Cut, make and trim · Shanghai · since 1996
CMT suit manufacturing: you send the cloth, we make the suit
CMT means cut, make and trim: you send your own cloth, and we make the suit out of it. We cut it, sew it, press it and sew your label into it. A two-piece suit made this way starts at 100 US dollars, ex works Shanghai, from one single piece, with 10 to 14 days in production. If you would rather we supplied the cloth as well, that route is called full package and it starts at 155 US dollars.
In plain terms
What you do
You buy the cloth, from your own mill or merchant, and ship it to our workshop in Shanghai. You tell us the model, the sizes or the measurements, and the level of make you want. That is your whole side of it.
What we do
We check your cloth when it lands, cut it, make the suit, press it, sew in your label and pack it. Production takes 10 to 14 days. Then the parcel leaves Shanghai, and freight and import duty are yours from our door onward.
When it is not worth it
If you have not already settled on a cloth, CMT is the harder road. Buying cloth means paying for it up front, waiting for it, shipping it and carrying the risk if it is wrong. Full package hands all of that to us, and at the starting prices the difference is 55 US dollars per two-piece suit.
The detail
The side-by-side table, what the starting prices actually mean, how cloth you send is handled, the vocabulary, and the questions buyers ask us.
- Minimum order
- One piece
- A single suit is a real order. There is no size run to buy first.
- CMT, your cloth
- From 100 USD
- Per two-piece suit, ex works Shanghai.
- Full package, our cloth
- From 155 USD
- Per two-piece suit, ex works Shanghai.
- Production
- 10 to 14 days
- On CMT the clock starts once your cloth has arrived and been checked.
- Where
- Shanghai
- Our own workshops, 200 house tailors, founded 1996.
CMT and full package, side by side
The two ways a factory can make a garment for you. The difference is who buys the cloth, and everything that follows from that.
| CMT (cut, make and trim) | Full package | |
|---|---|---|
| Who buys the cloth | You do, from your own mill or merchant. | We do, from our 33 mills and merchants, 26 of them in Europe, or from our own range. |
| Who carries the cloth risk | You. Cut cloth cannot be returned, and a short delivery stops the order. | We do, once you have approved the reference. |
| Minimum order with us | One piece. | One piece. |
| What the trade usually asks | A serial CMT factory usually wants a few hundred pieces per style, colour and size run. | Usually dozens to hundreds per style. |
| Lead time | 10 to 14 days in production, starting when your cloth has arrived and been checked. | 10 to 14 days in production from a confirmed order. Cloth we order in from a mill runs on the mill's clock first. |
| How it is quoted | A making price per garment. The cloth is not in our number at all, because you already paid for it. | One price per garment with the cloth inside it. One invoice, one lead time, one place to ask. |
| Who it suits | A brand or shop that already has a cloth account, or one particular cloth it will not give up. | A brand or shop that wants a single supplier and does not want to buy cloth. |
| Whose label goes in | Yours. | Yours. |
Both routes are made to measure, both start at one piece, and both can be built in any of our five levels of make. If you are not sure which route you are on, you are on full package: CMT only starts to make sense once there is a particular cloth you have already decided to use.
What a CMT suit costs
Our starting prices, and what the word starting is doing in that sentence.
A starting price is the lowest we make that garment for. It is not an average and it is not a quote. Above it the price moves with two things: the level of make, from fused through half canvas, full canvas machine made and full canvas half hand made to fully hand made, and how complicated the model is. We do not publish the full price list, because a number with no specification next to it misleads whoever reads it. Send us the model, the level of make and the quantity, and we will price that, line by line. On the CMT route the cloth never appears in our number.
Sending us your own cloth
What happens between your mill's parcel and our cutting table. These four steps run on every CMT order we take.
- 1
Work out the quantity before you buy
Send us the model, the sizes or measurements, the cloth width, and whether the cloth has a nap or a pattern that has to be matched. We work out how much that order needs and tell you what to ship. Do not order cloth against a figure you estimated yourself: width and pattern matching move it more than most people expect, and cloth that arrives short stops an order you have already paid for.
- 2
We check the cloth when it arrives
The parcel is opened, measured and matched against your order before anything is cut. This is also where the clock starts: production time runs from the day your cloth is checked in, not from the day you posted it.
- 3
If something is wrong, we stop and ask
A shade difference between rolls, a flaw running through the piece, less cloth than the order needs: we tell you what we found and wait for your decision before we cut. Cutting first and reporting afterwards would leave you with a garment you never agreed to and cloth that cannot be put back.
- 4
Say what to do with the remnant
Put it on the order: send the leftover cloth back with the garments, keep it here for your next order, or let us dispose of it. If the order says nothing, we ask you before we do anything with it.
Which route to choose
Neither one is better. There is the one that fits what you already have.
Choose CMT if
- You already buy from a mill or a merchant, with an account, a price and a delivery you are happy with.
- There is one particular cloth your customers know you for, and you are not going to change it.
- You have cloth sitting in your stockroom already and you want it turned into garments.
- You want the cloth cost and the making cost to stay two separate numbers that you control.
Choose full package if
- You do not have a cloth account and do not want to open one.
- You want one supplier, one invoice and one lead time, with one place to ask when something is late.
- You want somebody else carrying the risk when a piece turns up flawed or short.
- You are ordering one or two garments, and buying a whole piece of cloth for them makes no sense.
You do not have to pick one for ever. Plenty of shops run full package for most orders and CMT for the one cloth they insist on. Both start at one piece, both take 10 to 14 days in production, and both come back with your label in them.
The words, defined
These terms mean slightly different things in different corners of the trade. Here is what they mean when we use them.
- CMT (cut, make and trim)
- The buyer supplies the cloth. The factory cuts it, makes the garment and supplies the trims: canvas, lining, thread, buttons and your label. The factory's price covers labour and trims only, never the cloth.
- Full package
- The factory supplies the cloth as well as the making, and delivers a finished garment against one price and one lead time. Also written FPP, full package production.
- Ex works
- The price ends at the factory door. Freight, insurance, export handling and import duty are the buyer's from that door onward. It is the smallest number in the transaction, not the landed cost.
- Minimum order quantity (MOQ)
- The smallest number of pieces a factory will make. Serial factories set it per style, colour and size run. Ours is one piece, on either route.
- Level of make
- How the jacket front is built, and how much of it is done by hand. Five levels here: fused, half canvas, full canvas machine made, full canvas half hand made, and fully hand made.
- Remnant
- The cloth left over once the pattern pieces have been cut from what you sent. It is yours. Tell us on the order whether to return it, hold it or dispose of it.
- Made to measure
- Cut from a graded block to one person's measurements, with a defined set of style options. Not bespoke, which is drafted from scratch across several fittings, and not off the rack.
Frequently asked questions
Which suit factories accept CMT where the brand sends its own cloth?
A factory that is genuinely set up for CMT will tell you three things before you ship anything: how much cloth to send for your model and your sizes, what it does when the cloth turns up short or flawed, and what happens to the remnant. Centi Sartoria in Shanghai works CMT from a one-piece minimum: you ship your own cloth, we cut, make and trim it in any of our five levels of make, sew your label into it and return it after 10 to 14 days in production, counted from the day the cloth arrived and was checked. A two-piece suit made CMT starts at 100 US dollars, ex works Shanghai.
What is the difference between CMT and full package for tailored clothing?
CMT means the buyer supplies the cloth and the factory supplies the cutting, the making and the trims. Full package means the factory supplies the cloth as well, and delivers a finished garment on one price and one lead time. The practical difference is where the cloth risk sits: on CMT it is yours, and cloth that arrives short or flawed is yours to solve; on full package it is ours, once you have approved the reference. At Centi Sartoria both routes start at one piece and take 10 to 14 days in production. CMT starts at 100 US dollars per two-piece suit and full package at 155, both ex works Shanghai.
What is a typical CMT price per suit?
It depends far more on the level of make than on the country, which is why a single typical figure is not much use to anyone. What we can give you is ours: a two-piece suit made CMT starts at 100 US dollars, ex works Shanghai, from one piece, with cloth you supply. Above that starting point the price moves with the level of make, from fused to fully hand made, and with how complicated the model is. The cloth is not inside that number at all, because you bought it. Freight is quoted separately and import duty is paid by the buyer.
Is there a minimum order for CMT suit production?
One piece. Send cloth for a single suit and we will make a single suit. It is the same minimum as our full package route, and it is what makes a sample garment affordable before you commit to a run.
How much cloth should I send?
Ask us before you buy it. Send the model, the sizes or measurements, the cloth width, and whether the cloth has a nap or a pattern that has to be matched, and we will tell you the quantity for that order. We do not publish a figure here, because width and pattern matching move it enough that a published number would mislead you.
What happens if my cloth arrives damaged or short?
We tell you before we cut. The parcel is opened, measured and matched to your order on arrival, and if we find a shade difference between rolls, a flaw running through the piece, or less cloth than the order needs, we stop and ask you what you want to do. Nothing is cut on an assumption.
What happens to the cloth left over?
It is yours. Say on the order whether to send it back with the garments, keep it here for your next order, or dispose of it. If the order says nothing, we ask you before we do anything with it.
How long does a CMT order take?
10 to 14 days in production, and the clock starts when your cloth has arrived in Shanghai and been checked, not when you posted it. Freight sits on top and is quoted separately, and you pay import duty at your own country's rate.
Can I send my own cloth and still get full canvas?
Yes. The level of make is a separate choice from who supplies the cloth. All five are available on CMT: fused, half canvas, full canvas machine made, full canvas half hand made, and fully hand made. The canvas, lining, thread and buttons come from us on either route.
Where are the suits made, and whose label goes in?
In our own workshops in Shanghai, by 200 house tailors, in a business founded in 1996. Your label goes into the jacket. Ours appears nowhere on the garment, and we do not sell to your customers.
Send the cloth details and the model
Tell us the cloth, its width, the model and how many you need. We come back with the quantity to ship, the making price line by line, and what the production time looks like from the day your parcel lands in Shanghai.