I am a devotee of bespoke suits—oftentimes drawn by the allure of graceful tailoring and the tactile allure of fine fabrics. Yoshimi Iguchi, a master craftsman of Japanese suits, elucidates in his tome the meticulous 208-step process involved in suit-making. For within these intricate steps lies the essence of craftsmanship. Yet, to elevate a mere garment to the realm of artistry, it must be infused with significance.

During my second year of study in the United States, amidst a wintry chill, an unexpected missive graced my mailbox—a summons for jury duty. Hailing from a land where the jury system is foreign, I seldom pondered the weighty question of adjudicating a citizen’s guilt. Upon learning that my sentiments might sway the fate of the accused, I was simultaneously stirred and unsettled, my mind awash with tumultuous thoughts. One poignant realization emerged: I envisioned myself donning a suit as I stepped into the hallowed halls of justice, endeavoring to persuade not just myself but all present that we were convened to earnestly deliberate, in the name of humanity.

Alas, due to my non-U.S. citizenship, the honor of jury duty eluded me. Nevertheless, this episode prompted me to retrieve from my closet a suit long neglected. For there are moments when its presence becomes indispensable, accompanying me through endeavors of great import.

Four years ago, amidst the scholarly enclave of Ann Arbor, I embarked on a journey as a research assistant to a luminary in the field of political science, whose seminal work had ignited fervent discourse within academia. My charge was to unearth corroborative evidence to substantiate the theoretical frameworks expounded in her opus. “But what if the evidence were to refute the model?” I ventured to inquire. Her response was unequivocal: “Then it signifies its fallibility.”

In that instant, I discerned an elegant symbiosis between the sartorial and the scholarly. The allure of a suit lies not merely in its visual appeal but in its equipoise—a fusion of grace and fortitude, an unwavering testament to resilience in the face of adversity. Subconsciously, I harbored the conviction that jurors, too, ought to attire themselves in suits when discharging their solemn duties in the court of law. Thus, prior to embarking on my venture into bespoke tailoring, I christened it: ArborScholar荷重—a homage to my cognizance of this intertwined ethos.

I eschew the notion of suits being entangled with matters of lucre and gender: the juxtaposition of opulence and suits strikes me as discordant, and I recoil at the notion of suits being construed as instruments of male adornment. My ethos is straightforward: if a garment demands meticulous craftsmanship, then its wearer, in this epoch, should not be synonymous with privilege but rather with purpose.

Hence, I eschew ostentatious fabrics and esoteric techniques in favor of a meticulous approach, crafting attire that befits individuals of valor, enabling them to bear their burden with dignity.

A suit, by its very nature, imposes constraints. Despite the tailor’s discerning eye and meticulous measurements, a suit remains inherently confining. One does not don a suit for comfort; rather, there exist moments when one forsakes comfort to shoulder the weight of responsibility and pursue what one deems right.