Manu Melwani is famous for making clothes for world leaders like Bill Clinton and Tony Blair. Dorian Ho Kwok-ching is famous for fitting out such celebrities as Gigi Leung Wing-kei and Coco Lee. While Mr Melwani, also known as 'Sam's Tailor', is happy to be called a tailor, Dorian Ho prefers to be called a fashion consultant. Despite slightly different conceptions of their profession, both are happy with how business is going, despite the economic downturn. Sam's Tailor, established in 1957, may be well known for its rich and famous foreign customers, but Mr Melwani, the second-generation owner of the store, insists he treats all customers equally. 'We tailors are like doctors,' he said. 'People come to us and we help them. We are the same with everybody.' So, has he had any customers from the collapsed Lehman Brothers? Mr Melwani smiled as he 'zipped' his mouth shut. 'We keep our customers secret,' he said. A suit at Sam's may cost HK$28,000 and many customers are bankers, but he said his business had not been affected by the economic crisis sweeping the world. 'Clothes are like food and people need them. Clothing and food never go down,' he said. But he admitted there may be a change in buying patterns. 'Some might change from buying three suits to one suit, while some customers buy once a month instead of once a week.' Mr Ho sees things similarly. 'My customers are top spenders, like private bankers,' he said. 'Even [if they have struck problems like employees of Lehman Brothers] they still need an evening gown to go to balls.' The fashion designer, who started his business 15 years ago, agrees the numbers of balls will decrease during the downturn, but said his business would be supplemented by conferences and weddings. Mr Ho said his wedding business was going well this year. But, again, patterns have changed. 'Customers spend more wisely and expect more,' he said. 'A customer might change her budget from HK$50,000 to HK$30,000 for her wedding dress. Then we would suggest she pick a different fabric with less detail. We are here for our custom-made service. When our customers don't want to overspend, we might suggest using Japanese or Korean lace instead of French to meet her budget.'