Our Story

A great tailor thrives on tradition, grows by innovation, breathes internationality, works with only the best materials in the world, has the custom of creating complex garments and a recognisable leitmotiv throughout his lines of custom-made products.

But it all starts with a deep understanding of what it takes to hit that perfect fit and the only truly traditional, sartorial methods of constructing a custom-made suit, jacket, shirt or overcoat. And the passion to live up to it.

The Fit
For a jacket - and also overcoat - it’s all about the shoulders, whether it’s traditionally tailored, or relaxed and relatively unconstructed. When the shoulders fit properly, than every other aspect of the blazer or coat cascades from there.

The Make
Our ultimate suit construction is in the full canvas tradition. An increasingly scarce make due to the extra time, skills and costs required to realise it and we’re committed to keep it alive and kicking. The canvas is the critical part of a good jacket acting as a stabilising layer between its outer fabric and lining. It’s the canvas that gives a better fit, due to its ability to naturally conform to the body’s shape over time compensating for one’s physical imperfections. It also increases comfort. durability and a longer lifespan.

Canvas is thin layered cotton enforced with horse and camel hair, woven into the cotton in specific ways, depending on whether it’s the front or the shoulder of the jacket. By applying thousands of little stitches it is molded into a round form that is sewn into the lapel making it sartorial round in its form.

On the opposite we celebrate our unconstructed, lightest and most dynamic soft tailoring make, with absolutely no canvas or fusing on the front piece of the jacket. You’ll hardly notice you’re wearing a jacket at all.

Our sublime shirt making - dress and casual - resonates in hand-sewn pleated shoulders, hand pleated shoulders with split yoke, extra fine stitching at cuffs and fully-sewn collar (non-fused), hand stitched button holes and side seam gussets, removable collar stays and a collection of mother-of-pearl, horn and galalith buttons with a strong signature crow's foot stitch.

The Passion
We speak of diversity as a native language and love to cultivate the advantage, that all people are different, as well as to evoke that deep sense of uniqueness which can turn a custom-made garment into a personal attribute and not just a fleeting craze.

For almost 50 years already each day it is the wish and desire of the POSSEN team to take every client on a journey in creating a real authentic and personal custom-made wardrobe. Handpicked and composed with taste and upgraded over time, avoiding waste and for each season and occasion. It is not about stuffing one’s cupboard full of clothes.

POSSEN offers a constant flow of best-selling, new and never-seen-before fabrics from the most skilled weavers in Italy, Scotland, France and Japan.

Since 1969 we select our fabrics from those weavers that concentrate their efforts on being the best - in terms of collection, innovation and service - and on the details. Just like POSSEN they recognise that every day is another chance to innovate and improve.

Logically all the top mills are represented at POSSEN, featuring Loro Piana, Vitale Barberis Canonico, E. Zegna, Lanificio Colombo, Thomas Mason, Albini, Ferla, Holland & Sherry, Dormeuil, Tallia di Delfino, E. Thomas, Carlo Barbera, Dugdale & Bros and an impressive range of smaller, highly-skilled family owned weavers..

A family business with 47 years of heritage.

In 1969 at the age of 26, the young master tailor Wim Possen opens the first POSSEN showroom in the municipality of Brunssum in the Southern part of The Netherlands, in the heart of Northwest Europe - an area which is often referred to as "the balcony of Europe", or "land without frontiers" because of its easy access to Belgium, Luxemburg, Germany and France.

Also, since 1967 Brunssum accommodates the headquarters Allied Joint Forces Command - one of three NATO operational level commands in NATO Allied Command Operations - and right from the start Wim Possen serves a wide range of international and demanding clientlèle looking for quality, service and the perfect fit.

Here lies the foundation of the POSSEN DNA that is cultivated today in the new POSSEN offering ultimate customization and the best custom-made garments to the world. A DNA that is summarized well by our internal motto that gets us going every day:

“In general, too little use is made of the advantage, that all people are different”

For almost half a decade POSSEN loves to focus on the individual characteristics and wishes of each customer. Taking each customer on a journey building a long-lasting and authentic wardrobe as a masterpiece that becomes the pallet for the man wearing it.

Until 1998 Wim Possen combines the bespoke assortment of POSSEN with an outstanding ready-to-wear collection of the best menswear brands in the world. In the early 1970s he was one of the very first retailers in the Netherlands to introduce the Hugo Boss brand, also bringing world famous brands such as Corneliani, Armani, Paul & Shark, Burberry, Allegri, Moncler, and many others to the Netherlands and his customers.

In 1999 Bas Possen, the oldest son of Wim Possen takes over the company with a compelling and decisive strategy to say goodbye to mass produced ready-to-wear garments.

From that moment on POSSEN only focuses on custom-made fashion offered both online and offline to customers, living up to the vision that in the 21st century for every man and women custom-made is the way of the future. The only and prevailing way in building an authentic wardrobe one loves to wear: handpicked by you, made for you, long-lasting and unique pieces that make you look best. And POSSEN makes it all just easier. And fun. Saving the customer time with better results and spending less money!

In the year 2000 the company launched the world-first fashion application of 2D and 3D body scanners for taking measurements in three pilot stores in The Netherlands as well as a ‘mobile store’, a truck with a body scanner, sales room and coffee corner visiting corporate clients. Via www.possen.com one of the first fashion websites and e-stores of the country is opened.

In 2016 POSSEN launched the company PAK, a world-first high-quality online-only custom-made menswear label. The PAK team is connected 24/7 with each customer and his wardrobe to offer and unprecedented customization experience with an ultimate personal service.

With new outlooks offered by customization concepts to the European fashion industry, POSSEN is supported by the European Community and has been lead partner in projects funded by the European Commission researching innovative mass customization concepts. POSSEN is often referred to in case studies and research on mass customization and Bas Possen delivered executive workshops in this field, amongst others for the University of California at Irvine (USA), the MIT Sloan School of Management in Boston (USA), the University of Maastricht (The Netherlands), and the Vlerick Business School in Ghent (Belgium).