Way of fabric

For a true gentleman, a well-dressed suit is essential. This is true of London. Shanghai and Beijing are the same. Even in China’s current second-tier cities, this is a “truth”.

When I was in London in the early days, I had the privilege of working for the Alfred Dunhill brand, where I met several great seamstresses and shirt masters. They made reference to my custom suits in the 1920s and 1930s that I bought at Old Hat (one of my favorite London stores) on Fulham High Street, and I did a few nice suits for me. When it comes to this vintage shop, it is my must-visit destination in London. The owner, Mr. David Saxby, is a very supportive person. His presence is also one of the reasons why the store is charming. Over the years, I learned from him all the details of upgrading a suit to a work of art. I often miss this old friend in the days of living in Shanghai. In the use of fabrics - I mostly choose Dormeuil (Doumet) fabric tycoon in the global advanced clothing field. As early as 1890, Dormeuil set foot on China's territory for the first time, and was a pioneer in the luxury goods industry. Two years ago, it reopened an office space in Shanghai and appointed Pierre Dupond, an elegant and charming young gentleman from France, who was stationed in Shanghai for the official heads of Greater China and South Asia. In a relationship with friends, Pierre is still in my mind the best candidate for this 170-year-old French brand (founded in 1842, a family from northern France).

Nowadays in China, more and more consumers realize that “quality is the highest” and they are eager to enjoy high quality enjoyment. They are not only for pure wool and “super” values ​​(number of warp and weft yarns per square inch range, also called “number of counts”), the larger the number, the better the material. For the expert, super150, super180, super200 are able to The numbers that are in their eyes are interesting, precious and rare fiber varieties are also on their list of desires. Seeing this trend, Dormeuil recently launched the "Vanquish II" in China, a unique special limited series, each containing eight packages. There are 14 different fabrics in the series, one with 18K gold wire embedded, and the other embedded with platinum. Pierre told me that at the release party in Beijing, the local celebrities were very interested in this limited series and the sales were very good. . You know, a suit suit in Vanquish II costs €35,000! This is not a small number.

This year, Dormeuil continues to look for inspiration in Chinese culture, combining tailoring with "Feng Shui", and a "160" "Jade" series will land in Beijing! Rare jade is gently crushed and melted into the fabric, so that the whole piece of material will be covered with jade particles, and the special process of processing the clothing means that the wearer will get good luck.

Jade is considered to be a gems from a dream in China. As a "dream creator," I should think about whether I would like to have a jacket made of this fabric? ! According to the latest research, jade has significant mental healing functions. It enhances people's positive energy while eliminating negative energy. The Chinese people are convinced that this magical and expensive stone - which can bring wealth and stay away from hunger.

There is a flea market in Shanghai that deals only with jade. It is open every Friday. I sometimes go to this market to see jade enthusiasts and business people struggling to find, looking to find valuable jade rare, observe the transparency to determine the worth, and I can always be attracted by this situation. I have to admit that in the 6 years of this fascinating country, I slowly accepted what I saw and heard in the daily life, the traditional customs, and I have had a lot of market conditions with strong “Chinese style” imprints. More emotional perception. (Text / Yann Debelle de Montby)