In The Know

Fashion designer SHANNON LEE's Shirt Number White flies under the radar, just where he likes it ... for now Words:

- JENNIFER CHEN

Shannon Lee fills a niche tailoring space in Singapore for garments most women don't even know they need. While shirt tailoring options for men are plentiful due to demand for well-fitting office or dress shirts, choices for women are slim, with tailoring services geared towards ethnic or formal wear. Shannon's studio, Shirt Number White, specialises in sculpturally-cut casual clothes made from premium materials from the UK, Japan and Europe.

Shirt Number White, named after Pantone references as Shannon wanted to launch an all-white clothing concept, began as a ready-to-wear outfit in 2019. It combines the 37-year-old's training in pattern making and experience in menswear brand Benjamin Barker and local fashion labels Alldressedup and AI & Alicia. He began a made-to-order (MTO) service last year and now it comprises 80 per cent of his business. Not surprising, as his ready-to-wear pieces start in the mid $200s, with MTO just about $100 more. It typically takes Shannon, from cutting the pattern to sewing the fabric, a day to produce a shirt, up to four times longer than garments with simpler silhouettes. He has been able to offload the sewing part of the production process since he found a factory in Vietnam last year that can deliver to his strict standards.