There are two tastemakers in Chinese classic menswear community, one is George Wang, owner of BRIO Atelier, the other is Kieran Wang, founder of buyer’s shop Sartorial.
Kieran has created Sartorial, a top boutique men’s clothing buyer in China and even in the world, with his extraordinary taste and experience of Italian classic men’s clothing.
It’s a great honor to communicate with him and learn about Kieran’s story from becoming attached to classic men’s wear to the establishment and operation of Sartorial, as well as his unique views on classic men’s wear.
Can you tell us about when you first came into contact with gentry? What stages have you gone through in your clothing journey?
When I was studying in England, I gradually became interested in classic men’s wear through some movies and books. In this gentleman-flavored place in England, I can easily get in touch with some pure English-style suits. From about 20 years old, when people around me are wearing casual clothes, I began to have a clear preference and demand for suits. My first stage was the pursuit of brand. At that time, I had not fully developed the concept of suit system style. Big brands could provide me with some easy-to-understand aesthetic details, but not all of them. Later, I began to try domestic customization and let tailors and craftsmen complete and express my cognition and requirements for suits. This process lasted for three or four years. It was not until I began to contact Italian men’s wear that I really felt the soul essence and delicacy in those suits that have been inherited and accumulated for a hundred years.
During several trips to Italy, I kept visiting those masters and felt their wisdom as tailors and the idea of making suits face to face.
I can still learn a lot from them after working, and they are still willing to share.
My communication and friendship with the masters have continued until now.
Can you tell us something about your educational background?
I majored in computer and business applications as an undergraduate, and I majored in business management as a graduate student. These subjects make me have very high requirements for some details, but at the same time I don’t want to do some rigid work. I want to communicate with others and convey my aesthetic ideas and some experience in men’s wear.
When did you start to turn it from a hobby into a career? What is this opportunity?
In 2009, during the period before I found a job after returning to China, I had some imagination about my future career planning. At that time, I wanted to build my own men’s clothing store to display the most advanced Sartorial products in the world.
But more than a decade ago, the industry was almost blank, and I didn’t have enough qualifications and ability to present such a store, so this idea was once stagnant.
Later, I began to have the opportunity to go to Italy to learn more about the stories behind these century-old tailors. The dream of establishing a men’s clothing collection store began to be realized little by little, and finally Sartorial opened its first store in Jiaming Center in 2016.
At that time, I was inspired by a mature man’s living room, which brought the most exquisite clothes, shoes and hats from all over the world to men with the same lifestyle. The most artistic accessories and household items that can express life attitude.
After five years of operation and accumulation, after deep thinking, we moved into Zhengda Center Store located in the core area of Beijing CBD in 2021 to face our customer groups more directly.
At the same time, it is more in line with our current concept-a buyer’s shop with classic men’s wear handmade by Italian family tailors as the core, so that business people in this area can feel their charm and better experience for life more directly.
Sartorial is positioned as an Italian classic men’s clothing collection store. Why Italy?
As far as I know, the best men’s wear in the world today, no matter suits, shirts, trousers or sweaters, comes from Italy. Italian artisans have an innate ability to make men’s wear into works of art, just like Geneva, Switzerland, where the best watch in the world was born. Every outstanding work has its origin. For me, the outstanding works of men’s wear come from Italy-especially Naples.
Naples has a very long history of tailoring, and the craftsmen we choose all have unique skills inherited from the family. The precipitation of time makes their works have their own styles.
This Sartoria Priozzi suit has become one of my favorites in the future.
Can you briefly describe the brands displayed by Sartorial?
First of all, Sartoria Pirozzi, our great tailor, Nunzio Pirozzi, is an old tailor whom I admire. He uses his life-long experience and tailoring techniques to present a House Style with great personal style.
His suit has all the contemporary Neapolitan garment techniques, but the outline has a youthful and exquisite feeling.
Although our ages are different for more than half a century, the aesthetic of clothing is completely unified.
Orazio Luciano represents his natural Neapolitan romance and freedom.
His clothes are more like abstract paintings, and the details of his clothes are not exactly the same. Everything behind him is a unique work of art.
Orazio’s love for life and romance have made his style, and he can be described as a man.
Ambrosi is called the king of pants by Chinese people, which is undoubtedly a very high affirmation, and he himself is also a legend in Naples.
Among many profound tailors in Naples, Ambrosi family is the only one with four generations of inheritance.
His trousers have very sharp lines while maintaining a comfortable space for activities. The trousers cut by his hands can also completely fit people’s legs. As he said, “My hands know the legs of guests better than any machine.”
Cesare Attolini is the founder of contemporary Neapolitan style, completely removing the structure of English suit, and creating a soft and light Neapolitan suit. At the same time, his suit still has a trace of the outline beauty of English suit.
After a hundred years of precipitation, Attolini’s huge “data database” makes them know the body shape of their guests like the palm of their hand, enabling them to create suits that anyone can wear with little modification.
Like many famous Neapolitan tailors, Luca Avitabile was born in a family of tailors.
Luca, as the third generation hand-made shirt craftsman in today’s family, knows how to make a delicate and elegant shirt with great style. The perfect fit and relaxed version, accurate balance of body size and delicate craftsmanship are all his unique skills.
What kind of experience do you want everyone to come to Sartorial?
I hope my guests will come to Sartorial like a child who came to Toyshop or Candyshop.
I hope Sartorial can arouse his most primitive and pure love, and I hope that every set of collocation we prepare can be recognized and appreciated by customers. I will be very happy when the details I try to present are captured by the guests.
At the same time, Sartorial also encourages every guest to put clothes on his body, and feel the reaction between himself and Naples suit more intuitively in the first time, as well as the pure joy brought by aesthetic feeling.
Due to the epidemic, do you think there are some challenges in the current way that you Fitting then hand it over to Italy for production?
Not at all. I have been in business for 10 years, and I have to fit my guests almost every day for these 10 years, so I can fully grasp the information and details of the guests when I measure them, and avoid all the problems at the first time.
Not only that, in the five years of running Sartorial, my relationship with the tailor has changed from the earliest cooperator to close friends. We know each other, including some work habits and communication methods, which makes communication and cooperation without obstacles.
Although the process of Fitting has become simple, we will record the details that need special attention in Fitting in detail by means of words, pictures and videos. When tailors see this information and the Fitting Jacket, everything will be clear.
What is your idea about wearing? As a veteran, seeing how others dress will make you feel that he is also an connoisseur?
My idea about wearing is not to be deliberate. I don’t think we should deliberately show ourselves to everyone with an image, but we should choose the colors and combinations that make us comfortable, so that we can have the feeling of “dressing”. At the same time, your own aura will also be combined with clothing. When I look at a person’s clothes, first of all, this person’s clothes should make people feel comfortable and decent. Secondly, the size of every place on the suit is handled, such as the circumference of shoulders, sleeves and waist, the lines of trouser legs and the harmony with shoes. I take these local sizes as a standard. Just like Pino, the son of Orazio Luciano, it is simple and chic. Good tailoring and proportion perfectly modify his figure, and the fine wrinkles left by wearing make this dress more natural, like it belongs to him.
Tomasso Cappozzoli in Florence is a master of color matching, and Italians are natural in their sensitivity and control of color. Take Tomasso as an example, he brought the colors of nature to himself, showing elegant charm without trace, which is the result of talent and the influence of the surrounding environment. His skill makes people feel extremely comfortable after reaching the realm.
Can you tell us about your personal favorite items at present? Such as clothes, shoes, accessories and so on.
The best item I want to introduce first is windbreaker.
A trench coat with proper tailoring and moderate length is essential for style building, and the design of raglan sleeves brings great comfort. At the same time, waterproof fabrics and various wind-proof mechanisms also allow it to accompany me in many environments.
In spring, I often wear a blended suit of lake blue mohair. The high-gram mohair fiber has its own crisp effect, which keeps me in an ideal state at all times. The Open Weave of the fabric itself is extremely breathable, which makes me feel comfortable between gestures.
I like the warm and colorful atmosphere in summer. This set of green linen is my favorite in summer. Unlike the stiff Irish linen, this old linen material from Italy makes me feel smooth and soft close to silk, and the classic color is more oriental.
White is a must in summer. Besides being cool and breathable, white is also a very versatile item in summer. Whether it is a suit, a jacket or trousers, it has incomparable compatibility with other colors. There are many white suits in my closet, but there is still one missing.
Black is my favorite recently. Although we often hear the warning of “Don’t make a black suit”, for someone who has worn more than 50 suits, black is worth a try. I have chosen linen to present the effect. The dull black flax echoes the luster of the deep-sea Fritillaria button, which is my aesthetic expression of “fun”.
Sartorial positioning is very high-end, can you recommend some entry-level items to the audience who have always liked you but have not consumed them?
It’s true that Sartorial’s positioning is very high-end, but each item is worth the money. I recommend Luca Avitabile of Naples as an entry-level product. You can feel Luca’s handling of shoulders and sleeves at the moment you put on this shirt with only a small amount of investment, which is the charm of Naples’s handcraft.
As far as suits are concerned, we also have an entry-level Orazio Luciano to choose from. Orazio Luciano retains the traditional way of making clothes, and each piece is cut by Orazio himself, and then the sewing work is completed by the team he personally chooses. Put on Luciano’s suit, and you will feel the wonderful feeling brought by the strong and pure Neapolitan suit.
What hobbies do you have after work?
My hobby is equestrian.
The focus of this sport lies in the communication between people and horses, the prediction of distance when jumping, and the control of balance, which is exactly the same as the judgment of size and the balance when trying on a suit.
At the same time, equestrian sports also need to persevere, constantly learn and improve themselves. This is similar to my experience of dressing. I will always feel, dig and learn on the way to making new clothes and establish my own style.
Thank you Kieran for your patience. Is there anything you want to say to the readers at last?
True elegance comes from the deep heart, and the pursuit of beauty urges people to make great strides forward, constantly enriching the inside and outside and finally forming their own unique style. I hope everyone can find their own style and enjoy the process.
