Hong Kong’s aging master tailors may need a stitch in time to survive
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used to be a big thing. In rural China, villagers had to wait for months for the arrival of a photographer, who traveled around a region with a bulky camera. The photo above shows people in a village in Yutian, Hebei province, waiting for their turn to have their photo taken in 1984. Women and children looked at the photographer and his magic device with enthusiasm and curiosity. People in cities then were luckier, as there were usually photo studios with better setups and backgrounds. Still, it would have been unimaginable back then that individuals could take photos easily with slim cellphones anytime and anywhere. The photo on the right shows people using their own devices to shoot photos at a temple fair in Beijing during this year’s Spring Festival holiday.
Bill Clinton did it. So did Boris Johnson, the mayor of London. For many tourists, even if they are not current or former dignitaries, a trip to Hong Kong isn’t over until they pick up a madetomeasure outfit from one of its familyrun tailor shops.
As consumers worldwide seek out custommade clothing to set them apart from the readytowear crowd, the Hong Kong tailor industry’s reputation for quality and speedy delivery ought to have helped it build on its advantage.
Instead, the local tailoring business is in danger of dying out after decades of underinvestment in the face of competition from lowcost centers. Nor has it matched the premium branding enjoyed by London’s Savile Row and Milan.
Hong Kong’s aging army of tailors may be its last: The years of training for demanding and painstaking work that yields low wages is deter 2/3 Sn 2/10 C 15/1 Sn 10/2 Sn 4/8 D 2/9 D 8/14 D 7/12 D 4/1 Sn 2/5 Sn 10/20 C 12/16 D 19/25 O 13/21 D 11/13 D 8/11 D 5/9 D 3/7 D 22/31 C 22/26 C 4/6 R 4/8 R 16/3 Sn 11/4 Sn 2/3 R/Sn 1/10 R/Sn 6/0 C 12/0 S 18/21 C 16/20 O 1/6 Sn 0/11 C 8/23 S 7/24 S 3/5 C 4/8 C 3/16 O 2/16 C 9/20 C 7/21 C 18/23 O 16/19 O 4/6 R 4/10 D 2/4 R 0/8 R/Sn 21/28 O 13/23 D 0/3 O 0/8 C 23/30 C 23/30 C Shanghai Shenyang Shenzhen Shijiazhuang Suzhou Taipei Taiyuan Tianjin Urumqi Wuhan Xi'an Xiamen Xining Yantai Yinchuan Zhengzhou Zhuhai Athens Berlin Brussels Geneva Istanbul London Madrid Moscow Paris Rome Vienna 4/7 R 4/9 D 14/1 Sn 8/2 Sn 18/25 C 15/22 O 1/6 C 0/12 S 3/5 R 2/7 D 17/26 C 19/21 C 4/3 C 7/6 S 3/5 Sn 4/9 C 9/0 S 8/1 S 1/4 D 0/10 C 2/6 R/Sn 0/9 C 13/21 C 13/17 C 7/1 C 11/7 C 1/3 O 0/6 O 4/3 C 8/7 S 2/6 O 1/12 C 18/23 O 16/19 O 9/14 3/2 5/0 3/1 9/11 9/6 12/1 2/3 8/0 12/5 9/5 ring young people from entering the industry.
At 65, Cheung Wansun is among the younger master tailors at Bonham Strand, a custom tailoring firm in the Central business district.
“There will be no one to take over the business when we’re all retired,” said Cheung, one of eight tailors at the company.
The profession doesn’t pay too well, with tailors taking home around HK$10,000 ($1,290) a month, half the median wage. D 10/13 D R/Sn 4/1 R/Sn C 5/5 D D 4/3 R/Sn D 7/10 D D 13/9 D D 14/5 O D 1/3 R/Sn O 6/6 D C 12/6 D C 8/3 D
While the government pledged HK$500 million in its budget on Wednesday to help the city’s fashion industry, including promoting local designers and brands, master tailors have been left to fend for themselves.
“It doesn’t provide any help to the tailoring industry,” said Yally Yan, 24, an apprentice at Bonham Strand. “To revive the industry, we have to do it ourselves.”
Some tailors have thrived Abu Dhabi 15/27 S Bangkok 27/33 R Colombo 23/31 D Dubai 17/27 S Hanoi 23/31 O Islamabad 11/19 O Jakarta 25/28 D Karachi 17/24 C Kuala Lumpur 26/33 O Manila 26/31 C Mumbai 19/26 D New Delhi 14/29 D Pyongyang 9/5 O Riyadh 6/24 S Seoul 5/9 D Singapore 25/31 O Sydney 21/28 C Teheran 2/9 S Tokyo 3/11 C Wellington 17/21 C Yangon 15/34 C 14/26 S 27/34 O 25/30 D 16/27 S 22/25 O 12/16 D 24/29 D 15/26 D 26/32 D 25/32 C 21/24 R 20/24 R 1/ 5 R/Sn 8/30 S 2/7 D 25/29 D 23/32 C 3/10 S 5/13 D 18/20 C 16/34 C through canny marketing of their sales to celebrities or whistlestop world tours with marathon measuring sessions in hotel suites.
Anthony Asaf of Empire Tailors, whose clients include judges and senior executives, sells more suits during his infrequent US trips than from his main outlet in Hong Kong.
“As far as overseas business goes, we do as much as we can, not more, because there aren’t many young people doing the cutting and stitching end of the process,” said Mark, Asaf ’s 26yearold son.
Demand is still robust. It’s just that most orders are from overseas, and busy executives place orders by phone or online. A decade ago, new suits were delivered in three weeks. Now, skilled tailors are in short supply and it takes up to 12 weeks.
Regular customers say the shortage of gifted tailors could be just what Hong Kong needs to pump new life into the industry, pushing up prices and drawing a new generation to the trade.
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