(Image: T&A)
The owner of Bradford's only bespoke tailor shop has shared the story of how he built his business up from nothing.
You may have walked past IK Collection's impressive shop on Westgate, or maybe you've seen a celebrity donning one of their spectacular suits.
IK Collections at 164 Westgate has designed suits for everyone from political leaders and actors to musicians and athletes.
Bradford's very own Imran Khan, who runs the tailor shop, has made garments for Captain Sir Tom Moore, former Prime Minster Boris Johnson, ex Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, boxing champions Amir Khan and Daniel Dubois, TV stars David Dickinson and Christopher Dean, and even King Charles III himself.
IK Collections is based on Westgate (Image: T&A)
The company is particularly known in the Asian wedding market for its luxury sherwanis and heavily detailed formalwear but is equally well-regarded for its traditional British bespoke tailoring.
But how did it all begin? And how did a Bradford lad with just £300 manage to build up a tailoring empire?
IK Collections is based on Westgate (Image: T&A)
Getting to know Mr Khan
Where he started
Mr Khan's career began by working as a chauffeur at Harrogate car dealership GC Motors.
He told the T&A he had “always wanted to be in fashion.”
His boss Giles Castleton would give him money and say “go get yourself an outfit” because he knew how much Mr Khan loved clothes.
IK Collections is based on Westgate (Image: T&A)
The moment everything changed
One day, while still working at the dealership, a woman complimented Mr Khan on his jacket and asked where he had bought it.
He told her he had designed it himself and gave her his email address.
The next day she emailed him.
IK Collections is based on Westgate (Image: T&A)
He carried on working as a chauffeur during the day while measuring clients for made-to-measure suits from 6 till 10pm.
Then it was back to work in the morning.
Eventually his boss, who Mr Khan describes as “extremely supportive,” gave him the opportunity to focus more on his designing business.
IK Collections is based on Westgate (Image: T&A)
Starting out with just £300
There came a time when Mr Khan realised he needed his own space.
When he rented out his first shop in Bradford in 2012, he had just £300 in the bank.
Rent was £350 a month, so he scraped by until business picked up.
In 2016, four years later, he moved into 164 Westgate.
It turned out to be the shop that legendary Bradford tailor Raymond Lister had used many years earlier.
IK Collections is based on Westgate (Image: T&A)
'Raymond was the master, believe me'
Mr Lister, who passed away in 2024, had taught Mr Khan to make suits and had become both a mentor and a father figure to him.
He told the T&A: “Raymond was the master, believe me.”
In a full circle moment, while renovating his new shop, he found a photograph of Raymond - which still hangs on the wall to this day.
By 2018, Mr Khan had left GC Motors to focus entirely on tailoring.
He said: “I decided, I’m just going to do my thing, what I am best at.”
As the business expanded, he bought several adjoining units on Westgate and a car park, and has clients around the world from Panama to Poland.
He believes his tailoring shop has “got Bradford noticed.”
IK Collections is based on Westgate (Image: T&A)
'I am blessed to put back in the community'
Mr Khan says he is committed to putting back into the local community - because he knows how tough life can be.
Whether that's shortening someone's trousers for free because they can't afford it, or donating suits to the University of Bradford to give out to students ahead of interviews.
He runs a domestic violence and loneliness campaign, a free tailoring school and has even started out a free vegetable garden.
His Duke of Gloucester library is free for anyone to use - which he hopes in turn might inspire the next generation of tailors.
He has also donated to a local boxing academy with a “knives down, gloves out” policy.
His motto is: “You have to work hard to get somewhere but you have to give back.”