Suit Walk’s First Decade
How can an independent individual create a movement that profoundly affects the entire menswear market?
Suit Walk is the most iconic event in Taiwan's menswear circle, which was initiated by Brian Shi (@officedandy) since 2014. His original goal was straight and simple: Create the well-dressed culture for Taiwanese men so a suit is part of the dailywear, regardless of participating in Suit Walk or not.
一個獨立的個體究竟如何透過一場活動來深刻影響整個市場呢？
在台灣紳裝圈中，一項引人矚目的指標性活動－Suit Walk，起源於2014年，由創辦人Brian石發起。他最初的目標與心願是「希望有一天，台灣的男士能夠在不必參加Suit Walk的情況下，將西裝融入日常穿搭中。」
Image Credit: @office_dandy
From an Independent Individual to the Evangelizer of “Well-Dressed” Culture
Brian worked in the retail industry and frequently wore suits due to work requirements. However, due to his body type, he found it difficult to find suitable off-the-rack suits. From this moment, he entered the field of custom-made clothes to find clothes that fit him well. During this exploration process, he deeply realized the complexity of customized clothing. Details from style, fabric, cutting, tailoring style, to accessories are all interrelated. Any particular fine-tuning on one aspect may affect the presentation and atmosphere of the final product.
Brian曾在百貨零售業工作，由於工作需求而頻繁穿著西裝。然而，由於身形特殊，他發現難以找到合適的現成西裝。因此，他踏入訂製服的領域，尋找適合自己的服飾。在這過程中，他深刻體會到訂製服飾的複雜性，從樣式、布料、剪裁到配件等細節都相互關聯，任何一處的微調都可能影響最終成品的呈現和氛圍。
Considering that traditional suit tailor shops in Taiwan have a relatively conservative attitude towards more modern styles and tailoring, Brian diligently reads suit-related literature and translates it into Chinese in order to communicate with tailors more effectively. Naturally, he established his own blog and shared relevant knowledge with his readers. Follow by the popularity, he opened a suit discussion board on PTT forum (Taiwanese version of Reddit) in 2013. By riding this wave with the PTT audience, he launched the very first Suit Walk in 2014.
考量到台灣傳統的西裝裁縫店對於流行款式和剪裁相對保守的態度，Brian為了更有效地與裁縫師溝通，勤於閱讀西裝相關文獻並翻譯成中文。他成立了自己的部落格並與廣大的網友分享相關知識，同時在2013年在PTT（台灣版的Reddit論壇）上開設了西裝討論版。最終，他在2014年發起了第一次Suit Walk活動。
Image Credit: mredisonsuit.com
Mainstream-ing Suit Walk with GQ Taiwan
A decade has gone by and the event has reached its 11th edition. Since the third edition, Suit Walk began to collaborate with GQ Taiwan, whose media resources enable niche Suit Walk event transform into a popular, phenomenon-level fashion event. The activity style has also gradually incorporated more different fashion elements from the original classic menswear, including work wear, street fashion and even sports style. This has been done deliberately to increase the exposure and affiliation of the event. Additionally, well-known influencers or fashion practitioners are invited to participate every year to add luster to the event and arouse widespread discussion. In the past editions, celebrities such as David Gandy, Nick Wooster, Jim Moore, among others have traveled to Taipei and participated the event. In recent years, many KPop stars have been actively invited to participate.
如今，活動已經走到第11屆，並於第二屆後開始與台灣GQ合作，借助媒體資源將原本較小眾的Suit Walk活動推向更大眾化的現象級時尚盛事。活動風格也由最初的經典男裝逐漸融合了更多不同的流行元素，包括工裝、時裝甚至運動風。為了提升活動曝光度，每年都會邀請知名的KOL或時尚從業者參與，為活動增添光彩並引起廣泛討論。曾經參與的名人包括David Gandy、Nick Wooster、Jim Moore等，近年更積極邀請了許多KPop明星參與。
Imag Credit: vincentlinstylish.wordpress.com
Make March a Special Month
The number of participants has quadrupled since its first edition, growing from the initial 150 to more than 600 today. The existence of Suit Walk in March every year marks a time when many men and women who are interested in suits bravely take to the streets to show off their style. Similar as Pitti Uomo, many participants prepare and order new commissions specifically for Suit Walk every year, with a clear goal in mind: Take over the streets of Taipei their personal fashion runway.
參與人數也從最初的150人增加到超過600人，使每年三月成為眾多對西裝感興趣的男男女女穿著西裝勇敢走上街頭展現自我風采的時刻。有很多參與者每年為了這個活動而特地訂製和購買新的衣服，使台北街頭成為他們的時尚伸展台。
Image Credit: www.thetigerhood.com
Ten years have passed since the event was launched. What kind of changes and impact Suit Walk has brought to Taiwan? Is this campaign getting closer to its original goal? In the following episode, let us share the changes we have observed!
十年過去了，從活動發起到現在，我們能否看到一些真實的改變呢？這場活動是否逐漸接近當初的理想目標呢？在接下來的篇章中，讓我們一同分享我們所觀察到的這場變革吧！