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定制服装店的裁缝在工作。
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年以来，许多富人、名人以及讲究穿着的人士一直在香港和新加坡的裁缝店里寻找定制的西装。这些男人都追求一个目标：衣服要有伦敦萨维尔街（Savile Row）的派头，价钱却只能是萨维尔街定制西服的零头。可惜的是，通胀已经悄悄潜入服装行业，那些精制西服和衬衫的价格正在上扬。
W.W. Chan & Sons是提高价码的香港裁缝店之一。据该店首席裁剪师Patrick Chu介绍，使用维达莱（VBC）毛料的标准两件套西服价格是9,000港元（1,160美元）左右，比两年前高了10%。维达莱毛料是意大利厂商Vitale Barberis Canonico的产品，品质上乘，但还不能算是顶尖。
这种状况的罪魁祸首是原材料价格上涨。2010年，棉花的价格创纪录地增长了91%，杂种羊毛的价格也在10月份达到了14年来的顶峰，比15个月之前高了50%。Patrick Chu说，高档毛料——比如意大利罗洛•皮亚纳公司（Loro Piana）的产品——每隔半年就会上涨10%左右。
不过，原材料价格上涨仅仅是原因之一，另一个原因则是新富阶层越来越大的需求。
香港The Armoury服装店的联合创办人Mark Cho说，我们实在是忙不过来，只好推掉一些顾客的订单。W.W. Chan & Sons在他的店里有一个柜台。他说，过了农历新年，打算定制西服的顾客就得花费更多的金钱：二月中旬，定制西服的价格会上涨10%到20%。
九龙裁缝店Lee Baron的情形也与此相似。该店东家Peter Lee说，要求定做全衬西服的客人越来越多。这种套装的起价是5,000港元，比半衬西服要贵2,200港元，制作时间则可以长达50个小时。由于这种套装的订单增多，他店里的裁缝们就提出了加薪的要求。迄今为止，Peter Lee还维持着原来的价格水平。不过他也承认，自己不得不跟店里的裁缝谈判。他们要求增加工资，因为在眼下的香港，什么东西都比以前贵了。
在新加坡，定制西服的价格同样处于升势。在设计师Leslie Chia经营的Pimabs服装店，价格已经比2009年高了30%。2009年初还卖229新元（177美元）的衬衫如今要卖330新元。Leslie Chia说，他店里的价格暂时可以保持稳定，他的供应商也囤积了大量的毛纺和棉纺面料。另一方面，他也一直在关注市场上的价格。
另一些新加坡裁缝拒绝对可能涨价的事情发表评论，其中包括Mode et Creation的东家Anthony Tan。
尽管价格不断上涨，亚洲裁缝们的生意多半还是会继续兴旺下去，因为他们的价格依然比西方的同行便宜。举例来说，Kevin Seah是新加坡价格最高的定制服装店之一，店里用最昂贵的骆马毛面料做的两件套西服也只卖7,000到8,000新元，大约相当于5,400美元。跟意大利的高端裁缝店Kiton相比，这样的价格可以说是非常划算，原因在于，同样的Kiton西服随随便便就要10,000美元。
Kristiano Ang
（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）
For years, many of the rich and famous and the sartorially smart have sought out Hong Kong and Singapore tailor shops for a bespoke suit. The men were all after one thing: the look of Savile Row at a fraction of the price.
But inflation is creeping into the apparel industry, and prices for those fine suits and shirts are on the rise.
One Hong Kong tailor that has raised its prices is W.W. Chan & Sons. According to Patrick Chu, the head cutter there, a standard two-piece suit made from VBC wool goes for about 9,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$1,160), up 10% in two years. VBC wool, from Italian maker Vitale Barberis Canonico, is considered good quality, but is not the highest-quality material.
The culprit is the rising price of fabric. Cotton prices climbed a record 91% in 2010, and the price of crossbred wool hit a 14-year high in October, up 50% over 15 months. Mr. Chu says the price of premium wool such as that made by Loro Piana rises by about 10% every six months.
But higher material costs are only part of the story: Increasing demand caused by rising affluence is another.
'We're so busy that we're having to turn some people away,' says Mark Cho, co-founder of The Armoury in Hong Kong, which hosts an in-store corner for W.W. Chan. Customers in search of one of the tailor's suits should expect to pay more after the Lunar New Year holidays, he says: Prices will go up by 10% to 20% in mid-February.
It's a similar case at the Kowloon tailor Lee Baron. Owner Peter Lee says that more customers are asking for suits with a full canvas lining, which begin at HK$5,000. Increased demand for these suits, which can take up to 50 hours to make and are HK$2,200 more expensive than their half-canvassed equivalents, have led to his tailors demanding higher wages. So far, Mr. Lee has managed to keep prices down. He admits, however, that he has 'to start talking to my tailors. They're asking for more because everything in Hong Kong is more expensive now.'
Prices are on the rise in Singapore, too. At Pimabs, an upscale label run by designer Leslie Chia, they have risen by 30% since 2009. Shirts that in early 2009 cost 229 Singapore dollars (US$177) now cost S$330. Mr. Chia says that his prices are currently stable; his suppliers have stockpiled wool and cotton fabric. But he's keeping an eye on prices.
Some Singapore tailors, including Anthony Tan, owner of Mode et Creation, refused to comment about potential price increases.
Despite the rising prices, business will probably remain strong for tailors in Asia because they're still inexpensive relative to their Western counterparts. At Kevin Seah, for instance, a bespoke-tailor with some of the highest prices in Singapore, a two-piece suit in the most expensive cloth, a brand of vicuna wool, costs between S$7,000 and S$8,000, or about US$5,400. That's a bargain compared to prices at Kiton, the high-end Italian clothier where that kind of suit can easily cost US$10,000.
Kristiano Ang
But inflation is creeping into the apparel industry, and prices for those fine suits and shirts are on the rise.
One Hong Kong tailor that has raised its prices is W.W. Chan & Sons. According to Patrick Chu, the head cutter there, a standard two-piece suit made from VBC wool goes for about 9,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$1,160), up 10% in two years. VBC wool, from Italian maker Vitale Barberis Canonico, is considered good quality, but is not the highest-quality material.
The culprit is the rising price of fabric. Cotton prices climbed a record 91% in 2010, and the price of crossbred wool hit a 14-year high in October, up 50% over 15 months. Mr. Chu says the price of premium wool such as that made by Loro Piana rises by about 10% every six months.
But higher material costs are only part of the story: Increasing demand caused by rising affluence is another.
'We're so busy that we're having to turn some people away,' says Mark Cho, co-founder of The Armoury in Hong Kong, which hosts an in-store corner for W.W. Chan. Customers in search of one of the tailor's suits should expect to pay more after the Lunar New Year holidays, he says: Prices will go up by 10% to 20% in mid-February.
It's a similar case at the Kowloon tailor Lee Baron. Owner Peter Lee says that more customers are asking for suits with a full canvas lining, which begin at HK$5,000. Increased demand for these suits, which can take up to 50 hours to make and are HK$2,200 more expensive than their half-canvassed equivalents, have led to his tailors demanding higher wages. So far, Mr. Lee has managed to keep prices down. He admits, however, that he has 'to start talking to my tailors. They're asking for more because everything in Hong Kong is more expensive now.'
Prices are on the rise in Singapore, too. At Pimabs, an upscale label run by designer Leslie Chia, they have risen by 30% since 2009. Shirts that in early 2009 cost 229 Singapore dollars (US$177) now cost S$330. Mr. Chia says that his prices are currently stable; his suppliers have stockpiled wool and cotton fabric. But he's keeping an eye on prices.
Some Singapore tailors, including Anthony Tan, owner of Mode et Creation, refused to comment about potential price increases.
Despite the rising prices, business will probably remain strong for tailors in Asia because they're still inexpensive relative to their Western counterparts. At Kevin Seah, for instance, a bespoke-tailor with some of the highest prices in Singapore, a two-piece suit in the most expensive cloth, a brand of vicuna wool, costs between S$7,000 and S$8,000, or about US$5,400. That's a bargain compared to prices at Kiton, the high-end Italian clothier where that kind of suit can easily cost US$10,000.
Kristiano Ang
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