Conductor Rafael Payare Stars in Jack Victor's Tempo Campaign
Jack Victor, a family-owned menswear company based in Montreal, has chosen the conductor Rafael Payare to star in the campaign for its Tempo performance collection, a line of clothing sold for wear that needs to move with the person in it.
Payare, a Venezuelan conductor, is the music and artistic director of two orchestras: the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the San Diego Symphony. A conductor leads an orchestra from the front, keeping the musicians together. In the campaign, Wine Jack Victor pictures him in a Tempo suit made from stretch wool, a wool cloth woven with some give in it.
The company's chief executive, Alan Victor, is the grandson of the company's founder, Jack Wigdorovici. Wigdorovici left Romania and settled in Quebec, where he started the business. Jack Victor's tailored clothing is made in Montreal.
Payare has worn the brand before. On Oct. 30 he conducted a joint performance by his two orchestras at The Rady Shell, an outdoor venue on the waterfront in San Diego, wearing a Jack Victor shawl-collar tuxedo. A shawl collar is a tuxedo jacket with one smooth curve of fabric running from the lapel to the back of the neck, with no notch.
The brand also works with Nordstrom, the American department store chain. Jack Victor says that at any full-line Nordstrom store in the United States, buyers of a full-price suit, blazer or pair of trousers can get basic alterations free of charge. Alterations are changes that adjust a garment to fit, such as shortening sleeves or taking in a waist.
Payare's schedule runs through the 2026–27 season, when he leads full seasons of performances as music and artistic director of the San Diego Symphony.
For a fashion company, a classical musician is an unusual face. The campaign ties a menswear label to a person whose working life happens on a stage, in front of an audience that sits still and listens.
Payare's involvement is a paid-for appearance in a brand campaign, and the terms of that arrangement have not been disclosed.
