Business · May 22, 2026
Private Label vs White Label Tailoring: What's the Difference?
Private label and white label both put your name on the suit — but they are not the same. Here is what each means for a menswear brand sourcing made-to-measure production.
If you are sourcing suits to sell under your own name, you will hear both terms. They overlap, but the distinction matters when you brief a manufacturer.
White label
A white-label product is made to a standard spec and sold to multiple brands, each of whom applies their own label. The garment is the same underneath; the branding changes. It is fast and cheap, but you are selling the same suit as everyone else who buys it.
Private label
A private-label product is made to your specification — your cut, your cloth choices, your details — and sold only under your label. It takes more setup but the result is genuinely yours.
Where made-to-measure changes the picture
With made-to-measure, the line blurs in your favour. Because every garment is cut to an individual client, Lanea di Biella can offer the speed of white label (no factory minimums, order one at a time) with the ownership of private label (your house block, your cloth, your label inside). You get both.
What to ask a manufacturer
- Can I set my own house cut and details? (private label)
- What are the minimums? (look for single-garment)
- Whose name goes inside? (it should be yours)
- Where is the cloth from? (we weave in Biella)
Building a label? Talk to the atelier about a private-label partnership.