Ten Minutes With Kofi

We meet Kofi in his workshop at the end of the day. There is chalk on his fingers, a tape measure around his neck, and a half-finished jacket on the dress form behind him that he keeps glancing at, like it might wander off. He offers us tea, then jollof, then a chair, in that order. “Ten minutes,” he says. “Then I have to go and argue with a lapel.”

How did you start?

“My granddad was a tailor in Kumasi. He had a pair of scissors he wouldn’t let anyone touch. Not my mum, not my uncles, definitely not me. When he passed, they came to me. I was fourteen. I didn’t know what to do with them, so I learned. I still use them on every suit. They’re older than this building.”

What’s the first thing you notice about someone?

“How they stand when they think nobody’s looking. People stand one way for a mirror and another way for real life. I cut for the real one. Otherwise the suit fits the photo and fights you all day.”

Sam’s wedding suit. Tell us about it.

“Forest green. Half canvas. A proper break on the trouser. He came in wanting navy because navy is safe. I held the green cloth up to him and he went quiet. That’s how you know. People go quiet when they see themselves.”

Did he cry at the toast? “He told me he made it to sentence two. Then he came back to the shop with a framed photo to say thank you, and I had to pretend I had something in my eye. For about twenty minutes.”

Settle it. What is a trouser break?

“It’s the little fold where your trouser hem meets your shoe. No break means the hem just kisses the shoe. Clean, modern. A full break folds more. Classic. Neither is wrong. What’s wrong is a trouser so long it’s puddling round your ankles like it’s given up on life. That’s not a break. That’s a breakdown.”

One rule everybody should know?

“Fit first, then everything else. A cheap jacket that fits will beat an expensive one that doesn’t, every time. Find a good tailor near you and make friends. Take them biscuits. Most clothes are made for a body nobody actually has. A tailor makes them yours.”

What’s on your workbench right now?

“A waistcoat for Sam’s first anniversary. Don’t tell him. And a young man called Luca keeps leaving notes on my moments asking how to hem trousers. I think I’ll invite him in. Somebody showed me once. That’s how it goes.”

Lightning round

• Favorite color to cut? “Mustard. It’s brave. People think it’s loud, but it’s warm.”
• Biggest mistake people make? “Sleeves too long. Show a bit of cuff. Half an inch. Trust me.”
• Late-night snack? “Jollof from the container, standing up. I’m a craftsman, not a saint.”
• Who on WHATAQUEEN dresses best? “Ray. His first suit since 1989, and he wore it like he never stopped. That’s class.”
• Best thing about the job? “The quiet. When someone sees themselves in the mirror and goes quiet. I’ll never get tired of it.”

Our ten minutes are up. Kofi walks us to the door, notices a loose thread on our jacket, and snips it with his granddad’s scissors before we can protest. “There,” he says. “Now you look like you meant it.”

Follow him at @kofi_cuts, and read the whole story in the storyline The Suit.