I have always admired and reminisced the Renaissance and have often thought of the great craftsmen and merchants of the 14th century as they were challenged by the same requirements as their counterparts are today says Alam Najiullah. ”They had to possess a discerning eye for the best, an ability to detect the slightest flaw, and a consuming desire for perfection. They had restricted access to the raw materials of the world, transportation and communications were slow, and markets were small; in compensation they had a readily available force of skilled workmen who had been trained through the apprentice system These craftsmen of the Renaissance knew that quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort says Alam Najiullah and this belief of the yester years craftsmen provided Najiullah for setting upon him-self the herculean task of balancing the quality standards of the yester years with mass production techniques of today. After the completion of his studies in Business Administration, Alam tried a few businesses other then fashion but soon realized their limiting potential and in 1992 launched his personal style in the form of COTTON & COTTON, combining a new approach with a classic stylish cut giving it the unmistakable stamp of Neapolitan tailoring. Over the last 21 years, first-time entrepreneur Syed Alam Najiullah has steadily turned COTTON & COTTON that began due to a NO from a tailor into a next generation fashion company with acquisition of Just White Shirts at Toronto’s Leslies street and Shirt Store in June 2007 on New York’s Madison Avenue. But the path from a small tailoring unit to Toronto and Madison Avenue fashion scene was anything but linear. Along the way, Alam experimented with a number of different models, making a series of strategic pivots – some more successful than others.
