• Bode is a luxury fashion brand best known for its unique, hand-illustrated clothes and accessories.
• Shoppers say they especially love Bode jackets and see them as conversation pieces.
• Buying a custom jacket involves filling out a questionnaire about your hobbies, family, and more.

When vintage shop owner Chandler Lesesne West got married in April, her husband, Connor Webb, didn't wear a tuxedo.

Instead, he donned a corduroy jacket covered with hand-painted images that meaningfully nodded to their relationship.

It wasn't a DIY project, though. The couple spent $2,100 on the custom piece from Bode, a luxury clothing brand.

"All wedding attire is going to be pricey," West, 31, said. "Buying the jacket almost seemed smarter than buying a regular tuxedo."

They might have been onto something. Bode's bespoke Senior Cord pieces have become fashion symbols of originality, status, and style.

Corduroy, artistry, and Harry Styles

Emily Adams Bode Aujla founded Bode in 2016. The brand is known for its modern pieces incorporating classic styles and techniques, like quilting and mending.

Vogue reported that the brand launched its Senior Cord collection in 2018. It was inspired by the now 121-year-old Purdue University senior tradition of illustrating corduroy trousers.

The label's take on the latter took off in 2020 with the help of Harry Styles. He wore custom pants from the line for his Vogue cover feature, leading shoppers like West to discover the brand.

Bode has only continued to grow since then. The brand told Business of Fashion in 2022 that it went from having 18 wholesale accounts in 2018 to having 105 accounts in 2021. Made-to-order pieces were also up 120% at the time, the publication reported.

Bode then launched a collaboration with Nike in 2024, opened its first international store in Paris this year, and hosted a runway show during the Super Bowl to showcase its athletic sister brand, Bode Rec.

And that's not to mention how Bode's Senior Cord designs are all over platforms like TikTok.

Bode adds a survey to the typical online shopping experience

Luxury fashion brands are known for making rare pieces that are hard to find and even tougher to buy. Think about Hermès and its range of limited-edition Birkin bags.

Bode runs its business differently. While its custom jackets are all specialized, the price tag and overall design process remain the same for every shopper.

Mac Bass, a 32-year-old copywriter and content creator, decided at the start of 2025 to "pull the trigger" on his dream fashion piece: a custom Senior Cord Side Tab jacket for $2,100.

In April, he went to Bode's website, added the garment in his size to his shopping cart, and purchased it. Within hours, the brand emailed him an extensive questionnaire about his hobbies, favorite movies, lucky numbers, family, and more.

"You can do a 30-minute interview [with Bode] to go over everything if you want," Bass said. "But I thought that having the time to process it myself would be better. It took me two hours."

He aimed to be "as honest as possible" and not overthink any answer. Bode said the jacket would be complete within 10 to 12 weeks, and Bass received the finished product in early July.

West also shared her shopping experience with Business Insider, and it was the same.

A fashion trifecta: luxe, accessible, and made to order

Webb's wedding jacket is illustrated with images of the five cats he shares with West, the purple wisteria flowers that decorated their wedding venue, two fairies that resemble the couple, and more.

Bass' jacket, on the other hand, depicts the logo of his favorite hockey team, his wife's name, and an image of the first car he ever owned, among other designs.

"I think my favorite one is a little more subtle," Bass said. "On the bottom of the jacket, there's the Empire State Building in the fashion of a black-and-white cookie. Based on the answers I wrote, I think it combines how I'm half Jewish and how both sides of my family have roots in New York."

He said Bode used "roughly half" of the things he listed on his questionnaire, so not everything made the cut. Still, he loves how perfectly the jacket represents his life.

"Every time I wear it, I'm shocked by how many people come up to me," he said. "Even people who don't know Bode ask me, 'Did you do that yourself?' And I'm like, 'I wish."

Bass said Bode has achieved something that few other luxury brands have. It's created a line of conversation-starting garments that are truly unique, and also easy to purchase (if you have $2,100 to spare, that is).

West and her husband see their custom Bode piece similarly. They plan to keep their jacket in their family for generations.

"We're both going to wear this on a regular fall or winter day as our jacket," she told Business Insider. "It's going to be such a cool statement piece in both of our wardrobes, and it's going to become a family heirloom."

Now, they just have to decide who will wear it first.