to dress in slippers, shorts and shirts but when I reach the age 21, I find that when I try to say something, or try to discuss business, people don’t take me seriously!” exclaimed Arzmy Hargreaves. The man behind the menswear brand Gavroche also said, “After I changed my look, dress up, I find that people actually take me seriously – that is quite unfair, but that is how the world works.”

Sarawakian brand Gavroche brings the statement of men wanting a more eccentric, classy and gentlemen look, masterminded by Arzmy alongside Anna Sue of Anna Sue Couture Jewelry. The brand started in 2014 when Arzmy donned his suits with lapel pins and pocket squares that got people to noticed his dramatic, yet classy look, “They would ask me to teach them how to do it, or whether I could do it for them? It started from close friends, I would custom made whatever lapel pins, or pocket squares they request for,” the 30- year-old revealed. Soon after many early requests, Anna told Arzmy to expand his horizon within the menswear fashion in Sarawak, henceforth the brand Gavroche by Anna Sue and Arzmy Hargreaves was born.

When met during the interview, Arzmy clad in blue button top, with his hair combed to the side, he disclosed the brand name Gavroche to be from the musical theater Les Miserables, “There is a character called Gavroche, he is actually a street boy but he dresses in the classic Parisian style, and I see my sense of fashion in that sense so I was thinking, why not Gavroche?” The striking duo initially started only with lapel pins and pocket squares but gradually expanded to accessories such as bowties, and neckties after much request.

“When we started to design bowties, we actually watched the tutorial on Youtube, and before this, Anna did not have the heavy duty machine, so we only have the small sewing machine,” said Arzmy. Having had more requests on suits and outfits, it was when Anna received fashion design internship students, and they decided to start on it, “Since we are only designers, we got the students to sew our designs,” Arzmy who has a background in Telecommunications shared.

“We started with one shirt, and it actually turns out good, it is yellow with Indonesian motifs, we uploaded it on our brand’s Instagram and people actually started asking us about it. Then we tried making suits.” It was in the late of 2014 when the duo for two months worked with their first prototype suit, “It took us quite long because after we sew it, we had to open, and resew to ensure it is a fitted suit,” the fashion enthusiast continued, “For our second prototype, we tried double breasted suit, and it actually turned out quite okay, so that is when people started to do custom made suits with us.”

Arzmy when he is at his lowest mood, he would dress his best up for an automatic mood booster, his fashion inspirations are Tom Ford, Dolce & Gabbana, and Malaysian Renowned Fashion Designer Bernard Chandran, apart from being a Designer, Arzmy is also a Stylist and a Creative Director. “For me, when people rent or buy my outfits, I am included in as well as their stylist because I do not want people to take our outfits, and style themselves, that is how particular we are.”

Arzmy elaborate further saying that his clients would carry the name of Gavroche, hence the way the outfits are portrayed is important. Furthermore, Arzmy explained that in menswear, there are rules to follow such as the way a person is wearing their vests, or suspenders, and even the colour of the footwear is essential. “The reason behind this is because I do not want my clients to be laughed at by those who knows the rules of menswear.” Stereotypes of fashionable men to homosexuality As soon as the question was hurled at Arzmy, he shot a slight laughter, “To be honest, I get that a lot. I remembered last time, when I was in a restaurant at Kuala Lumpur, a gay guy actually approached me and asked for my number.” “When I said no I am not gay, he said I was lying based on the way I am dressed. He told me, ‘You are dress up really good, you are very detailed and you have a piercing on one ear’,” Arzmy continued as he revealed also that was the reason he took off his piercing now.

He then pushed the stereotype away saying that fashionable men are not necessarily homosexual. Menswear in Kuching “To me, the men in Kuching seems quite skeptical in dressing up, as they are afraid of people’s judgement, and most also do not know where to go while dressing up, but in 2017 I noticed a lot of them started to message me asking me to style them.” Arzmy continued on sharing, “From this, I find that they actually want to dress up but do not know the right source, or how to.”

Apart from telling his clients to imitate their idols’ fashion sense, Arzmy also told them a very good advice, “If you wear nicely, it has to be aligned with your character as well, like in a gentlemen kind of way.” “I find that men in Kuching do not usually buy suits their size, rather a bigger size which makes them have a sluggish look.

They do not watch the details, especially the cuff of the suit, it has to be 1 centimetre short, and the sleeve from the inner blouse must be obvious.” The rather bodacious Arzmy shared his fashion perspective, “To me, all this tiny details including the shoulder is how you can differentiate a good suit and a bad suit, and a good fitted suit can make a difference – when you walk with a well fitted suit, it shows you are confident.” For the best classy menswear look, head over to Gavroche Official Instagram page at @gavroche_official, and for more information and tips on how to look best, do contact Arzmy at 016-8976997 or email at gavrocheofficial@gmail.com. Gavroche’s showroom is located at Sublot 60, Level 2, Metrocity Square, Matang New Township, 93050, Kuching.