All Sewn Up

Why Korean tailors are becoming more sought after in a scene traditionally dominated by Europeans and the Japanese.

- LYNETTE KOH

When lawyer and tailoring fan Mark Lee got married in December, he did so in a black kid-mohair tuxedo with lapels made of a matte silk grosgrain that had been specially sourced from Florence. However, the softly structured formal suit was not made by one of the established European houses that Mark is a long-time customer of, but by a South Korean tailor who started his business just two years ago.

In August 2020, Cheolmin Kim started his own bespoke tailoring brand, Maestoso, after returning to Seoul following four and a half years spent training and apprenticing in Florence, one of Italy's tailoring hubs. The Seoul native is also the first tailor that local men's shoe specialist Mason & Smith works with as part of its entry into the clothing world. Cutting a dapper figure in suits of his own making, complete with luxuriant moustache, Cheolmin was recently in town for a trunk show hosted by the latter.

In fact, it was Mark who had a hand in connecting both parties. In 2021, Mark learnt of Cheolmin, thanks to a fellow sartorialist who had told him to check out the latter while he was on holiday in Seoul. There, Mark discovered that Cheolmin had trained under one of his regular tailors, Hojun Choi — who used to be a senior apprentice at the famous Florentine tailoring house, Liverano & Liverano, before starting his own shop, Sartoria Salabianca, in Florence.