Correia da Silva, Brito and Robert Lai are all known for their self-made successes. On the other hand, San Lee, an emerging designer, has benefited from the newly-launched “Subsidy Programme for Fashion Design on Sample-Making” in 2013.
Since 2009, Lee has worked as a full-time interior designer, and in his free time, he collaborated with a few friends to set up a new fashion brand, ZICS. At the beginning, progress was limited, and they only managed to produce and sell small quantities of merchandise at a few consignment points. It was not until the recent two years that they succeeded in becoming better-known through fashion shows. However, the high production costs have hampered the career advancement of young designers.
One of the eight awardees of the “2013 Subsidy Programme for Fashion Design on Sample-Making”, Lee was fully subsidised to produce 15 products, amounting to a subsidy of MOP150,000, including costs on sample-making, material supplies, publicity and show registration fees. This initiative has led him to evaluate thoroughly his brand’s future outlook and positioning. At the same time, he conceded, “This sponsorship scheme has made me reconsider that, regardless of the design potential, a product must be backed by a suitable sales and marketing strategy. Honestly, I do not have a lot of ideas on that front, and so although I have received funding for sample-making and have taken part in some fashion shows, I am yet to reach out to business partners. There is still plenty to figure out.”
Without its own retail outlets, ZICS relies on consignment sales. Each item has a stock ranging from a few pieces to around ten pieces. Selling for MOP500 to MOP1,000 apiece, with some merchandise priced at around MOP2,000, the brand is considered high-end. However, Lee admitted that there is little scope to lower the price, considering the high production costs and a small production run. It is his hope that the brand can be launched in the Hong Kong or the overseas market in the future, so as to broaden his clientele base.
Produced at small quantities, why is it still so difficult to locate local customers? This is intriguing especially since the rise of large-scale conferences, exhibitions or entertainment activities in Macao should have led to a higher demand for fashion clothing.
Lee explained that the fashion shoppers in Macao would still need more time to mature. He conceded, “In general, the locals in Macao do not care much about fashion style, let alone appreciate or support local design labels. It is quite common, after all, for people to turn up at banquets in t-shirts and jeans, and so one could see that there is little concept of occasion wear. I once went out in a black outfit and a black layered chiffon vest that I designed, and realised that a lot of passers-by stopped to look at me. I shrugged and thought that I might just as well see it as a live fashion show!”
Many people in Macao are actually not aware that designers such as Lee have worked hard in introducing and improving the community’s appreciation of lifestyle and design aesthetics. Lee confessed that, even with some funding from the government, he has no plan to commit to fashion design work on a full-time basis. In his opinion, the local interior design and fashion design fields have much to learn from each other. “I will be launching an online shop to reduce operating costs and to meet consumer demand. ZICS will continue with its B2C business model. After all, B2B operation often involves high production and transport costs, which meant that it should be carefully evaluated. At present, my brand has yet to reach that level of scale to benefit from it.”
