Mysore/Mysuru: Narendra Babu of Mysuru city, fondly known as Vittal, is a third-generation tailor and has been noticed for his stitching skills by none other than legendary Caribbean cricketer Chris Gayle.
One may wonder how a tailor from Mandi Mohalla in Mysuru caught the fashion eye of Chris Gayle. It seems one of Babu’s customers, Fahad, who earlier worked with Chris Gayle, had been to Turkey to attend a family event during which he was wearing a blazer stitched by Narendra Babu.
When Fahad met Chris Gayle, the cricketer loved what he was wearing, and he too wanted a similar blazer stitched.
Speaking to Star of Mysore, Narendra Babu mentioned that Chris Gayle’s team had sent him the blazer’s design. “I received a confirmation call from Chris Gayle’s team on Oct. 29 with all the specifications. The required cloth was brought from Bengaluru, and the black and red coloured double-shaded blazer was delivered on Nov. 1 to Chris Gayle in Bengaluru when he had visited the city to take part in an event,” he added.
Narendra Babu said that he was paid 1005 US dollars, about Rs. 90,000 INR, for the blazer. Interestingly, what makes the blazer more special is the fact that Narendra Babu never met Chris Gayle to take the measurements.
Instead, he worked based on the limited information given by Gayle’s people - his chest size (44 inches) and his height, 6.3 ft.
“Chris Gayle was impressed and has also referred my name to his friends, and I am working on some of those orders,” said Narendra Babu.
Narendra Babu’s tailoring business was started by his grandfather Narayan Rao in 1932 on Benki Nawab Street in Mandi Mohalla. Back then, they stitched clothes only for Jockeys and the Mounted Police.
Later, Narendra Babu’s father opened up the business to include stitching fashion clothing. Narendra Babu, after college, joined the family business in 2004.
