Bespoke suits in Singapore: Kevin Seah

It excites me to find artisans who live, and work in Singapore...especially passionate young ones. I said that before. Then I was writing about Edwin Neo, and now I am writing about Kevin Seah...a comrade in arms with Edwin, so to speak...as they share the same premises together at Dominic Khoo's indescribable white space.

Talking with Kevin, I sense the passion he has for fine and beautiful clothing...in particular, bespoke cloths. He carries a bewildering range of fabrics...well, like many tailors, he doesn't actually carry them as stock, but he carries the books, and can supply the cloths. From illustrious mills like Fox Brothers, W. Bill, JJ Minnis, Harrisons...these books are available for your bespoke choice.

Below a selection from the W. Bill tweed...Kevin is a big fan of tweed...as I am.

He also carries Nackymade...a quirky, Japanese bespoke spectable frame house. And the magnificent Gammerelli and Mazarin socks. Shown below, Kevin's immaculately dressed foot with Cleverly shoes:

I took a quick inspection of his work..impressive! Here on his own coat. A double breasted 6x4 with very light coloured, natural horn buttons.

The back...smooth and clean, note how the collar hugs his neck.

The hand made button holes...and beautiful buttons And the shoulder line. This shoulder is a little exaggarated. For my personal taste, I would have preferred a more relaxed shoulder. But Kevin wanted to build up the shoulder to show the mini-pagoda-esque shoulder. Note pocket square.

Examining another customer's suit hanging on the rack...to show the hand work. The blind stitching of the floating chest piece as it connects to the lapel. View of the lapel inside as it is turned out.

The hand made button holes, and the roll of the lapel's belly:

The melton used in the collar...again evidence of a great deal of handwork

The interior of the suit also shows a significant amount of hand work...hand stitched seams joining the lining to the shell. I believe Kevin uses silk for linings. Many colours and patterns are available.

And for the all important sleeve...hand stitched with a stretchable silk thread. Note the wriggly and uneven stitch lines. Though this may seem to be untidy, this is evidence of handwork, and indeed allows the sleevehead to stretch and move a bit within, allowing for a more comfortable fit. And a quick look a the inside of a pair of bespoke trousers, showing the label and hand work within.

Very interesting fellow, this Kevin. Knowledgable of fabrics...even the more traditional fabrics, as he prefers English mills (hurray!!) to Italian ones. These days, many tailors are more interested to push the high tech fabrics by Zegna and Loro Piana, and neglect the magnificent mills of England, Wales and Scotland. I have a few suits made from the beautiful materials of Lovat Mills in Scotland, as with Fox Brothers flannel from England, and have had bad experiences with the expensive cloths from Loro Piana and Ermenegildo Zegna.

Fine taste. Great workmanship. I might be tempted to spring for a bespoke suit by Kevin to see how he fits. But with an active stable of probably 20 suits...many made by Gordon Yao and WW Chan, I think I might have to endure the temptation a while. Maybe my son's first bespoke suit....:-)

I will recommend those in Singapore seeking a bespoke tailor to check out Kevin and see if it works for you. As I have mentioned in this blog...working with a tailor is sometimes a lifelong relationship. The relationship blossoms after a few suits, and then if the tailor is any good...perfection. Once you reach this stage, as I have with Gordon...you stick to your tailor...possibly for life. Kevin Seah Kevin Seah Bespoke Dominic Khoo's 28th Fevrier 5 Jalan Kilang Mobile: 91884681 kevin@kevinseah.com.sg

Bespoke shoes made in Singapore: Edwin et al.

It excites me to find artisans who live, and work in Singapore...especially passionate young ones. Edwin Neo is one such individual.



My friend Kasraa is another. Kasraa is an engineer by training and trade, but loved cordswaining so much, he enroled in a class to learn to make his own shoes as a hobby. He was one class senior to young Edwin and they share the same master in Hungary. When I bumped into Edwin, introduced by an old friend Dominic Khoo, I was truly intrigued. This young man, was going to make, by hand, fully welted shoes in Singapore.



I met up with him at his atelier at Dominic Khoo's 28th Fevier at Jalan Kilang recently to hand over a pair of John Lobbs which were recently butchered by a local cobbler...imagine he used a wax thread and blake stitched my Lobbs. Shish. Anyway, Edwin should be able to take them apart, and resole the shoes and retain the welted construction.

He offers a very reasonable bespoke service...and he hand makes the shoes himself. He clicks, makes, lasts, and finishes all the bespoke shoes.

Here, on a mass production no 40 last (plastic last used for his ready to wear line). The bespoke line uses wooden lasts made in the UK.



The uppers are hand stretched over the last, and nailed.

Then welt is also hand stitched. Edwin has brought in the first Goodyear Welting machine in Singapore, and will use that, though for bespoke shoes, he will hand welt, as he was taught in Hungary.



I was particularly drawn to a pair of bespoke shoes displayed on a small chair:



Gorgeous work...very nicely done. Special customization for this shoe is the shorter tongue, so it does not move (wag?) around inside the boot. Nice.



And from the ready to wear line, the wholecuts



The shoes feature hand patina by Edwin. Though not as elaborate and as achingly beautiful as the works done on Berlutti or Corthay or Santoni, these were quite beautiful. The depth of the hues work well to show off the shoes.



The leather used is not top top quality...but very good value for a pair that sells for S$250.


Here is their 2011 catalog.


Edwin Neo
Ed et al
5 Jalan Kilang
9794 0080
edwin@edetal.sg