High-end made-to-measure suits in Hong Kong go to the next level

Savile Row tailor Gieves & Hawkes opened its first private tailoring store in the world this month at The Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, allowing customers to take advantage of its made-to-measure service.

“This is our fastest performing and fastest growing area of business. We believe this is driven partly by consumer trends towards customisation and personalisation,” says Gieves & Hawkes managing director Nick Keyte. “Asia is our biggest market, so Hong Kong made sense as a commercial and strategic location for our first boutique. There’s a strong business here but we want to accelerate it with our personal tailoring service.”

Since the 1950s Hong Kong businessmen have been served by tailor’s shops that can turn out a custom-made suit in 24 hours or less. That changed as men seek out more personalised tailoring, a higher level of service and international expertise. Soon the market became flooded with offerings from international specialists and established menswear brands.

Mark Cho, co-founder of men’s haberdasher The Armoury, in Central, says: “Part of our role at The Armoury for the past six years has been reintroducing a different type of custom tailoring experience to Hong Kong. People were losing interest and we revitalised the demand by showing people how interesting and complex tailoring can be.