The son of Sasa founders, Simon and Eleanor Kwok, carves out his own niche in quality men's tailoring
The retail business runs in Patrick Kwok’s blood. His parents, Simon and Eleanor Kwok, are the founders of Sasa, the chain of cosmetics stores loved by make-up mavens around Asia.
But rather than take the easy road and join his parents’ beauty business, Patrick has branched out and established his own company, Derby, a tailoring brand offering stylish men’s suits at affordable prices.
Patrick and his business partner, Hayman Chan, a third-generation tailor, opened Derby’s first store on Wellington Street at the beginning of the year and are currently offering 28 off-the-rack suits as well as a full tailoring service.
Now, as they prepare to launch Derby’s online shop, Patrick reveals his plans to grow the business.
When did you fall in love with tailoring?
I wore suits a lot when I was at high school—I went to Millfield School in the UK—but I didn’t really like suits back then. I thought they were too complicated. It wasn’t until I started going with my parents to horse races, where I’d have to wear a suit, that I slowly started to fall in love with tailoring. As I got older, I wanted to look smarter and found it’s nice to mix and match suits with ties and shirts. I was probably about 18 at the time.