Hunched over a sewing machine, Kil Bae is in his tailor shop in Manhattan, New York, hemming a dress when a new customer stops by with a vintage Tommy Hilfiger jacket he wants taken in.
The modelling agent paid US$20 at a thrift store for his reversible bomber-style jacket, which is plaid on one side and red on the other. He is willing to spend US$280 to have it slimmed down.
Alteration requests with such a price disparity would have seemed odd a few years ago, the tailor says, but are helping to keep the bobbins bobbing at his one-man shop, 85 Custom Tailor.
Shoppers who grew up on disposable fast fashion are increasingly enlisting tailors and seamstresses to give off-the-rack purchases a custom fit or personal flair, to revive second-hand finds or to extend the lives of their wardrobes, according to fashion industry experts.
“I recommend this job to young people because this one cannot be AI’d,” Bae says, noting artificial intelligence is automating pattern making but so far cannot replicate a tailor’s handiwork.