Tranquility of needle and thread

Liang Tong-fu, chairman of Lih-Shang Tailor, has seen the ups and downs of Taiwan’s custom tailoring industry over his 60-year career. In a turbulent world, he has found tranquility in working with cloth.

“Making a suit is not easy. The process really is very complex.” At the tender age of 15, after his first year of middle school, Liang was forced to drop out because his family could not afford to support him. He went to work as an apprentice of Li Longfei, a renowned master from the Shanghai tradition of Western-­style bespoke tailoring, at Art’s tailoring company on Zhong­shan North Road, Taipei City.

“Becoming an apprentice was like graduating from primary school and then skipping a few years to go straight to technical college,” jokes Liang, treating hardship like a positive opportunity. “In those days I was lucky if I got to sleep four or five hours a night.” This was just when the economy in Taiwan was taking off—it was a golden age for the tailoring industry, which produced 600 suits a month, and every shop was busy day and night trying to keep up. Liang’s work day often started with him rubbing his bleary eyes ­after his master gave him a light slap and shouted, “Get up, you little devil!” He only completed his training after three and a half years of ardu­ous study.

“It was hard to control the temperature, and sparks would fly out. A lot of people couldn’t stand this and quit halfway through.” Liang is talking about the daily routine for apprentices of heating up smoothing irons, stuck in a small room full of white smoke, their eyes streaming and their noses running.

“Baste fitting” is a critical step in the process of making a bespoke suit. Experienced master tailors can then make adjustments based on the customer’s body shape.

Hard work and dedication

“Little devil, you’ve done well.” When a master tailor was willing to put on a pair of pants made by an apprentice, it meant that the apprentice had completed his training and had become a master pants maker in his own right. The salary of a master tailor in the suit making business at that time was highly enviable. “The monthly income of a master tailor was about seven times that of a domestic servant.” But Liang’s father wanted him to learn more than how to make pants; he wanted him to glean everything the teacher knew. So Liang continued to study.

“I feel really grateful to my master. He gave me a chance to broaden my horizons.” From 1961 to 1981, Art’s had an endless stream of customers and was very prosperous. “Virtually all of the clients at that time were famous politicians and businessmen.”

Liang was very dedicated and earnest, continually delving into all the processes that go into making a suit, from cutting to hand-tailoring to machine sewing to ironing. He proved to be outstanding at a variety of tasks including measuring, pattern drafting, cutting, and fitting. As he advanced from being a team leader to becoming the boss’s right-hand man, he had the chance to come into contact with famous people from high society. “Once Chang Hsueh-liang and his wife came into the shop for a fitting and the boss happened to be out of the country—that was the first time I ever dealt with clients on my own. Faina Chiang always used to bring us old suits of Chiang Ching-kuo’s and ask us to make a copy.” Before being posted overseas, diplomats especially needed to have attire made that they could wear at international ceremonies. Lee Teng-hui put his trust in Art’s to meet his wardrobe needs all the way from his time as mayor of Taipei to governor of Taiwan to vice-president to president. “The heads of major cor­pora­tions like Nan Ya, Formosa Plastics, and Cathay were all regular customers.” After 18 years of learning, Liang finally set out on his own and opened the little Lih-Shang Tailor shop, competing against the ranks of brand-name tailors already in the market.

Through bespoke hand tailoring, a premium-quality suit can be created that is fitted exclusively to the customer’s measurements.

Building on strengths

When making a suit, from the selection of materials to determining the pattern, style, and form, the devil is always in the details. “I continually learned and grew thanks to the nitpicking of my customers.” Besides producing the tall and straight T-shaped framework of a suit and emphasizing the fullness of the chest, one must also meticulously adjust the horizontal and ver­tical lines of the outfit through the shoulders, waist, and chest according to the shape of the customer’s body, to make a suit that fits properly without being too tight. Not only should it be pleasing to the eye, like a work of art, it must move freely with the wearer.

“Over the past several decades, I have always worked over ten hours a day, from early to late.” But whenever he sees the smile of a satisfied customer, the exhaustion just disappears. In the course of his career, Liang has won the making and cutting competition of the Federation of Asian Master Tailors and has met with Taiwan’s president. Whenever he does pattern drafting and cutting, he is completely focused. “A well made pattern gives energy to a suit.” Based on the principles of mechanics, each suit must be meticu­lously tailored to fit like a second skin. “A jacket has 18 vertical lines, and each step in the process has to be done right.” Liang compares bespoke suit tailoring to building a house: if just one element is out of true, the whole structure will be tilted; the slightest mistake can make a big difference.

With changes in lapels, notches, and number of buttons, from loose-fitting to tight-fitting, and from stiff fabric to soft, suits have continually evolved. And there has been unceasing innovation in suiting mater­ials, which greatly affect the price of a suit. Liang takes out a piece of high-end lamb’s-wool suiting fabric as sheer as organdy. “Such a thin material poses an extreme challenge to the craftsman. Even the needles and thread have to be custom-made.”

Taiwan’s suit makers have stayed abreast of the times, carefully keeping up with fashions. This robust “soft power” has always dazzled and impressed the fashion community.

Pattern drafting, which is based on the customer’s measurements, is a skill that master tailors acquire only through many years of training.

Training successors

“Taiwan’s bespoke suit industry has always oper­ated at the highest world standards.” At hands-on competitions sponsored by the Federation of Asian Master Tailors, the World Federation of Master Tailors and other organizations, Taiwan has always brought home numerous gold medals.

“Hand-tailored suit making in Taiwan, like other traditional sectors, is headed toward sunset status.” Rapid machine production, the entry of European and American labels into Taiwan, and competition from affordable Japanese brands are all causing the bespoke suit industry to atrophy.

Through 60 years of working with needle and thread, Liang has built up a high level of expertise, but can he pass on his knowledge to others? “In fact I’m very worried, because none of us lives forever.” Now in his seventies, in recent years Liang has not only given demonstrations at various schools, generously sharing his unique skills, but has also offered classes to cultivate talented successors to whom he can pass the torch.

Only by hand crafting can one sew life and a soul into clothing, so that it remains eternally fresh. Wearing a precious suit that has been made especially for you is like experiencing priceless art. “Looking around the world, there will always be a market for high-end made-to-measure clothing.” Only by insisting on the highest craftsmanship and having strong willpower can one attain flawless perfection, and proudly survive in the world of fashion.     

The process of hand-tailoring a suit is complex. Sewing a suit “skeleton” for a “baste fitting” requires a great deal of meticulous craftsmanship, and is both physically exhausting and tiring for the eyes.

It is international custom to wear Western-style suits to formal occasions, with a suitable tie putting on the finishing touch.

Taiwan’s made-to-measure suit industry has always kept up with international standards and been at the forefront of fashion. This three-piece tailored suit is made with denim material, displaying refined texture and draping. (courtesy of Lih-Shang Tailor)

In custom-making a suit, tailors use the “golden ratio” to make the most of a person’s height and weight and give them a proud bearing.