Tailors fear industry is ageing out

Source: Radio New Zealand

Some of Auckland’s most experienced tailors believe the industry is ageing out, despite a good level of demand for work.

Serena Tan’s lunchtime on Monday had not been quiet.

She first spoke with Virginia, who brought in her daughter’s bridesmaid dress for hemming.

Tan had to be frank, gently explaining that the hem might need to take more fabric than Virginia had hoped.

Soon after, Tash arrived with an Anine Bing blazer in need of patching.

Tan asked after her child and later told me she had watched Tash grow from a high school student into a mother.

Now 60, Tan was among a group of tailors worried their trade was quietly ageing out.

Statistics back her concern. The median age for tailors and dressmakers rose from 48.3 in 2013, to 51 in 2023.

Born and trained as a seamstress in Malaysia, Tan first came to New Zealand on holiday in 1990, and stayed after getting a job in Wellington’s fashion industry.

In 1998, she opened Serena’s Dressmaking and Alterations in Auckland’s Mt Albert.

Tan said mastering the craft takes years, and fears the lack of younger workers will leave a gap that’s hard to fill.

“We are using the scissors for cutting, and the hairdresser also use the scissors for cutting. And then you cut the hair make a mistake, doesn’t matter. Few months later, the hair will grow or you can wear a hat. But this one (tailoring), when you’re cutting, you have to throw it away if you make a mistake.”

Behind her spacious storefront was Tan’s workshop, where seven machines crowded the space alongside fabrics and trims.

Her oldest machine had been with her for 35 years and was still stitching perfectly.

But while her machines endured, Tan was preparing to retire in a few years.

Finding a successor could prove difficult, so she came up with a plan.

“These several years, I’m feel very, very busy and tired. I hope if I retire, somebody can continue my business. If they know the basics of sewing, they come, I will teach them (tailoring).”

She was not alone in her concerns.

Merai Tailors had been in the suburb of Onehunga for over 30 years.

Now sitting behind the sewing machine was 70-year-old Mahesh Contractor, who took over the business from his older brother 15 years ago.

Contractor comes from generations of tailors, but he was the last in his family to carry on the trade.

“I like to carry on with the business. I’m fit for it and this is my medicine as well, it keeps me mentally and physically fit.”

He said while the economy had not been in its best shape for the past few years, demand for his skills was still high due to online shopping and op shopping.

“It’s very, very risky (to buy online) because different countries have different size (system). And new things are getting more expensive now, so people are buying from the op shop, lots of people bringing (clothes) from op shop (where they paid) for $1.50 – $2, so sometimes I’m confused, how much I’m going to charge.”

He said the trade was inexpensive to set up and encouraged young people to consider it.

“It is a profitable business. I will carry on if I’m fit.”

Government data suggested the trade could grow.

In the 2018 census, 684 people indicated they were dressmakers or tailors, growing from the 552 in 2013.

Jessica Jay was part of a small group choosing to enter the industry.

Six years ago, the then 26-year-old decided repairing garments was where her heart was.

“I love clothing and textiles, I love sewing and I love fashion, but I found it really hard to reconcile that interest and passion and skill set with just how many clothes already exist. And I was really interested in repairs of clothing, looking at different ways that you can keep garments in circulation for longer.”

Jay graduated from fashion school in 2016 and wasn’t sure why more of her peers hadn’t pursued repair and tailoring.

Now 31, she said the work offered her a decent amount of financial stability and work, life balance.

“I can imagine doing this well into old age because you can always improve your skills with sewing and alterations. Every garment that I see is a new problem-solving challenge.”

New Settlers Family and Community Trust was also helping to bring new hands into the trade.

A year ago, the trust set up the Sewing Repair Cafe, with a mission to help refugees build skills that could be used towards future employment.

On a Saturday session in Mt Eden, three workers made their way through a pile of garments.

Thirty-nine-year-old Rahila Roshan was hemming a shirt.

Before coming to New Zealand, she had been a biology teacher in her home country Afghanistan.

That career path was now out of reach due to language barriers, but sewing had opened another door.

“I love sewing, I like making dresses and attending repair cafes.”

While she had experience making clothes for her family, she said alterations required a different skillset.

“Making is easy, but fixing is very hard.”

Shukria Rezia, 42, worked on a dress. It needed expansion on the waist, and a new zip.

She estimated such a repair would typically cost about $40, but at the community workshop, payment was not mandatory.

Donations were encouraged to support the Trust, but on that Saturday morning, despite a steady stream of people dropping off items, few contributions came through.

But the trio was not too upset.

“Anything free is good, free is better,” they laughed.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand