Montreal businessman Alvin Segal introduced the 'engineered suit' to Canada

Alvin Segal in the Peerless Clothing factory in Montreal. Mr. Segal introduced what he called the ‘engineered suit’ to Canada, mimicking European manufacturers.Courtesy of Peerless Clothing It was 1951 and Alvin Segal was finishing high school in Montreal a few years after moving to the city with his widowed mother and two sisters from New York State. An uninspired student, he never mastered French and got a failing grade in the subject in his final exams. His stepfather, a manufacturer of men's suits named Moe Segal, gave the young Alvin an ultimatum, Mr. Segal recalled in his 2017 memoir. "You…