Ningbo's profound tradition of making suits

Some hongbang tailors in Beijing had also made outfits for former leaders, including Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao. 

Gu Tianyun, who started his suit business in Japan in 1903 and studied the market in Europe, published a textbook in 1933 to introduce suit-making skills to the Chinese. He also started a tailor-training class and later developed it into a vocational school.

Gu wanted to promote the industry and welcomed questions from those who read his textbook, ignoring the common belief that a master should not teach his apprentices all he knew about his business, Li says.

Today, many of the traditional hongbang tailors in Ningbo still run their shops on Xihe Street and some others specially cater to the international market, says Yao Yulian, director of the customization committee for the Ningbo Garment Association.

Some from the younger generations of suit-makers are studying consumer trends to better develop their designs, Yao says.

Qi Baijun, who started learning the skill in 1993, says "honesty and flexibility" are the most important characteristics of hongbang tailors.

Yao says the common practice has proved the tailors' skills and trustworthiness, as customized suits can cost tens of thousands of yuan, and to purchase, the clients need to pay in advance.

A suit is not just a body cover, Qi says, it modifies the body shape and presents the client's personality. He says he designs suits according to the culture, weather and physical traits of residents of the cities where his clients live, as well as considering their professions in order to make customized suits stand out in an industrialized society.

"Three years might be enough to learn the skills, but a lot more time for theory and management is needed," Qi adds. 

No tailor can make exactly the same outfit as the other, he says. Whether there is need to stick to the same style or interpretation, the craftsmanship itself is hard to copy, and therefore, it is difficult to inherit and develop Ningbo's dressmaking tradition.

However, as a cultural heritage it needs to be handed down, Qi adds.