Tailor-making suits might seems like an occupation for the older generation only. But the two owners of SARTAR LAB, Victor and Kade are breaking this stereotype and suggest that custom-made suits are in fact very much in demand in Macau.
“The idea of opening my own tailor shop came from a personal experience when there was a time I couldn’t find a suit that really satisfied me,” Kade says.
Kade’s father is a tailor as well, and has been in the industry for almost 40 years. When Kade graduated from an overseas design school, his father could not finish making the suit for his graduation in time. Hence Kade had no choice but to buy one from a ready-to-wear suit shop. Although the price of the suit he bought was as high as what he would have paid for a tailor-made suit in Macau, it turned out to still be a bad fit.
Later, Victor and Kade decided to be apprentices of Kade’s father and learnt from him for almost three years before opening SARTAR LAB. Kade’s father is also the shop’s Master Tailor.
Despite the demise of some old style tailor shops in the city, Victor says there are still people here who have a desire for quality outfits, including the quality of the material and fit of the garment. These customers are not willing to settle for ready-to-wear suits, and this motivated Victor and Kade to open their own tailor shop.
In fact, SARTAR LAB is not really any different from other tailor shop in terms of the way it operates, but Victor points out that as well as maintaining the spirit of a traditional tailor shop, they also want SARTAR LAB to be able to follow the new trends at the same time.
“We can see that some top suit brands overseas have already made some changes. While keeping the traditional wisdoms, they have made changes in design, in the texture of their cloths, and the ways of pairing and patterning,” he explains. “That’s exactly what we want to be.”
Sartor Lab
78-A, Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, Macau
