TRADITIONAL TAILORING SERVICE
Zeds Threads is one of the few remaining traditional tailors in the world. We follow the original artisan mode of production for tailoring. We have a full-time pattern maker. All orders a sewn in-house.
The tailoring industry is based on the brokerage model. The tailor store is a sales funnel to collect orders which are outsourced to brokers and the is order sewn by a home tailor or in a small workshop. The pattern making process is by passed.
The tailoring industry is based on the brokerage model. The tailor store is a sales funnel to collect orders which are outsourced to brokers and the is order sewn by a home tailor or in a small workshop. The pattern making process is by passed.
THE DIFFERENCE
We deliver on fit and quality of workmanship close to 100% of the time as is humanly possible. Our craftsmanship is 100% guaranteed. We can do this consistently. Once we have your pattern the process is close to perfect as possible.
Bypassing the pattern making process and outsourcing the sewing cannot deliver the same level of quality on a consistent basis. There is no pattern to go back to if you want to order more of the same garment.
Bypassing the pattern making process and outsourcing the sewing cannot deliver the same level of quality on a consistent basis. There is no pattern to go back to if you want to order more of the same garment.
BEST VALUE
The value that we provide possibly cannot be bettered. The few traditional tailors like us are mainly situated in high wage countries. To get this level of service anywhere else is going to cost a lot more.
The Hanoi store is a startup up for us. We are developing products to sell online. We have have kept the price as low as possible as we need clients from all over the world. The clients get a true luxury product and we are discovering their needs and the problems they want solved first hand.
The investment in our business is heavily geared to the backend of the business: the workshop. This is reflected in our price. We have looked at commercial rental space all over Hanoi. With our current premises we have found a balance between minimising the costs of the front end (the store) and still being accessible to our clients. Thus we are are lower cost than the luxury looking tailor stores around town. Hanoi has some of the most expensive real estate in the world. This is reflected in commercial rental costs. The overhead is paid for by the customer. What the high end tailoring stores focus on is providing an experience.
The Hanoi store is a startup up for us. We are developing products to sell online. We have have kept the price as low as possible as we need clients from all over the world. The clients get a true luxury product and we are discovering their needs and the problems they want solved first hand.
The investment in our business is heavily geared to the backend of the business: the workshop. This is reflected in our price. We have looked at commercial rental space all over Hanoi. With our current premises we have found a balance between minimising the costs of the front end (the store) and still being accessible to our clients. Thus we are are lower cost than the luxury looking tailor stores around town. Hanoi has some of the most expensive real estate in the world. This is reflected in commercial rental costs. The overhead is paid for by the customer. What the high end tailoring stores focus on is providing an experience.
THE EXPERIENCE ECONOMY
With our low investment in the front end we cannot provide the experience of the luxury looking tailor stores. In our store it is the pattern maker who measures you. Our workshop is next to our store to allow quick interaction between workshop staff with clients at our store. We don't know of any place in Asia that can provide this level of service.
However it does not make the same kind of impact on the brain as a luxurious setting with well dressed and scripted staff putting on a performance. This kind of experience will last forever. This was pioneered by the luxury brands as they made the transition from artisan production to mass production.
Perception also impacts on how a person views a product. A suit made by a home tailor is going to be perceived differently based on the price paid and from whom it is purchased. If it is bought directly from the maker it might cost a few hundred dollars versus over a thousand dollars if purchased from a luxury looking tailor store. It is the same suit but the feeling and the long term memory will be significantly different.
This is why luxury brands can sell factory made shirts for over US$1,000. Their production costs are insignificant but this does not guarantee profits as their overheads are incredibly high. Having to rent the most expensive real estate around the world has its price. Making millions of products cheaply has its own price too. Those products have to be sold and branding is very expensive. What you pay for is an experience and a feeling. They make a living with a few hero products.
We make the luxury product without the sizzle and the high price.
However it does not make the same kind of impact on the brain as a luxurious setting with well dressed and scripted staff putting on a performance. This kind of experience will last forever. This was pioneered by the luxury brands as they made the transition from artisan production to mass production.
Perception also impacts on how a person views a product. A suit made by a home tailor is going to be perceived differently based on the price paid and from whom it is purchased. If it is bought directly from the maker it might cost a few hundred dollars versus over a thousand dollars if purchased from a luxury looking tailor store. It is the same suit but the feeling and the long term memory will be significantly different.
This is why luxury brands can sell factory made shirts for over US$1,000. Their production costs are insignificant but this does not guarantee profits as their overheads are incredibly high. Having to rent the most expensive real estate around the world has its price. Making millions of products cheaply has its own price too. Those products have to be sold and branding is very expensive. What you pay for is an experience and a feeling. They make a living with a few hero products.
We make the luxury product without the sizzle and the high price.
SHOKUNIN
We have used many words to describe what we do: handmade, artisan, bespoke, fairtrade, real luxury etc. We have found one word that describes everything we are doing and what we are striving for: shokunin. This is a Japanese word that means artisan or craftsman, but it is also a philosophy that reflects many of the processes and ideals we practice and strive for.
"Shokunin means not only having technical skill, but also implies an attitude and social consciousness... a social obligation to work his best for the general welfare of the people, [an] obligation both material and spiritual." This quote from a shokunin woodwork master captures the essence of what shokunin is. This is what we are committed to.
We are the shokunin tailor.
"Shokunin means not only having technical skill, but also implies an attitude and social consciousness... a social obligation to work his best for the general welfare of the people, [an] obligation both material and spiritual." This quote from a shokunin woodwork master captures the essence of what shokunin is. This is what we are committed to.
We are the shokunin tailor.
BENEFITS TO OUR CLIENTS
The benefit of following the artisan or shokunin mode of production is that we can provide customised clothing and high quality workmanship. This is what luxury clothing used to be.
As our focus is on the making, the artisan process. Our client does not pay for unnecessary overhead like an expensive front end. We make true luxury clothing and provide value at the same time.
As our focus is on the making, the artisan process. Our client does not pay for unnecessary overhead like an expensive front end. We make true luxury clothing and provide value at the same time.
BENEFITS TO THE WORLD
We make to order. We only make something if someone wants it. Our carbon footprint is tiny. Wastage is eliminated to the maximum. Our mode of production is green.
Factory work is based on a division of labour whereby work is reduced to the smallest component possible. It is deskilled work and the worker has little or no bargaining power over wages or working conditions. Artisan workers are highly skilled. Our workers are paid on merit. More than half our overhead is wages. These wages not only support our workers and their direct family but also support the extended family back in the hometown.
Soon even the factory work will be taken over by mechanisation. The artisan or shokunin mode of production will continue to offer employment to human beings as long as other human beings are willing to pay for something made by a human.
We believe that the artisan mode of production offers a win-win for all stakeholders and our planet which is home to us all.
Factory work is based on a division of labour whereby work is reduced to the smallest component possible. It is deskilled work and the worker has little or no bargaining power over wages or working conditions. Artisan workers are highly skilled. Our workers are paid on merit. More than half our overhead is wages. These wages not only support our workers and their direct family but also support the extended family back in the hometown.
Soon even the factory work will be taken over by mechanisation. The artisan or shokunin mode of production will continue to offer employment to human beings as long as other human beings are willing to pay for something made by a human.
We believe that the artisan mode of production offers a win-win for all stakeholders and our planet which is home to us all.
THE SHOKUNIN TAILOR
Zeds Threads is committed to providing customised clothing to our clients who want the quality that we offer on a consistent basis. We are committed to ongoing improvement. Zeds Threads is a client driven business. Please feel free to give us feedback via our website.
