Here at Bespoke Textiles we are dedicated to debunking outdated and ill-informed myths, and one of the biggest ones we come up against is that China is just a cheap sourcing solution profiting off the back of low-paid labour.
This could not be further from the truth and Bespoke Textiles’ recent experiences with Chinese fashion brand Heilan Group’s luxury suit label, SanCanal, has thoroughly proved that Chinese manufacturing is ethical, sustainable and has a tailored fashion supply chain.
SanCanal is China’s biggest luxury suit brand and our founder, Katie Young Gerald, had the pleasure of a tour of their factory. Bespoke Textiles are familiar with and have partnered with many factories in China from Shenzhen and Dong Guang to Hangzhou and Weihai. Katie Young Gerald had already planned to travel to the Hangzhou region, otherwise known as ‘The City of Ties’ to see our new silk jacquard design ties in production and she decided to combine the visits.
The SanCanal factory like a city in its self. Each building looks like a mausoleum, each floor a different expertise, trousers on one floor, jackets another, etc. The workmanship is impeccable, the machinery is state of the art, and the fabrics they are cutting are from Italy or are locally made, woven and developed in their research development centre and mill.
Katie Young Gerald was astounded and delighted by these working conditions and also learned that the average employee for the factory floors earns over £1,000 a month. They are paid in line with their talent and skill which is by necessity very high. They look happy, focused and work the 8 hours that we do and their meals are included.
Katie’s staff chaperone was a young lady called Dan who explained their policy to look after single women who come to work for Heilan Group. They are given a 40 square foot apartment, beautifully private and roomy. They started 30 years ago by taking over a government factory when China had an economic revolution. They became successful and in the early 2000’s built a visionary state-of-the-art factory for tailoring and another for casual wear.
They took partnerships for distribution with Versace Jeans, and a few other brands, and launched their own brand ‘Heilan Jeans’ for the equivalent Chinese market at a different price point with sales channels all over China. They then launched SanCanal, a stunning collection of expertly tailored suits for the Chinese high-end market.
This collection’s distribution grew with sales partners, internally and externally taking it to stores all over China. They were then commissioned to create many uniform collections for banks and airlines that had a unique design developed for them. Leading corporations in China are focused on ensuring their staff have smart, professional, bespoke uniforms.
Bespoke Textiles know the importance of boutique hotel and hospitality uniforms and how big a factor it can be on staff morale and lifestyle.
We are launching an additional service – factory introductions and Introductions to tried and tested factories.
Bespoke Textiles will help you set up communication without needing a translator, make sure your products have all the relevant technical information and save you time, money and mistakes, ensuring you work with superb factories that are specialists in their fields and match your minimum requirements.
If you are interested in our new ‘Introductions’ service please get in touch and we can send you our specialist factory list of global partners, their product niche and volume requirements to see if it’s a fit for you.
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