The Journal — The Journal

Most fashion businesses work the same way: design something, make a lot of it, try to sell it before the season ends. The leftovers become discounts, then become waste. The whole system is built around speculation — a guess about what people will want — and the losses are built into the price of the things that do sell.

The word "bespoke" gets used so loosely in fashion that it has become nearly meaningless. Brands apply it to everything from $300 suits to online configurators where you pick a lining color. The original meaning is precise, and it matters — because the difference between true bespoke tailoring...