Who Has Ever Cut Clothes For Leaders?

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Mrs. Peng Liyuan chose the domestic clothing brand "useless" and "exceptions" when they visited China. For a time, China's high-end customized clothing (hereinafter referred to as the "high-end customization") industry was suddenly pushed to the spotlight and received unprecedented attention.

According to public data, by the end of 2012, the total inventory of 42 listed companies in clothing industry was as high as 48 billion 300 million yuan. It is pointed out that even if all garment factories in China are closed, these stocks will be sufficient for all Chinese people to spend three years.

On the one hand is the overcapacity of mass garment products, and the increasing consumption capacity of Chinese people. Can this "most dazzling Chinese style" brought by "high-end customization" enable China's clothing industry to embark on a golden road since then?

"Crown in the clothing industry"

"High end" means excellent material and exquisite workmanship, while the "custom-made" way of making is destined for each garment to have only one owner.

The Royal gardeners are the earliest high-end custom practitioners in our country. In the middle of the last century, with the rapid expansion of garment production lines, the high-end custom industry was once lonely. Only for the leaders of the state to tailor the Beijing red capital clothing scenery for a time, there was no two.

At present, with the increasing consumption level and the changing consumption concept, the high-end garment customization in China is rising. Zhang Qinghui, vice president of the China Fashion Designers Association and vice president of the China clothing association, told reporters that in Beijing, Shanghai and other first tier cities, high-end customer groups are increasingly demanding personalized and functional clothing, giving birth to the high-end customization industry in the new era.

"High-end" usually means high prices, and the high cost of raw materials is an important reason for the high price of high-end customization. China apparel Limited by Share Ltd (hereinafter referred to as Chinese clothing, 000902.SZ) managing director Ying Ying Jie told reporters that many high-end tailored fabrics will use cashmere, silk and other natural high-grade materials, prices are often several times or even tens of times of ordinary fabrics, the price of a suit tens of thousands of dollars. If the accessories are matched with precious metals or precious jewellery, prices will soar. In the rose studio of the famous designer Guo Pei, those gold colored inlaid gorgeous ceremonial dress prices often exceed one million.

Apart from the high price and high price, another feature of high-end customization is "pure hand-made". Compared with machine processing, hand-made garments will be more comfortable and close fitting. However, exquisite handwork also means high labor costs. According to a reporter, a Italy worker has to charge 15 euros (120 yuan) for a buttonhole in a suit lock.

Li Guilian, chairman of Limited by Share Ltd in Dalian, a clothing company, looks at the fact that advanced customization is the crown of the clothing industry.

Do the most thoughtful clothes.

At present, there are designer studios and famous enterprises engaged in high-end customization in China.

Wang Yutao, a famous fashion designer, has been engaged in the high-end customization of clothing since 2007. In his view, "more often than not, a quality customized garment in real sense includes not only expensive fabrics and exquisite handwork, but also the satisfaction and special requirements of the guests' dressing habits."

"Many business customers over the age of 40 often have the opportunity to attend various occasions such as negotiations, dinner parties and ceremonies, but some of them have gained weight. Shopping in shopping malls is difficult to choose their own style. It's not a human problem. It's clothes that are not thoughtful. " Zhan Yingjie told reporters that unlike ordinary clothes, high-end customization is "to foster strengths and circumvent weaknesses, regardless of body size and age, so that every guest can wear their own style." In order to solve the high-end customers' clothing demand, Chinese clothing has built a high-end custom brand "the whole society", specially hired Italy designers and craftsmen to design and manufacture clothing.

Business executives and acting stars are the most favored customers of high-end customization. Generally speaking, these people have high loyalty to clothing brands. Once they choose a designer or brand, they will often patronize.

According to the reporter, "word of mouth" is an important way to open the market for high-end customization. Since the founding of the brand, Ying Ying has seen all kinds of advantages of the "society", and she has invited friends to try on her brand. In her opinion, this way of communication is very effective, because many people will love this feeling from the moment they put on the "society".

In Wang Yutao's studio, he sometimes sells customers, sometimes customers. "We must have deep accumulation in high-end customization, no matter designer or producer, it is impossible to engage in high-end customization." He told reporters that this accumulation, including the skillful skills, also includes the influence of designers and brands.

Time Polish

"High-end customization can make a designer famous, but it doesn't guarantee that he can make a fortune." Mario Boselli, chairman of Italy Fashion Association, told reporters (Mario Boselli).

Because of the high cost and great pressure in the early stage, few designers or enterprises specialize in high-end customization. Wang Yutao said that the pressure of these funds usually needs to be shared by the clothing production business. Although he and his studio are willing to invest more in high-end customization, the reality is that if only high-end customization is made, the studio may not be able to afford it. Although the price of high-end custom garments is very high, the profit is not very high compared with the material and time cost behind each garment. War Yingjie told reporters that the "community" has been established for over a year, and although the customer base is growing, it has not yet been profitable.

"The high-end custom clothes will take a lot of time to polish, so you can't make real high quality in a short time." Wang Yutao told reporters that a highly custom-made garment, whether it is men's wear or women's clothing, because of the complexity of the process, from design to completion takes a month or even a few months. Sometimes, when making a woman's dress, the material should be suspended at least for more than 48 hours because of the special material such as silk, so that the yarn can conform well to the force of gravity and make the female's hem feel elegant and smart.

In the view of Yingjie, the market of high-end customization will not be too large, because "after all, it is not a product on the assembly line".

Zhang Qinghui believes that with the upgrading of consumption level and consumption structure, the market of high-end customization will become bigger and bigger, and the individualization and emotional consumption experience should be the guideline of high-end customization. "At present, designers and brands who do well in China share one thing in common: always regard customer demand as the core value. They focus on quality and detail, strive to meet every requirement of consumers, and strive for excellence in design, thus forming a good customer reputation.

Industries that can't earn fast money

With the popularity of "useless" and "exceptions", many people link high-end customization with "national brand hope", and the good news constantly coming from the capital market also makes idle capital eager.

"This is not an industry that can make fast money. If you want to do this business well, you need to have faith, persistence and love, which is different from doing business, and it will not have a high return." Wang Yutao told reporters, "high-end customization technology requirements are very high, workers should have at least 10~15 years experience. People under the age of 30 cannot engage in high-end customization.

Zhan Yingjie, a designer familiar with China's apparel industry chain, believes that a problem facing the entire garment industry in China is that people are running too fast for profit and running too fast, often ignoring details. This is a problem encountered in making clothes, and it is also a problem of the entire garment industry. To make high-end customization, we must jump out of this industrialized thinking. We must "stand up to loneliness, live up to standards and tolerate losses".

Chinese clothing is also looking for a breakthrough. Before the "state" order was all given to the Italians to be made, even though the process was excellent, the company selected more than a dozen workers from the factory and company outside the flag for nearly 20 years. The company tried to make it from the sample brought back from Italy. Now, the works of these workers have no obvious difference from the samples of Italy, and the cost has also been greatly reduced. The price of clothes can also be accepted by more people. "The choice of foreign design and processing is ultimately for learning and upgrading." Zhan Yingjie said.

"The number of foreign high-end custom-made brands is often more frequent, and sometimes some brands even try out 10 times. In China, this is obviously unrealistic. Chinese are too busy. Sometimes they are tired of trying one or two times. " Ying Ying Jie said that saving time, minimizing the number of try clothes and ensuring quality is another challenge for customers to bring to China's high-end customized brands.

"Chinese people do not lack skills, but they have lost sight. High end customization is really an industry of time. The road ahead of this industry may be golden, but not necessarily broad. She said.

Chinese clothing high-end customization of those things

　　 Hong Bang tailor

After the Opium War, at the earliest trading port in Ningbo, there were many Europeans known as "red hair". Many Ningbo tailors cut clothes for them, and the "red gang tailor" was named after that. Later, the red gang tailor moved to Shanghai to make custom clothes for celebrities from all walks of life. They are the early high-end custom practitioners in modern Chinese history. In the history of Chinese clothing, the "red gang tailors" created five first: China's first suit, the first set of Chinese tunic suits, the first Western-style clothes shop, the first Western-style clothes theory monograph, the first Western-style clothing craft school.

Red Capital

In 1956, the 7 clothing stores and the subsidiary offices of the central office of the Shanghai moved to Beijing and merged into the Beijing Hongdu Garment Co., Ltd. Hongdu insists on personalized service, and has served Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and other foreign leaders such as the leaders of the party and state, Prince Sihanouk, monick, Bush and other foreign leaders.

　　 Designer brand

Guo Pei, who has already made a name for herself in the clothing industry, made a dress for actress Bao Rong and opened her dream of "advanced customization". In 1997, she founded Beijing rose Fang fashion limited liability company. From then on, she concentrated on high-end customization, and designed many dresses for many stars and various kinds of parties. Guo Pei was therefore called "the first party of Chinese party custom." Subsequently, a number of well-known high-end customized products were produced in China.