Suit Geek n.9 - Mr. San Tu & Kaho
“Suit Geek” is our feature column where each month we reach out to one of our loyal customers & friends and ask him to share his work, life and his unique point of view on tailored suits & gentlemen‘s style.
On our Nineth Suit Geek interview, we invited our friends & owners of The Refinery Mr. Santu & Mr. Kaho. With their profound understanding and modern interpretation on classical men's jackets and coats, they have gained a strong following since they launched the brand in 2017. On their last Beijing trunk show at our shop, we had an oppotunity to sit down and talk about their love and passion for tailored suits, as well as some of their lifestyle shops.
"I’m Santu. I opened a menswear shop with Kaho in Shanghai called The Refinery in 2017, right now it’s been more than three years."
"I’m Kaho, mostly in charge of brand management and photography."
On the Very First Suit
Kaho: I bought my first tailored suit in 2012 or 2013. Couple of suit lover friends went to Hong Kong together for Gordon Yao. I did some research before that, knowing they are quite famous for making double-breasted suits, so I made a grey double-breasted suit using a fabric from Scabal.
Santu: I've been into suits for a long time, but it wasn't until 2012 that I actually made my first tailored suit. I went to a famous tailored shop in Shanghai called W.W.Chan, and asked Mr. Bao to make a grey single-breasted suit for me.
San Tu's First Suit
On the Journey to Tailoring
Santu: My interest in clothing started when I was in junior high school. At that age, during your adolescent growth spurt, you start to develop interests in certain things, for me it was clothing. Then, I started borrowing clothes from my father. I majored in fashion design in college. After graduation, I started working for a clothing company as a style consultant.
At around 2011 or 2012, online BBS (online forums) was getting very popular, so I met a bunch of suit lovers and shoes lovers there, then I started getting to know more about tailored suits. Although I studied suit design in college, that was just a part of my courses. Right now it has become something that I love and have a passion for.
I appreciate tailored suits more now, not only because it is a craft itself, something made by hand, it also represents an intellectual achievement in clothes making.
San Tu
Kaho: I think suits for me is an “accessory” of my life, and it has to fit in my lifestyle. I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard to dress up myself, or act like a perfectionist. For example, there are some people who can’t tolerate any wrinkles on their clothing or ties.
Usually, I would wear suits separately. I would wear a turtleneck sometimes, instead of always wearing shirts inside, so that you won’t be too overdressed or underdressed. It will leave a good impression, too.
Kaho
Justin : How did you guys start this brand
Santu: It all began with a random chat at a cafe with Kaho. As we were discussing about the brands that we normally buy clothes from, we realized that we couldn’t find a brand which would truly satisfy us. Then, we thought, why not open a menswear shop of our own? I have worked for clothing companies for years, but I always wanted to make something that I really like and appreciate, so that’s how it began. From brand positioning to designing our logo, we were always on the same page, and were able to make decisions in a short period of time. In fact, we had known each other only for one or two years before we opened the store. However, we have basically the same understanding and artistic judgement on clothing.
The Refinery's Logo - Godzilla
Kaho: Our brand’s name is The Refinery. Refinery means improve by pruning and polishing. To put it into our context, it means we select classic styles and patterns from the archive, then make improvements, so as to fit into our modern life.
Our logo is a small Godzilla, which Santu and I both tattooed on our arms. Santu designed this logo, it was an adaptation from the original Godzilla. As we all know Godzilla is a fictional character, a prehistoric monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation, it’s extremely powerful and very destructive. We toned it down a little bit, came up with a cute, little Godzilla. I think what we are trying to say is, no matter how old you are, we should stay true to your heart, and don’t be boring; be humorous.
Through our brand’s name and our logo, what we really want to express is our philosophy of life.
On Daily Dressing Style
Santu: For example, for the clothes that we design, we are not trying to create something new; we are only making small revisions and improvements on the previous classic styles, and make them fit into our modern life. For a lot of classic clothing style and designs, some of them have a hundred or two hundred years of history, they have already evolved into the best version of themselves. Therefore, you can match it with a lot of different things, like sneakers or streetwear. You don’t have to follow the rules people made a hundred years ago.
For me, I normally wear classic menswear clothing, like suits, or create a basic look with a shirt, a tie, and trousers. Then, I can either throw on a jacket or a casual field coat, or something more functional, like a trench coat.
Kaho: I have two dressing philosophies. The first thing is the clothes you wear or buy have to fit into the context of your daily life. Secondly, I would like to create three different looks using one item. Most people or guys, they wear jeans and chinos very often. So, you wear your jacket with your different jeans and chinos, you will be able to create three different looks at least.
On Lifestyle
Santu: I have many hobbies. I used to like collecting antique furniture, sometimes I also like to make small leather accessories by hand. Basically, every year I would go to learn some new skills, something interesting, either work-related or not. But, my biggest passion is football, haha! I started playing football when I was in primary school, until now. I still go to play football once a week in Shanghai.
“Favourite team is Manchester United!”
Kaho: I like Photography. Sometimes, I buy photography books and magazines to study others' work. There’s a Japanese photographer I like a lot called Daido Moriyama, known for his realistic styles. He is great at capturing people’s movements and emotions. I would like to keep a record of beautiful and interesting moments in life through photography. It could be whether it’s rainy days or sunny days. It could be whether the moments when we are working or actual our products.
Photos can bring back your memories. They can make you happy or sad, but that’s all fine. It’s all parts of your life.
Kaho: I’d like to share some films that I like: the ‘Before Sunrise’ series. I also like thrillers, especially stories that are dealing with human nature. Recently, I watched a film called The Hunt, which went very deep on that subject matter.
The Hunt: It is a story about a kindergarten teacher is wrongly accused of child molestation, then becomes the outcast of the town.
Before Sunrise (Left, 1995) and The Hunt (Right, 2003)
Justin : Any place in Shanghai that you would like to recommend to our readers?
Santu: I would like to recommend a coffee shop called O.P.S.Cafe, which is right next to our old shop. We used to go there all the time. There are actually a lot of coffee shops in Shanghai, but O.P.S. is more interesting and creative than others. They make coffees like making cocktails. However, there’s always a queue.
Kaho: There’s a small noodle joint right across our shop. The noodles there are kind of different from what we normally have at those chain restaurants; the noodles are more chewy and the sauce is homemade. It’s a very small joint and the owner is very charming, reminded me of the shop owner in the Hong Kong film New Dragon Gate Inn, haha.
Photo: Santu
Kaho: I used to go to a bar called 南十字星 often around 2011 or 2012, the bartender there has also won many awards before, he’s quite famous. But, he later moved to Beijing. He was also a suit lover, because he has to wear vests and shirts at work, too. So, we have a lot of things to talk about; clothing and alcohol. I learned a lot from him about whisky. Then after a while, tried a lot of different things and eventually I found what I like to drink.
There’s a whisky shop in our neighborhood called 麦坊, only five minutes away from our shop. Sometimes, I would go there after work, order a drink, sit for a while alone. I think we all ought to take some ‘me time’ and that whisky shop is a nice stop for me, have a drink, then I walk home.
PM X TR 2020 A/W Exclusive Collection is available at our stop, along with a selection of The Refinery original products.
