Orthodox Jews in New York order their kaftans from Hungary

JT Ruhaipari Ltd. in Southwestern Hungary, close to Kaposvár, has been involved in the sewing business for more than thirty years. The company located in the village of Nagybajom employs about 240 people and is one of the largest employers in the area. The company has been making clothes in different patterns, sizes, and shades for three decades. They even sell their products overseas.

From Nagybajom to New York and London

Unique in Europe, the traditional attire of Orthodox Jews who live in London or New York is made in the sewing shop in Nagybajom. The sewing workshop produces hundreds of suits and long kaftans a day in a hundred and twenty shades of black, writes Sonline.hu.

Kaftans and suits are not only shipped to the UK and the US regularly but they are occasionally ordered from Israel as well.

“We do not know of much competition on the continent, but we know of some Jewish clothing being made in the Far East. We get a lot of orders, we can hardly fulfil them,” emphasised Tamás Gábor, the company’s managing director.

120-150 thousand kaftans per year

The factory makes clothes not only for adults but also for children, from the age of ten. Suits and kaftans are made of fibres or wool.
Normally, fifteen to twenty basic models and seventy different tailoring patterns are used in Nagybajom, and the company produces about 120-150 thousand kaftans a year. Last year, a turnover of almost EUR 4.3 million was achieved, but this year, they expect another 15-20 per cent increase in revenue.
Traditional Jewish clothing is unchanged as there are no new models and fashion trends, so you can sell these clothes even next season, which is a big advantage for the sewing shop. The products you make always stay up-to-date, says Tamás Gábor.

Nagybajom is a 30-minute drive from the regional centre of Kaposvár. You can read our previous article about Kaposvár here.

The local seamstresses

In the sewing shop, working hours last from six to two in the afternoon, which is a big advantage because many of the people living in the surrounding villages cultivate gardens or keep animals, so in addition to their work, they can also take care of the household.
Because the manufacturing process is difficult to automate, a significant portion of the work requires the knowledge and presence of local seamstresses, writes index.hu.

A few weeks ago, we wrote an article about Hassidic Jews living in Brooklyn, stating that many of them have Hungarian origins. You can read that article here.

Source: sonline.hu, index.hu