Being a menswear retailer is no bed of roses, says entrepreneur Jonathan Chiang
Blame it on the preponderance of street style blogs, Pinterest and Instagram, merely any impressionable, sartorially-inclined lad would imagine the universe of menswear retail to be an impossibly glamorous.
There'south a certain measure out of truth to that perception, of class: Networking with the who's who of men's fashion at international trade shows similar Pitti Uomo. Uncovering new cult labels and learning about craftsmanship and how information technology'due south evolving with the times. Existence photographed in Milan or Florence by lensmen commissioned by menswear bibles.
It's a universe that Jonathan Chiang, founder and possessor of L.C Via., is well-acquainted with. In January this year, he was photographed by British GQ in a street style shot. His menswear showroom in Nassim Colina – which is past-appointment just – retails clothing and accessories from 14 artisanal brands from Europe (mainly Italy), Hong Kong and Japan.
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Chiang is their exclusive benefactor – "distributor" being a term that would propose a book business. In reality, he functions much like the curator of an art gallery, representing solo artists and their works. Indeed, given the amount of time information technology takes for a arrange to exist produced – 10 months, for bespoke tailor Sartoria Yuki Inoue, who's a i-human show – he might also be a gallerist.
But 3 years into the business, Chiang, 34, admits that it's however a struggle to convince customers to pay acme dollar for well-made, merely non as well-known, brands. "I still come across burnished eyes when I share stories [of craftsmanship]. And these are clients who have tried everybody, locally and internationally," he said, referring to their patronage of large name designer labels.
Chiang started L.C Via. with a partner, Nathan Luisvia, who left because his family relocated. "Being a small business owner, information technology's difficult to steer people to see beyond the price point, even if they are well-travelled and well-exposed. The majority still feel that if they pay 'X' amount of money, they should be able to show off the value.
"If they bought Gucci, and spent S$i,000 or S$2,000, it shows that they've got some dough to spend. If they spent South$five,000 on a plainly bluish suit, whatever Tom, Dick or Harry would not exist able to tell the difference, so they're not able to show off their status.
"My clients know that my tie-maker is one of the best in the manufacture, merely they aren't willing to pay the price. Just the minute it goes on a slight discount, they get for the kill," said Chiang, adding that merely a few brands proceed auction, and fifty-fifty then, the items are a few seasons old.
His handmade ties come from Florentine necktie-maker Sevenfold, one of the top names in the industry. They range in price from S$300 to Due south$330. In the whitewashed, 200 sqm pre-war apartment that functions as his showroom, they are draped casually over glaze racks, artworks and a lamp mounted on a full-length mirror.
Custom-congenital racks showcase plumbing equipment shirts from Borriello Napoli, a second-generation shirtmaker from Naples. These become for S$350 and up, depending on the selection of fabrics. Handmade, hand-finished Sartoria Yuki Inoue suits by the eponymous, Milan-based Japanese tailor are priced from S$five,000 onwards; made-to-measure Igarashi Trousers start from S$680, while bespoke is "double that".
"[Singaporeans]," Chiang ended, "Are driven by condition, from our schools and where we stay to our jobs and the cars nosotros drive. All these condition us to want to bear witness off where nosotros are in society."
SARTORIAL SHIFT
Chiang'due south entry into the menswear universe wasn't by coincidence. In 2014, he established Leong T, to provide a contemporary front to the tailoring business that his granduncle Chow Leong Choy, endemic. At that time, Grub's shop, Leong Tailors, had been around for over four decades, but suffered from dwindling traffic and increasing overheads.
It wasn't a path he chose initially – trained in media and finance, he spent five years in the manufacturing sector in Shanghai, working with big-league clients the likes of Apple, Blackberry, Motorola, Nike and P&Thousand. Simply pride and passion brought him dorsum to Singapore in 2013. For i, he didn't desire the family unit business to go bust; for another, his beloved of "beautiful things" fabricated the tailoring trade a natural fit.
Impeccably dressed in a Sartoria Yuki Inoue double-breasted arrange, Borriello Napoli shirt, Sevenfold tie and Norman Vilalta tasselled loafers for our interview, Chiang shared that the seeds of L.C Via. were sown very early on. "I was [a year-and-a-half] into Leong T when I started buying my kickoff brands," he said, meaning accessories similar lapel pins, shoes and sunglasses. "Leong T started to current of air down when Chow [who was in his 80s] passed away in 2022 and my uncles were all retiring.
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"Simply truth be told, their way and construction did non change. They couldn't empathize the Italian silhouette, or softer structure," he added, explaining that Choy and his team were more than accepted to the more formal rigours of British tailoring. "I can't teach old dogs new tricks, considering I'm not a maker myself. That's how I went looking for people who were making information technology."
Chiang's ardour for menswear and craftsmanship knows no bounds. He shares that enthusiasm with his customers every chance he gets, just he admits that information technology doesn't rub off hands. "As much every bit I attempt to share, the conversion is tough. But I guess no i said that doing this would be a bed of roses, right?"
Is his concern assisting, then?
"Barely. I get by. It pays the bills and allows me to restock to buy new things. Sometimes I'd have to empty my bank account to buy whatever stock I need. I don't accept a salary – the money that I would take used to pay myself is used to purchase stock. For me, a salary is three meals a day. For my artisans, it'due south a livelihood to back up their families."
His wife of two years, Low Ming Li, who works in accounting, provides emotional back up. "When days are bad, she's there." His family unit – his dad is a retired architect; his mum is in wealth management – don't provide financial support, except the occasional "pocket money" to embrace his travel expenses. His siblings – his sister works in art therapy while his brother works in a ride-sharing visitor – might chip in to sponsor a plane ticket or meals overseas.
"My parents did hint that perchance I should requite myself a timeline. But they've never bluntly said that I should stop this 'stupid' dream of mine. That would suspension my heart.
"Of course my parents wanted me to have a 'prophylactic' job. And I did give it a shot – in Shanghai. For five years." His savings from that time were pumped in to start Leong T. Now, he feels like he'southward across the point of asking for a lifeline. "At this age, I wouldn't want to enquire them for help. I'd rather take a loan, secretly."
He remains hopeful that an investor would swoop in to fund his enterprise.
"I have clients who've asked me if I'd close down. I told them I can't, because these are people who accept entrusted me, and no affair how tough things are here, I can't let them down."
WIDENING THE NET
To cast the net beyond Singapore, Chiang holds regular trunk shows in Bangkok, Jakarta and Shanghai. He travels to those markets roughly every quarter, and has about threescore regulars/VIPs who support him across the four cities. "These guys come to well-nigh every torso show."
For Chiang, their support has been "encouraging", but withal the venture has been an uphill battle. "I'm entering markets that are totally new to this, [markets that are] still very immersed in their brands. For me, a nobody, to come into their land and share near a adapt that costs '10' amount without a brand or a logo, people might think I'chiliad selling snake oil!"
In each city, the response is different. "In Shanghai, people exercise purchase, but they don't understand what they're buying. That's proficient for business organization, merely bad because I desire them to know what they're getting, and take pride in it.
"In Bangkok, people dearest to [acquire most craftsmanship]. That's probably because there's a local industry of designers and makers, so they savour and empathise the stories. Only [regarding] the price points, they're not ready yet.
"Jakarta is [very different]. You go people who dear all aspects of [menswear]: The stories, the quality. Price is non an issue; they don't just get ane item at a time, they become a dozen. Shirts, suits, trousers, ties, shoes. I stop them, because if they get too many at once, they don't go to enjoy each slice. The market there is such that almost no such shops exist; the merely tailors are those that piece of work with batik. People who wearable suits do so for weddings or [business] meetings."
If things go well, Chiang is hoping to expand into Myanmar and India in the future.
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In the meantime, the ACS alumnus – along with co-founders and swain ACS alumni Jason Ho and Bryan Zhao – has prepare a network of business organization owners, ACS Business Owners Network (ABON), for mutual support and to spread awareness of each others' enterprises.
Elsewhere, Chiang also focused on analogous a 2-mean solar day symposium with his artisans that will exist open to the public. It's likely to be held in August or September at the Straits Clan, where he'southward a member.
"Subsequently Hong Kong, Singapore ranks 2nd in terms of the number of international trunk shows. But I realised that with every shop, their artisans are only able to meet their own clientele. I've seen a lot of younger chaps who love classic menswear, who are learning about classic menswear. Thanks to social media. If I were a young chap who wanted to meet this artisan, I might not be able to afford [his wares]. How then?"
The symposium, so, is Chiang's manner of giving back to this customs of menswear enthusiasts. And, crucially, it will be a means of clearing up misconceptions virtually his business, and the industry at large.
"Locally, there's a misconception that if I charge S$v,000 for a accommodate, I'm making a S$4,999 turn a profit. If that were the case, everyone would be opening a shop because the turn a profit margins are and then high. Just that's not the case. And so I want people to hear why certain products are priced the way they are. And when yous hear the stories of the making process, the sacrifices made, the hours they work, their increasing cost prices, the taxes they have to pay etc.
"[For instance], Yuki Inoue works from 5am to 10pm, Monday to Lord's day, stitch by stitch, chalk by chalk, drawing lines, ironing, washing etc. He's a one-human being show. Information technology's crazy. Just he takes pride. He could shortchange you, give [the suit] to a mill, get it washed three-quarters of the way, stitch a few buttonholes and say, 'yes, it's done by me'. Who can tell the difference? But no. Then again, who knows what he does? That's what the symposium is for."
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/people/jonathan-chiang-menswear-retailer-l-c-via-239956
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