How Mark the Tailor Honors a Holocaust Survivor’s Legacy

Dapper pieces from Mark the Tailor’s first collection. / Photo by Pat Piasecki / Styling by Madison Trapkin

A sepia photo of Adam’s grandfather, David, and his dad, Leon, as a baby. / Photo courtesy of Mark The Tailor

Adam Mark has a distinct memory from his childhood: his dad, Leon, closing his eyes and holding shirtsleeves between two fingers while shopping for clothes. “If it wasn’t premium fabric, he’d move on. My grandfather, a tailor, instilled this knowledge of fabrics in him,” says Mark, who recently debuted his own clothing collection, Mark the Tailor, influenced by his family history. He’d always known that his grandfather, David Mark, owned a tailor shop back in the 1960s. But it wasn’t until recently, after digging deep during conversations with his dad, that he really grasped his legacy.

After surviving the Holocaust, David Mark emigrated to Boston in 1950 with his wife and children. He worked as a tailor for Boston retailers, including Jordan Marsh and Sid Segel’s tuxedo rental business, before going on to open his own shop, Mark the Tailor, in Park Square’s Motor Mart Garage, which he operated until he died in 1969. “My grandfather was a skilled tailor. He made custom suits and dresses to the nines. Using premium natural fabrics was really important to him,” says Mark, whose background is in advertising.

The current season’s collection. / Photo by Luis Garcia

Like his grandfather, Mark’s passion has always been clothing. “Fashion is how I express myself,” he says. Inspired by his grandfather’s story, Mark and his wife, Lindsay, a marketing guru with a background in the fashion business, recently decided to take the plunge and launch a menswear line. Rooted in Boston, the collection is made up of wardrobe staples with versatility: think corduroys and pullovers; refined trousers; a shirt crafted from supple moleskin; and a wool coat, all of which are suitable to wear to the office or out and about on the weekend. Pieces are named for local spots and family members; the cords, for example, are a tribute to Mark’s dad. And all of the American-made clothing is created with natural fibers. “As quality was so important to my grandfather, it’s so important to us,” says Mark, noting that different textures, like suede piping around the neck of a pullover, are incorporated into items to create a distinctive look. “A shirt doesn’t have to be a wild pattern; texture can create interest.”

While the Marks are hoping to host pop-ups at locations in and around Boston later this year—and establish a retail presence in the city after that—items are currently available online (markthetailor.com), with additional pieces made of linen, canvas, and cotton to come this summer. “These are classic pieces from the 1950s and ’60s,” Mark says, but “with a modern spin.” His grandfather would undoubtedly be proud.

Lindsay and Adam Mark / Photo by Pat Piasecki / Styling by Madison Trapkin