A Modern Gentleman's Lair

Refashioning Manila’s bespoke and demi-bespoke scene, the William Lee team forges the reemergence of sophisticated dressing. Monique Madsen gets inside access to this sartorial club

Tucked away in a quiet corner of Makati’s central business district, William Lee is as nondescript as the street it is located on. The William Lee experience starts off with location, requiring a keen eye for detail in order to find your way through its glass and wrought-iron entry door, like mid-century speakeasies and swanky bars it draws inspiration from.

“It always begins with getting to know the client…” Borgy Manotoc lets his sentence trail off as he turns his attention to one, who is in the middle of discussing the details of a suit he is having made for his upcoming wedding. It is evident in the conversation that the groom, a young Caucasian male in his thirties, accompanied by an equally welldressed male friend, knew how he liked his suits. The client considers the weather and the location when choosing his suit style and garment; he also toys with the idea of adding a pop of colour while consulting showroom manager Leon Esquillon. They shift from one fine detail to the next: the suit’s lining, the lapel’s buttonhole, and somebody suggested a hand-stitched boutonniere loop. Standing tall and upright in their loafers, paired with crisp button-down shirts, both men bantered and shared laughs with Manotoc and Esquillon, as they flipped through books of fabric swatch samples. The camaraderie is palpable, like a scene straight out of an episode from the hit television series Mad Men—except that the conversation is on suits, not on advertising. The group of young gentlemen, all in impeccable ensembles, are engaged in conversation, even as one, or two, of them is fully utilising the vintage bar cart with a whisky glass in hand.