Preserving a Hong Kong Heritage- the History of Hong Kong Tailors
The history of Hong Kong tailors traces all the way back to a hundred years ago with its roots beginning in Shanghai. During that time, Shanghai was divided into different foreign concessions where there was a booming industry for tailor-made suits. This was the time when local Shanghainese mainly from Ningbo tailors began to adapt their skills from (mostly) the British and the Russians. However, due to the cultural revolution in China, a lot of the tailors saw little opportunities in Shanghai as the unrest unfolded and hence moved to Hong Kong to seek better opportunities. At the time, Hong Kong already had a well-established presence of tailors to meet the needs of local British who resided there.
Indeed, in 1966, SCMP even ran a story about how Hong Kong was overtaking the famous London Savile Row as the leading international hub for tailoring. This meant a lot in terms of the level of craftsmanship Hong Kong tailors could offer.
50 years later, with the rise of millennials and generation Z being the main spenders in the consumer market, we see more emphasis on personal experience, individuality and sustainability. There’s again an opportunity for tailored and made-to-measure fashion to rise, and JSMP sees ourselves fitting right into this space. We want to offer consumers luxury tailored fashion at a relatively affordable price that comes with a unique personal experience. We modernise tailored fashion with a twist. We don’t play in the suits field, but we make beautiful, timeless shirts and garments for BOTH men and women.
Employing only Hong Kong tailors and seamstresses at our showroom in Central, we offer customers the options of buying our made-to-measure designs, or designing a bespoke shirt together with us. Only the most premium fabrics are used for our designs so that they are durable and comfortable. We carefully consider your body shape and style before going into production, so that the final piece is flattering on your body. Additionally, since we make our garments on a made-to-order basis, there is limited wastage in the production process.
Simplicity, structure and the use of colours are common features in all of our designs. For men, you’ll find a variety of shirts in different types of collars with intricate design details. For women, you can make your ideal work trousers, or an elegant statement top/dress with us for special occasions.
If you are looking for timeless, contemporary and authentic designs that are true to your personality, JSMP is the place for you. Book an appointment with us today to experience it for yourself.
