HotelChatter

It all starts with a meeting between a hotel's management and Top Hat's creative director, Alan Steinger. Once the hotel explains what it's looking for, Steinger goes away to start sketching ideas and preparing storyboards featuring a number of options. In the case of Fashion 26, Steinger and his team were asked to present a "modern, urban look" with the dominant color being charcoal gray.

Once the hotel settles on its favorite concepts, Top Hat creates samples of the uniforms, and then goes into production mode once the hotel gives the green light. Then come the fittings. Top Hat's head tailor Philip visits each property the company is working with, and takes measurements using the samples. The right fit can make a huge difference when it comes to making that first impression, so special care is taken with all front-of-house positions.

In addition to Fashion 26, Top Hat designed and created the uniforms for other recent and new NYC hotels including The Surrey, The Standard, and The Crosby Street Hotel. We'll have more on Steinger's love for fashion and hotels later this week.