What do you get when you blend artisanal craftsmanship with modern design? You get Meiko Tailor—a bespoke tailor that aims to serve Singaporean clients with suits that have a “quality for a lifetime.”
Meiko is run by father-daughter duo Chung Chi Kwong and Adele Chung. For the past 48 years, they have been adapting their tailoring to suit the generations, making sure to stay contemporary to fit the needs of their customers. Chung started as a tailor’s apprentice when he was 16. Upon completing his National Service at age 20, he turned down the various positions offered to him in the military, instead deciding to pursue his passion for tailoring. Within a few years, he founded Meiko Tailor.
”As a tailor shop, we make nice clothing for people. Therefore, I chose the first word ‘mei’, which means beauty. It’s also the name of my wife,” Chung shared in a CNA Lifestyle interview. The shop initially started as “Mei Ke” and later they adopted the name Meiko, making the brand sound international. Later, a Japanese client shared that Meiko sounded similar to the Japanese word for “skilled artisan” or “craftsman.”
What sets this brand apart is its full-canvas construction method. It is a rare practice in the industry because most tailors opt for a fused suit to be more cost-efficient. Meiko also adapts the one-to-one policy, where a single tailor creates the suit from the chosen fabric and crafts it into a full set, ready to wear for the client.
Meiko survived various decades of strife, like the 1997 financial crisis, the SARS outbreak, and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. Alongside these instances, the rise of fast fashion in the 1990s and e-commerce in the 2020s also significantly changed the retail landscape, as consumers placed value on speed over meticulousness. Despite all that, Meiko Tailor stayed true to their craftsmanship and diversified their offerings to include made-to-measure bespoke suits and an on-the-rack suit display for customers.
With Chung getting older, his daughter Adele shared that a conversation with her niece got her thinking of joining the company despite being in the corporate sector. “At five years old, during a family lunch, she asked her grandfather, ‘Gong gong, how many customers did you have today?’I asked her why she asked that, and she said, ‘Because I seldom see gong gong at home,’” Adele shared in the same interview. Since joining the company seven years ago, she has expanded Meiko’s clientele, which includes female customers. Today, one of Meiko’s specialities is women’s suit dresses.
Earlier this year, Meiko Tailor opened a shop at Boat Quay in June and launched their sub-brand Uncommon Hem (UH)— a fashion-forward, edgier alternative to traditional bespoke tailoring spearheaded by Adele herself. UH repurposes luxury fabrics into striking contemporary qipao tops, bespoke casual menswear, and couture-inspired statement clothing perfect for any occasion.
Today, Meiko Tailor continues its legacy of artisanal tailoring by incorporating new trends with the quality and care that it’s known for. You can check them out at Pan Pacific or Boat Quay in Singapore.