A Tuxedo Shirt Designed By and For Musicians

For 30 years, violinist Kevin Yu has been frustrated by the stiff, sweaty, and ill-fitting tuxedo shirts he's required to wear for concerts. After going for a run one morning and seeing the way his Under Armour shirt handled moisture, he decided that musicians deserve the same comfortable and high-quality clothing as athletes. To fill this hole in the market, Yu created the company Coregami. 

Coregami’s first product—The Gershwin—took two years of research and trial and error before becoming available for pre-order last month. "It was uphill from day one," Yu told Laurie Niles, the founder of Violinist.com. "Selecting the right type of fabric felt like playing the lottery. But through a lot of research and meetings in Los Angeles, we were able to procure some really special materials from a world leader in the sports wear category." 

After trying a number of fabrics, Yu and his team settled on an anti-bacterial polyester mesh that offers breathability, quick moisture evaporation, and resistance to offensive odors. And in order to create a shirt that allowed for a wide range of motion, the team researched shirts used by professional golfers to understand how the shoulders were designed to accommodate their swing.

Image Credit: Coregami

Yu explained that feedback from the music community throughout the development process drastically helped the team settle on a final solution that would fit everyone’s needs. So when cellists complained about the bulkiness of French cuffs and how the cuff links hit their instruments, the team gave the shirt single cuffs instead. And because professional musicians play “3 to 4 concerts, 20 to 40 weeks a year,” not to mention weddings and other side gigs, it was important to eliminate the need for frequent dry cleanings.

Available for pre-order online and shipping in September, The Gershwin would be equally useful for anxious boys at school dances and nervous grooms.

[h/t Violinist.com]