It’s almost amusing that only now are finally providing a Chinese translation of the introduction to Senli and Frye. My tailorshop, Senli and Frye, has long been focused on foreigners living in Beijing and sometimes those coming through who then order our wares long-distance. We have never really targeted the Chinese market. The notion was always that there are not enough of Chinese with an appreciation for custom suiting. Most of them would prefer to buy a recognized name for suiting like Ermenegildo Zegna or Armani, feeling confident that with names like that, one cannot go wrong. Spending on luxury has, after all, been mostly about status and face and not so much about appearing stylish or even adhering to standards of Western business attire that are, in the end, Western in origin and not necessarily well understood.
Recently, it has become clear that the Chinese consumer has made it in terms of style maturity. Beijingers and Shanghaiers are increasingly cosmopolitan and the constant barrage of mega-brand marketing has brought a degree of fatigue. They don’t want to see more of the same and keep getting treated like reservoirs of cash waiting to be tapped. At the same time, the local customer does care a great deal about his image – much more than the average American and probably as much as most Europeans. Unlike their American counterparts who seem to have absolutely no problem showing up in shorts or sweat pants at Five Star hotels or fancy bars, Chinese men are eager to learn and maintain standards of decorum. They don’t want to look like badly-dressed buffoons. The days of the proverbial Shanxi coal baron bounding into an Armani and spending a million RMB on 30 suits that don’t fit are long gone.
The other trend that favors us is that men around the world have been looking to upgrade their style and the direction these days tends to be be more traditionalist. Quality, customization, and permanent style are the values espoused by the current set of sartorialists, who reject the flashy designer trendwear and slickness of the metrosexual. This is part of the wider move toward all that is artisanal and authentic – and, yes, I realize those words have become quite irksome. China is aggressive in its ability to keep up with the zeitgeist, and the new men are these trends.
So this is our chance to enter as a contender for the rising Chinese gentleman looking to get a better fit for his suits, overcoats, and shirts. We are hoping to soon offer a full range of products including pocket square, ties, shoe polish, and, hopefully, shoes.
