Founded 1925 — a century of Indian wool production
Raymond was established in Thane in 1925, in what was then the Bombay Presidency. The textile industry of the colonial era was dominated by British import cloth, and Raymond's founding represented an early commitment to building an integrated Indian wool textile capability that could match imported cloth in quality while developing the domestic industry.
Over the century since their founding, Raymond has grown into a substantial integrated operation. They process raw wool through every stage of production — sorting, dyeing, spinning, weaving, and finishing — within their own facilities, making them one of the largest wool textile manufacturers in Asia.
In 2025, Raymond celebrated a hundred years of continuous operation — an anniversary that marks them as not merely the oldest wool textile manufacturer in India but as one of the few Indian manufacturers of any kind to have operated continuously for a full century across colonial rule, independence, partition, liberalisation, and globalisation.
Pure wool and fine suiting — the core Raymond range
Raymond's primary suiting cloth range covers pure wool, merino blends, and fine worsted in weights appropriate for Indian professional wear — typically 210–280 gsm, suited to both air-conditioned office environments and the outdoor conditions of Indian cities. Their Pure Wool range is the workhorse: clean, well-finished, correctly priced for what it is.
At the upper end of their range, Raymond's Fine Suiting collection uses finer merino wool in constructions that approach the quality of the entry-level European fine cloths. These are cloths that serve the client who wants quality Indian suiting without the premium of imported cloth — appropriate for a practical business wardrobe that will wear hard and be replaced on a reasonable cycle, rather than a commission intended to last a decade.
The Raymond pattern range is well-suited to the Indian professional context: a broad selection of classic plains and stripes in the colours that work for the Indian professional wardrobe — navy, charcoal, grey in multiple tones — alongside a selection of the subtle patterns appropriate for business formal wear.
Raymond for ethnic wear — the structured wool bandhgala
The architectural garments of formal Indian ethnic wear — the bandhgala, the Nehru jacket, the Jodhpuri suit — require cloth with specific properties: a structure that holds the sharp collar and the close-fitted front, a weight that gives the silhouette presence, and a finishing quality that allows crisp pressing of the garment's characteristic long lines.
Raymond's pure wool in medium weights is among the best available cloths for these garments within an accessible price point. The structure of their woven wool allows the tailor to press the bandhgala collar, the front stand, and the shoulder seams with the precision these garments require. A bespoke bandhgala in Raymond pure wool, made at The Black Lapel, is a garment that reads as correctly made and correctly finished.
For wedding commissions where multiple garments are required — a sherwani for the main ceremony, a bandhgala for the reception, a Nehru jacket for a third occasion — Raymond cloth for the secondary garments alongside a finer imported cloth for the main commission can be an intelligent approach to budget allocation across the full commission.
Why we stock Raymond — the honest case for Indian cloth
We stock Raymond because not every commission calls for imported European cloth, and because recommending cloth that is appropriate to the garment and the purpose is more honest than presenting the finest European option as the only option.
A practical business suit that will be worn daily for five years, replaced at the end of its working life, and is not intended as a garment for preservation — this is a commission where Raymond wool serves the purpose correctly. The bespoke construction — the pattern from the individual's measurements, the fitting process, the hand-finishing — remains the same regardless of the cloth. What the client receives is a garment that fits them correctly and is made correctly, in cloth that is appropriate to the purpose and honestly priced.
We will tell you plainly at the consultation whether Raymond is the right choice for your requirement. For some commissions it is; for others, the step to VBC or Holland & Sherry is the right investment.
