Wee and I have known each other for many years, and he has handled hundreds of times more shoes than me. After he opened the Shanghai branch of Coller, a Hong Kong custom-made shop, he also tried it. Coller’s positioning is still very interesting, the outpost of young Asian tailors in Europe. Then, he changed from manager to tailor, which surprised me very much.
Of course, the manager needs some professional knowledge, but becoming a craftsman is not a commercial choice at least. So, why?
Get to know Shi Jingwei with me. This is the first time that we have interviewed him since we met for so many years.
Although you have been in this industry for a long time, introduce yourself systematically and simply.
Hello, I’m Wee, the manager of Coller Shanghai.
I just turned 30 this year. I studied in the UK before, majoring in finance, and my graduate students turned to statistics.
After returning to China, I worked in a consulting company of a foreign company, and then I resolutely opened a custom shop in the sea.
你也很喜欢皮鞋，自己平时穿的最多的是哪几双？
Into the pit has been buying a lot of shoes for 10 years, but the ones that really stay, or wear them frequently at present, are the following ones. We only share sewing shoes here, so we won’t talk about viscose leisure models.
Divided into several categories,
Loafer
Crockett & Jones [Cavendish 2], this is the most comfortable one I wear, and the last shape is the most inclusive. Everything I bought is good.
Saint Crispin’s [643] I often wear two pairs of wine red and dark brown Crust leather, and these two pairs of leather are surprisingly good. I am not qualified to call Crust a big loose surface.
Edward Green [Belgravia], 184 still hurts a little, and the black skin of EG is really hard.
Yes, I only like tassel love.
Oxford
Gaziano & Girling [St James 2], the proportion of these shoes is perfect, and the TG73 last is also beautiful without dead ends, but I sold the black pair and left only a pair of anti-fur.
Personally, I seldom wear Oxford, and my instep is not too high, but because of the structural problems of Oxford’s own upper and obsessive-compulsive disorder, I really don’t feel so comfortable or relaxed when I wear it.
Derby
Edward Green [Dover], 606 last brown anti-fur, personally aesthetic, this anti-fur is better than smooth leather.
Saint crisp’s [633], classic last, shipwreck skin. The towering big round head in eastern Europe is very attractive on any shoes.
Monk
Edward Green [Clapham], a black 82-last, bought it very early. At that time, he was fascinated by this shoe, and it is still beautiful now. Moreover, this pair of leather is much thicker and softer than belgravia bought later, and the leather is more oily.
John Lobb [Chapel], black museum skin. It is also a shoe with no dead angle, the most beautiful double-button monk, and the whole shoe is made of one piece of leather.
What do you think are the advantages of Coller?
Let’s be more international. Suits are imported, so “going out” is really important. One of the well-known things about our brand is the participation of Japanese and Korean tailors, and they all returned from Italian apprentices.
Most of the suits you ordered in Italy today are also made by these Japanese and Korean tailors, who are the main force in the Italian workshops at present.
Our Black Label product line is also made by these Japanese and Korean artisans who are interested in traveling. It is a true Italian suit, not an Italian style that just paints a tiger on the surface. The style, structure, auxiliary materials and production methods of clothes are very different from those of the traditional domestic system, and you will never know it unless you go to the field to study.
Italian style is not a simple combination of waterfall sleeves, boat chest bags, wine glasses and patch pocket, etc. The real core is where you can’t see it.
In the process of cooperation and learning with them, in addition to providing customers with pure “Italian suits”, we are constantly improving and upgrading our own products (Red label red label).
As a manager, what are the main aspects of work?
Open a custom shop, and everyone’s work content is similar. Receive guests, help choose materials, recommend styles, measure and try on.
I usually take photos, write copywriting and update content on social media.
But I may spend a little longer in the store than most managers. I will arrive at the store at about 9:30-10:00 after seeing my wife off in the morning. She is very busy at work and often has to work overtime until midnight, so I often stay at the store late and pick her up to go home together.
Our shop is open from 12: 00 to 20: 00. Outside this time, I will help myself and my friends make clothes in the shop.
How did you suddenly become interested in production? What’s the experience of learning arts?
Before opening the store, I flew to Hong Kong specially and learned the necessary skills of measuring, plate making, fitting and modifying from our master.
But I didn’t study production until my partner JD went to Korea to study and saw his progress, so I decided to go to Korea for further study.
The whole process is the same as most people, starting with pants and waistcoats, and then going to coats-single-breasted and double-breasted. Every time I stay in Korea for about 10 days, from 10 am to midnight, I stand until my legs and feet are sore every day, and I can sleep every second when I go back.
The finger holding the needle bends and exerts force for a long time. Sometimes at the end of the day, the finger joints are sore and weak, which is a bit like tenosynovitis.
The study time in Korea is limited, and every time I go, it is equivalent to high-intensity training and college entrance examination. The master said it first. I took a video recording, then watched the video and followed it step by step. Ask him if you don’t understand. I now have about 80 videos of G learning to make clothes in my computer.
I’m really grateful to my master Tailor Chan, who is one of the few tailors who can really cut corners. Pants, waistcoats, tops, short coats, long coats, single-breasted buttons and double-breasted buttons can all be made and printed. He is a real Mastero, not just a printmaker or maker.
Every Monday is supposed to be the rest day of their shop, but as long as I go to study, he will arrive on time on Monday and teach me all day. He is patient and responsible.
In the process of learning and practicing, what are your feelings?
I feel a lot. First of all, a suit is made up of many processes and details. As the saying goes, “3 points cut, 7 points do”, when I first started studying, I even thought it was “0.1 points cut, 99.9 points do”. Because according to Savile row’s standard, a suit needs 70 hours of man-hours, but it only takes about one hour (two-piece suit) to print and cut cloth, and the remaining 69 hours are made.
Most people’s understanding of customization is “one person, one edition”, which is specially made for you, so it is expensive and good. But clothing plate making is not to make chips or rockets, and it is not so sophisticated and mysterious. Not only one version is very good, but others are not. Version is not an absolute competitive advantage of a store. Or no matter how good the version is, you can’t just wear the pieces of clothes. A good suit is made.
It is impossible for the 2D version to directly conform to the 3D human body, and to turn the flat cut into three-dimensional clothes. This is the significance of production, and it is also the core problem that every store wants to differentiate. The same paper plate, if you take it to a garment factory, will be made by hand with a good master, and the effect will be very different. Many custom rollovers are not broken, but broken.
Plate making requires rote memorization, how much to add, how much to subtract, whether to draw an arc or a straight line in each place. But the production is very logical, and it is a scientific thing, because it involves mechanics and physics. It’s a bit like driving a car. Even though many people have been driving for many years, they still have to adjust their cars several times. The same is true of suit making. Some people who are smart, savvy and logical will learn quickly and do well, and it is not easy to forget. On the contrary, many people have studied for a long time and done a lot, but they still can’t do it well, and they should always turn over their notes to see the main points.
I think it is necessary to be a tailor with patience, calm down and do it slowly, but more importantly, he should have high understanding and strong logical thinking ability. He should not only learn to do it, but also understand why he does it. If he does it, he will know everything and know how to deal with different problems. If you just have patience, but you can’t learn and understand the principle, you can’t make clothes well even if you are calm.
What inspiration did this turn, or fusion, from the manager to the craftsman give you?
The ideal state of a custom-made shop is to have a person who knows how to cut plates and make them, to control the technical aspects and train the master. If the plate can’t match the process, there will be great problems. Many things drawn on the plate need to be realized by the process, such as the amount of punching shoulders; Many problems that can’t be solved in the edition need technology to complete. One-person edition of Bespoke should not only be the cutting piece of paper edition, but also the internal structure, how to cut the lining and how to make it, case by case. Fitting should adjust not only the external cutting, but also the internal lining and practice. These things are hard to understand if you don’t learn to make them. Clothes are made, not cut.
In addition, I feel very sad that our domestic handmade suits are sold too cheaply, not only because of the labor cost, but because we like the inner winding and the winding price rather than the winding process. At the same time, it is impossible to save costs without cutting corners and using cheaper accessories and simpler processes. It is impossible to make progress in this way, and we will only turn around and even drive backwards. But we don’t seem to want to upgrade our products, go out and see more, and exchange and learn more. We like to rest on our laurels and draw a solid foundation. For a long time, others have used the iPhone 20, and we are still holding the iPhone 5 to tell our guests that this is the best.
Will the style of clothes made by yourself be different from Coller or even Luca Museo?
I like my own clothes first. Personally, I prefer a 3-button suit, or “3-roll 2.5 button position” (I forget who invented it), that is, the lapel has just turned over the last button, the lapel line stops between the top button and the middle button, and the seam has been rolled to the position close to the hem, so it is the best state not to buckle. The length of the dress is short, and the back can only cover half of the ass, and a beautiful arc on the side transitions to the hem of the front piece.
In addition, the chest is narrow but full and powerful, with a large amount of shoulder flushing. I like AP clothes (Antonio Pascariello) very much. If you go to ins to search for ap_napoli, sartoria.tramonto (our Japanese tailor), Sartoria _ Napoleon _ Seoul, Sartoria. Rusticana, you will probably understand what I mean.
How do you want to share the fun of making clothes with everyone?
There is no fun in making clothes. It is a kind of self-abuse of conscience. Just like a person eating spicy food, he still insists on eating because he knows that he will get better after a while, and the spicy taste and pain will disappear. At that time, he once again confirms his deep narcissistic illusion that “I am such a awesome person, and everything is under control”. The same is true for making clothes. All efforts are only for the last moment-guests put them on and take them away with satisfaction, which may be the only “fun”.
A few days before my wedding, including that morning, many people came to my home, laughing and enjoying themselves. In the afternoon after the luncheon, my dad sat alone on the sofa and looked at his mobile phone. There was no light at home, and several beams of natural light shone on him from the window. The home was quiet. I smiled and said to him, “all the climaxes of life are only for a moment.”
