Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Tailoring |
Founded | 1957 |
Founder | Raja Daswani |
Headquarters | Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
Area served | U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Belgium, Switzerland, U.A.E, Qatar |
Key people | Prashant R. Daswani (Owner), Vishal Daswani (Director) |
Products | Clothing, Fashion, Leather Jacket, Suit |
Owner | Mr. Prashant R Daswani |
Number of employees | 500+ |
Website | raja-fashions.com |
Raja Fashions are a bespoke tailor based in Hong Kong with sales operations in other countries. [1] [2] [3] The company's business model is to take measurement from clients abroad, for instance in Europe and North America, after which clothes are produced by tailors based in China. [4] [5] [6] [7]
Founded in 1957, Raja Fashions started making bespoke garments for men and women from their store in Hong Kong. In response to the 1997 transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, during which many of Raja's British expatriate customers returned to Britain, the firm began setting up shop in hotel rooms in different cities across the world. [8] [9] [10]
Raja Fashions' was officially established in 1957 by the grandfather of Mr. Raja Daswani, who emigrated from Northern India to Hong Kong and set up a custom tailored business in Kowloon. [11] During the 40-year period between the establishment of Raja Fashions and the handover of Hong Kong back to China, the Raja Fashions store in Kowloon continued to grow in reputation. When Raja Daswani assumed operations, he started promoting the brand "Raja Fashions". [12]
After the handover of Hong Kong, instead of waiting for customers to come to their store in Kowloon, Mr. Daswani decided to visit his customers in United Kingdom, and began setting stores in 5-star hotels in London and letting his previous customers know by mail that he would be coming to measure people for suits.[ citation needed ]
These international tours proved profitable, so Raja Fashions quickly adapted this strategy for others cities in the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2009, Raja Fashions embarked on a second round of expansion, establishing hotel shops in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Belgium, and Switzerland. In 2012, Raja Fashions offered service in Doha for the first time. [13]
An advertorial commissioned by the company - an advert written in the style of a features article - has become well known in Britain and other English-speaking countries for running unchanged for many years. [14] [15] Jonathan Margolis, the Financial Times journalist who wrote it while freelancing in 2004, has said that he believes the article may be the most printed text in the English language apart from the Bible and the works of Shakespeare, although this has been disputed. [16] [17]
Tsim Sha Tsui, often abbreviated as TST, is an area in southern Kowloon, Hong Kong. The area is administratively part of the Yau Tsim Mong District. Tsim Sha Tsui East is a piece of land reclaimed from the Hung Hom Bay now east of Tsim Sha Tsui. The area is bounded north by Austin Road and in the east by Hong Chong Road and Cheong Wan Road.
Savile Row is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society at 1 Savile Row, where significant British explorations to Africa and the South Pole were planned; and more recently, the Apple office of the Beatles at 3 Savile Row, where the band's final live performance was held on the roof of the building.
Lane Crawford (HK) Limited is a retail company founded in 1850 operating specialist department stores selling luxury goods in Hong Kong and Mainland China. It is headquartered in One Island South, Wong Chuk Hang.
Bespoke tailoring or custom tailoring is clothing made to an individual buyer's specifications by a tailor. Bespoke garments are completely unique and created without the use of a pre-existing pattern, while made to measure uses a standard-sized pattern altered to fit the customer.
The Wharf (Holdings) Limited, or Wharf (九倉) in short, is a company founded in 1886 in Hong Kong. As its name suggests, the company's original business was in running wharfage and dockside warehousing, and it was originally known as The Hong Kong and Kowloon Wharf and Godown Company, Limited and founded by Sir Paul Chater. The company adopted its current name in 1986. The current major holder of the company is Wheelock & Co.
Gieves & Hawkes is a bespoke men's tailor and menswear retailer located at 1 Savile Row in London, England. The business was founded in 1771. It was acquired in 2012 by the Hong Kong conglomerate Trinity Ltd., which was in turn purchased by Shandong Ruyi in 2017. After Trinity was subject to a winding-up petition for debt in September 2021, Gieves & Hawkes was acquired in November 2022 by Frasers Group, owner of Sports Direct.
Shopping is a popular social activity in Hong Kong, where basic items for sale do not draw any duties, sales taxation, or import taxation. Only specific import goods such as alcohol, tobacco, perfumes, cosmetics, cars and petroleum products have associated taxes. For companies, there is a 17.5% corporate tax, which is lower than international standards. Shoppers reportedly spend over US$5.2 billion a month in Hong Kong shops.
Sam's Tailor is a tailor in Hong Kong. It is noted for the roster of its clientele, which includes British royalty, American presidents, and international celebrities.
Made-to-measure (MTM) typically refers to custom clothing that is cut and sewn using a standard-sized base pattern. Suits and sport coats are the most common garments made-to-measure. The fit of a made-to-measure garment is expected to be superior to that of a ready-to-wear garment because made-to-measure garments are constructed to fit each customer individually based on a few body measurements to customize the pre-existing pattern. Made-to-measure garments always involve some form of standardization in the pattern and manufacturing, whereas bespoke tailoring is entirely made from scratch based on a customer's specifications with far more attention to minute fit details and using multiple fittings during the construction process. All else being equal, a made-to-measure garment will be more expensive than a ready-to-wear garment but cheaper than a bespoke one. "Custom made" most often refers to MTM.
Craig Robinson is an American fashion designer.
H. Huntsman & Sons is a high-end fashion house and tailor located at No. 11 Savile Row, London. It is known for its English bespoke menswear tailoring, cashmere ready-to-wear collections, and leather accessories.
Cad and the Dandy is an independent tailoring company based in London, England with premises on Savile Row, in the City and New York City, that sells bespoke suits.
Kowloon City Plaza is a shopping centre located at Kowloon City, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It was established in 1993, and it underwent a HK$100-million renovation from October 2005 to December 2006. The shopping centre re-opened on 26 January 2007.
Richard James is a bespoke Savile Row tailors and contemporary menswear company. It was founded in 1992 by designer Richard James, a graduate of Brighton College of Art and a former buyer for the London boutique Browns, and his business partner Sean Dixon. The Design and Brand Director is Toby Lamb, a graduate of Central Saint Martins. Richard James has won both the British Fashion Council's Menswear Designer of the Year and Bespoke Designer of the Year awards.
Ascot Chang is a brand of bespoke shirts and suits. Ascot Chang opened his first store on Kimberly Road in Hong Kong in 1953. It now has 15 locations across China, Hong Kong, the United States, and the Philippines. High-profile customers include former president George W. Bush, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Andy Warhol.
Savile Row tailoring is men and women's bespoke tailoring that takes place on Savile Row and neighbouring streets in Mayfair, Central London. In 1846, Henry Poole, credited as being the "Founder of Savile Row", opened an entrance to his tailoring premises at No. 32 Savile Row. The term bespoke is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers. The short street has been termed the "golden mile of tailoring", where customers have included Charles III, Winston Churchill, Lord Nelson, Napoleon III, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Laurence Olivier and Duke Ellington.
Dege & Skinner is a bespoke gentleman's tailor and shirt-maker located at 10 Savile Row, London. Founded in 1865, they are one of the oldest, continually operated bespoke tailoring companies in the world. They have the Row's first and only permanent on-site, bespoke shirt service.
Bespoke describes anything commissioned to a particular specification. In contemporary usage, bespoke has become a general marketing and branding concept implying exclusivity and limited runs.
DFS Group (DFS) is a Hong Kong–based travel retailer of luxury products. Established in 1960, its network located in major airports and downtown stores around the world, including duty-free stores in 12 airports and 21 downtown locations, as well as affiliate and resort locations, featuring 750 brands. It is privately held and majority owned by the luxury conglomerate Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), alongside DFS co-founder and shareholder Robert Warren Miller. As of January 11, 1997, DFS Group operates as a subsidiary of LVMH.
The Hong Kong tailors are a well-known attraction in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is still home to several bespoke tailors, who have stitched suits for foreign politicians like Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and Bob Hawke and celebrities like King Charles, Kevin Spacey, Boris Becker, David Bowie, Richard Gere and Michael Jackson.