Why Custom Clothing Is Becoming More And More Expensive?

Over the years, many wealthy, well known and well versed costumes have begun to tailor in Hongkong, Singapore and other places.

However, inflation is slowly affecting the entire garment industry, and the prices of these hand-made customized garments are rising.

The W.W. Chan &Sons clothing custom store from Hongkong is one of the first stores to raise prices.

According to Patrick Chu, the chief trimming division of the shop, a standard VBC wool two piece suit has been sold to 9000 Hong Kong dollars (about 1160 US dollars), up 10% in two years.

Although the quality of Vitale Barberis Canonico manufactured in Italy is excellent, VBC has not yet reached the top level.

The most fundamental reason for the rise in clothing prices is the rise in fabric prices.

The price of cotton cloth increased by 91% in 2010, while the price of hybrid wool rose by nearly 50% in 15 months, reaching its highest level in 14 years in October.

Patrick Chu said that these high-quality wool fabrics produced by Loro Piana have also risen by 10% over the past six months.

But the rise in fabric prices is only part of the problem. Increasing demand is another reason why prices continue to grow.

"The business of the shops is so good that we have to refuse orders from some customers," said Mark Cho, one of the founders of The Armoury in Hongkong. "In the middle of the month, prices will rise by 10-20%."

The Armoury set up a service desk for W.W. Chan &Sons in the corner of the shop to investigate the impact of price rise from the perspective of consumers.

Lee Baron, a custom shop in Kowloon, is almost the same. Peter Lee, the shop owner, says that more and more consumers want canvas lined suits, about 5000 Hong Kong dollars.

The demand for suits is getting bigger and bigger, and each garment needs 50 hours to make. It costs 2200 Hong Kong dollars more than a semi canvas liner, and shops pay more for their employees.

At present, Lee has begun to lower the price. He promises that the price of his shop will drop, but he still needs to talk with his employees. After all, the higher wages of employees are caused by the increasing consumption in Hongkong.

In Singapore, the price of clothing is also rising.

In Pimabs, Leslie Chia's premium brand has risen 30% since 2009.

At the beginning of 2009, the price of a shirt in Singapore was 229 Singapore dollars (about 177 US dollars), but now it needs 330 Singapore dollars.

Chia said that the prices in his shop are steady at this stage, and his suppliers have begun to stock wool and cotton cloth.

He also pays close attention to the fluctuation of the price.

In addition to price increases, for the customization industry, the industry in Asia can still maintain higher growth and higher output.

Because the price of customized garments is relatively low compared with luxuries in western countries.

For example, Singapore's relatively expensive custom shop Kevin Seah, a two piece suit is the most expensive shop, about 7000 to 8000 Singapore dollars, or about 5400 dollars.

Compared with some top brands, such as Italy's Kiton, such a two piece suit needs nearly $10000.