Leung So Kee’s first branch in Hong Kong was established in the 1941 on Des Voeux Road Central. The Leung family custom-made umbrellas for their clients, who were usually upper class. Their umbrellas cost nine dollars in the past, which was a lot from a month’s salary. “It was a privilege to own a Leung So Kee umbrella,” says Leung Mang Sing, the fourth-generation owner, who recalls seeing maidservants of rich families sheltering young heirs and heiresses from the sun and rain when he was just a boy in the 1960s. “The long, black umbrellas made the users look like British gentlemen,” he says. Apart from its big, endurable umbrellas that were especially popular among big families, the shop was also known for selling two-fold umbrellas, a luxury product due to its convenience.

There weren’t a lot of rain gear speciality stores before the 1960s apart from one or two major brands. Leung So Kee made its name by offering a lifetime warranty for its pure steel umbrella skeletons, a feature it’s remembered for even today. The brand was so successful that it opened 15 branches in Guangzhou, Macau and Hong Kong in its heyday in the 1970s. It wasn’t until the 1980s when industrialisation became an economic pillar in Hong Kong that factory-manufactured umbrellas became a widely available and more affordable option.

Still, Leung So Kee, now in Sham Shui Po, found another way into people’s hearts. In the 1980s, Jackie Chan was making a cop movie in which he had to cling on to a bus with an umbrella. Leung’s umbrellas, known for its durability, were chosen. “The handle of our umbrella was made of metal and didn’t come off easily,” he explains, “or else Chan would fall.” That brought Leung’s business to the film industry. Then in 1991, the producers of Once Upon a Time in China ordered two umbrellas from Leung as props. The next day, they approached him again for more–24 in total during the whole production. “They complained that the two were broken right away,” he laughs. “But what did they expect? My umbrellas weren’t for Kungfu fighting, let alone Jet Li’s fighting!” In 2015, a few young filmmakers visited his shop, looking for the “Wong Fei Hung” (Jet Li’s character) prop umbrellas which, unlike the actual umbrellas sold, have 10 ribs. “One day I was watching Yip Man 3, and I recognised my umbrella,” he says.

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Despite its success, Leung So Kee has also witnessed the city’s worst times. “The water crisis in 1963-64, SARS in 2003, the financial tsunami in 2008,” Leung says. All these were setbacks for his business. Yet he and his family thrive by selling other domestic products, such as the iconic red plastic bucket and toothbrush when umbrellas aren’t in demand. Even during the dry seasons, he focuses on inventing and improving his umbrella designs. Like his unbendable umbrella, Leung endures: “We’ve survived all those crises, so I’m confident we can make it through the current coronavirus.”

Leung So Kee umbrellas have become such a symbol of resilience that they even inspired playwright Raymond To’s Umbrella Story, which is about Hong Kong people’s adaptability and strength against adversity.

The umbrellas have undergone modifications for wider and more modern uses. Apart from introducing much lighter carbon-fibre skeletons, or the three or six-fold umbrellas for office ladies to put in small handbags and purses, Leung has also invented walking stick umbrellas for elderly or less mobile people. His clientele now includes Hongkongers from all walks of life and customers from overseas. “There was an American tourist who asked me to print images of the twin towers on the fabric to commemorate those who passed away on September 11,” he says. He recalls one mother who wanted to gift her son with an umbrella before he left to study in the UK, after a friend already living there recommended bringing a strong umbrella. “There were also pet owners who requested their pets be printed on the fabric,” he says. “You can easily get an umbrella from convenience stores, but it’s not like the umbrella has both quality as well as meaning.”

Leung wishes to pass on the family business. “Well, we’ll have to see whether Kiki is interested to take up the baton,” he says, smiling at his daughter. But making and repairing umbrellas isn’t easy. “It takes 10 years of training. I started my apprenticeship by sweeping the floor. That’s how my master said was the way to familiarise myself with the different materials and structures of an umbrella.” To Leung, his umbrellas aren’t just business. They're art, memories and living relics of Hong Kong.

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