Maste Xu is a tailor known to many lovers, because the clothes he provides are extremely cost-effective. There are many brands with good prices in Taobao now, but the level can be compared with MasterXu, especially in PK.
This brand has been sung by knowledgeable consumers for many years, and I have known him for four years. Today, I had the honor to interview him.
Please briefly introduce yourself.
Xu Dengbao, a native of Anqing, Anhui, is 34 years old. Besides making suits and studying styles, I also like playing billiards and keeping fit (although I am thin, haha).
Do you enter the clothing industry first, or do you like suits first?
At the age of 14 and a half, I began to learn tailoring from my master. At that time, I didn’t know anything, and I didn’t enter the clothing industry because I liked it. I just didn’t have many choices, so I entered the industry in a daze.
I really came into contact with menswear customization in 2008-2009, and I entered a Japanese customization company, on the other side of Shuicheng South Road in Shanghai.
It was around that time that I started getting into custom work and realized there was actually so much to it. Gradually, I got in touch with the pattern makers over there and began to get interested in pattern making.
I taught myself for about half a year, but when I hit a bottleneck, I went to Shanghai Donghua University’s adult education program and studied full-time for about another half a year.
That guy didn’t really study menswear; he mainly focused on womenswear, including things like 3D tailoring and CAD pattern making (though now he’s forgotten most of it, haha).
Actually, I first got into the suit industry through that Japanese bespoke store.
If I came to like this, it’s still because I went through the whole process myself—from a piece of fabric, then to pattern making, cutting, and the entire design and production—and after finishing it all and putting it on myself, sigh, I felt a sense of accomplishment. Gradually, I just started to like it, and then kept studying it more and more.
What’s your experience like in the industry?
After graduating from Donghua University, I worked at a company from 2011 to 2017. That company specialized in menswear, with stores in Toronto, Canada, and this side was the factory. My position was a pattern maker, including overseeing the production process.
After leaving in 2017, I wanted to return home, so I went to Hefei, Anhui, which is closer to where I live. I worked at a bespoke shop there for about a year, doing the same job as a pattern maker.
In 2018, I went to an online store in Changzhou.
In 2019, I returned to my hometown, Anqing, and started this studio. At first, the idea was pretty simple—just make some clothes and sell them online. Mainly because my kids were starting school, I didn’t want to be away from home anymore.
I didn’t expect that things would turn out pretty well later on.
Why is it called Master Xu?
As for the origin of my English name, it’s because everyone at the factory calls me Master Xu, so I just came up with this English name.
What are the features of Maste Xu’s patterns?
My style is more everyday, pretty standard, with a bit of an Italian vibe—something that regular people can easily accept.
I feel like some stores have a really strong style, and I think only enthusiasts could wear that. I still prefer the direction that everyone can accept.
What’s today’s positioning for Master Xu?
Right now, I’m positioned in the mid-to-low end of custom products, but I try my best to maintain quality without raising prices.
I never thought about how big this could get. Who can really say what the future holds? Let’s just focus on the present.
Let me introduce the best-selling styles and products in the store.
The best-seller still depends on the season. In summer, there used to be a linen shirt and a gauze shirt.
As for suits, it’s definitely that linen suit.
Actually, I’m still mostly focused on custom orders right now.
I heard your custom service is really good, but hardly anyone gets to try it. Why is that?
It’s not that I can’t experience it, it’s just that my project timelines are quite long, some clients don’t want to wait, and with my regular clients placing repeat orders, sometimes it gets a bit full.
I only have two tailors working on suits, so the output is quite limited. We’re always taking orders now. Last year we actually stopped taking custom orders for a while because there were just a bit too many orders.
Usually, around November to December every year, custom orders might be paused for a bit.
What’s the next direction for development?
The direction moving forward might still be custom products. Standard items are too easy to copy—once one sells well, someone will immediately imitate it at a lower price. With custom stuff, I’ve been keeping the same price for years anyway, and it also allows me to reach more friends.
I think in the future, more and more people will choose to customize their own clothes.
