About Urban
Wear Concept
A five-person workshop in Carina, Brisbane, doing custom tailoring, styling, alterations and small-run production since 2017. No mass production, no gimmicks, just clothes that fit and last.
From a garage bench
to Creek Rd
In 2017 Dan Mercer was fixing mates' jeans in a rented garage, charging ten bucks a hem and spending the difference on better needles. The garage had one machine, a radio and a chair that wobbled.
Nine years later the setup is bigger but the idea has not moved: take each garment seriously, charge fairly, and only send out work we would wear ourselves. The wobbly chair is still here, by the way. It holds spare fabric now.
The studio philosophy
Three rules we wrote on the wall in 2019 and never took down.
"If a garment cannot take a scuff, it does not leave the bench."
Buy once, wear for years
We would rather sell you one jacket you wear for a decade than five you bin in a year. Every design decision starts with how it ages, not how it photographs.
Repair beats replace
A third of our work is repairs and alterations. Keeping good clothes alive is better business for everyone, and better for the skip bin out the back too.
Local where it counts
Fabric milled within a day's drive, work done in the room you are standing in. When we cannot source locally we say so on the label.
Our team
Five people, one dog. Small enough that you will know who touched your garment.
Dan Mercer
Founder and head cutter. Fourteen years on industrial machines, ex-Melbourne suiting trade. Still does most first fittings himself.
Priya Nair
Pattern maker. The person who turns a chalk sketch into something that actually drapes. Grading queen, pocket perfectionist.
Tom, Gus & Alex
Tom runs the machines, Gus runs print and embroidery, Alex runs styling sessions and knows every op shop between here and the Valley.
Out of the workshop
A mixed feed of commissions, repairs and small runs from the last few months.
Bespoke chore jacket — 38 hours on the bench
Vintage denim rebuild
Cafe apron run, 60 units
Winter capsule, 40 pieces
MTM trousers, second fitting
Moments that mattered
First drop sells out
Forty tees gone in nine days. Paid for the Juki.
First brand client
A Byron label trusted us with 60 hoodies. They are still a client.
1000th garment
A repaired Barbour, fittingly. Cake was had.
First overseas order
A bespoke jacket shipped to Wellington. Kiwi winter approved.
Want to see the bench in action?
Drop in during hours or book a fitting. The coffee is on us.