While Lines Lab’s team focuses on promoting Macao’s fashion design in overseas markets, individual designers such as Robert Lai have brought with him overseas followers attracted to designs made in his studio at Calçada do Gaio in Macao.
In 2003, Eason Chan’s “Third Encounter” concert was the talk of town. During that concert, Chan wore costumes designed by Lai. After finishing his fashion design studies in the U.S., Lai went on to Paris to work in fashion for several years. Later, his designs were favoured by celebrity singer, Faye Wong, who commissioned him to create new products, an event that brought him back to Asia. In 2009, Lai set up his own brand obèse plein in Macao. His first collection was admired by celerity Hilary Tsui, who introduced Lai’s products in her own stores in Hong Kong. As a result, Lai’s designs quickly caught on.
Lai admitted that while the celebrity effect has helped publicise his brand, he felt that people’s attention tends to focus on the celebrities themselves. Realising this drawback, he considers it important to steer away from this once the brand became more established.
Focused mainly on women’s fashion, the brand has a secondary product line geared towards more accessible, mass market ready-to-wear for both men and women. How does Lai strike the right balance between catering to the market and preserving the uniqueness of design? To him, insisting on one’s style is especially important. “I have tried for one or two seasons to cater to the market, but it simply wouldn’t work.” In his opinion, designs that cater to the popular market would inevitably lead to a change in design style, and he did not wish to deviate from the attributes of his own brand.
His pursuit for personal style has won him a steady clientele in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan over the past five years. His customers seek out his stores, saying that his designs are what best suit their taste. “I am not working towards mass production. It is far more meaningful to me to keep my steady clientele than to open up new markets.”
He was aware of the local fashion industry’s challenges, such as the difficulty to find fashion models, the lack of vibe in the entertainment business, and the rise of property rental. The culprit to a vibrant fashion industry, however, lies in the production. Since his brand is not focused on mass production, he would only produce up to 160 pieces for each season at the startup stage, a quantity that makes it hard to attract manufacturers. “Most manufacturers would only count such quantities as sample-making. As a result, the production cost is very high, and poses a big obstacle for emerging fashion designers.” Lai said that, compared to five years ago when he started working on his own brand, he now produces around 700 pieces for each item each season, and so managed to secure more high quality suppliers. He chuckled, “Luckily, I do not have a huge team to feed, and so the demand for 700 pieces is good enough for me.”
Other than bringing on his second line on various marketing tours, Lai has also opened an online shop to market it. Personally, however, he would prefer customers to buy these products from a shop. As such, he is in favour of the government’s support of C Shop in Nam Van Lake. “The fashion at C Shop sells very well, and is a venue that has nurtured several local designers.” Lai remarked that the place has a strong footfall and was once his brand’s key retail point. However, having only operated for two years, C Shop has been suspended, and he has lost a strategic retail channel.
He considers that, despite the difficulties, Macao enjoys a thriving tourism business and a substantial number of tourist shoppers, which offers a strong factor for the growth of local fashion brands.
