By Revathi Murugappan
From Clove Two online
A team from clothing store Ms Read and Delicious café went on a buying trip in Bangkok. The assignment: to seek inspiration.
When one hears of Ms Read, the first word that springs to mind is: large. After all, the label caters for plus-sized women (sizes 12-22) aged between 25 and 40. So I naturally assumed its managing director/owner would be er . . . big-boned. How wrong I was! Ms Read herself – Helen Read – is a petite and cheery lady who simply radiates energy.
Here we were, a motley crew of 10 led by Read and son Benjamin Yong (who manages the Delicious café), on a jaunt to Bangkok to buy fabric for the store. It’s not just any buying trip, but an outing to look for ideas. Competition is tough and Read makes it a point to do something different to get the edge.
“We do this three to five times a year. Our group usually consists of the designers, merchandiser and me. This year, we are planning to go to Japan, India, Italy and Spain. Last year, we went to the US and Hong Kong.”
Bangkok was chosen as a lot of factories and suppliers are based here.
“It allows us to see what is available. It is good for us to look at their stocks ourselves, and make the selection instead of waiting for them to bring us samples. Bangkok also provides us with new resources,” explains Read, a 53-year-old Eurasian.
She adds that fabric is also sourced from Japan, India, Italy and Germany while the clothes are manufactured locally and in Hong Kong.
We walked through the congested alleys in Chinatown, Bangkok and met many of the fabric suppliers.
Read and her design team comprising fashion director Leslie Variyan decided on some wrinkle-free linen, cotton and prints for the summer collection. The in-thing this season is animal prints and polka dots. Colours include lime green and red.
Ms Read managing director Helen Read. “We don’t buy too much fabric in advance as the world market changes and it may not be in fashion anymore. But when we see something we like, we just buy it even though it may not be in season,’’ says Variyan.
When choosing material, the team looks for quality and durability, after which they go for the “touch factor” (to determine how the fabric will feel when worn), followed by comfort, design and colour.
Fashion has definitely evolved at Ms Read. No longer is being big considered undesirable. “When we first started, we only used basic dark colours which make you look slim. But we have moved away from that image as Malaysians love bright colours. We’ve adapted to changing times. What this journey of evolution did was free us from the constraining dictates of fashion,” says Read.
Before the clothes hit the stores, the design team goes through a process – they plan the colour, buy the fabric, design the clothes, provide samples and accessories (buttons). Then the garment goes to production and undergoes strict quality control measures before it is finally released for sale.
“We are grateful to our customers who have made us the favourite plus-size label in the country. Our customers are definitely becoming trendier and we cater to their needs.” Indeed, even the smaller-sized women head to Ms Read as the fabric and designs are attractive.
Read was a partner in a garment manufacturing business and was making clothes for department stores like Parkson, Isetan, Metrojaya and Jaya Jusco. When the financial crisis hit in the late 90s, she was given the chance to come up with a new label for Jaya Jusco. And that, as they say, is history.
Before Read took up the job offer, she stood outside Jaya Jusco for two weeks to see what sort of people walked in.
“I noticed that they were all about size 12 so that’s how I decided to venture into plus-sized clothing. Also, I was manufacturing plus-sized clothes for Isetan and I had a lot of experience in that area,” she offers.
Ms Read started with three people – Read herself, a designer and merchandiser. Now that they have expanded, there are “enough” members on the design team so that each person is able to focus on their roles (fashion, merchandising, marketing, operations etc.). This year Ms Read is celebrating a decade of being a label and she is clearly thrilled.
She reflects, “I feel awed. When I first started, I dreamed about having my own label but never imagined that 10 years later, I’d have 12 shops and two cafés. To be honest, I almost didn’t even notice the years go by because we just concentrated on improving the label. Before you know it, we’re 10 years old! We just plod along day after day . . . there is no secret to my success.” These days, the mother of three takes it a little easier and follows a healthy diet (although she does eat in Delicious quite a bit) and lifestyle. She keeps trim by going to the gym regularly. After a decade in the business and numerous stores to her name, what next? Read quips, “Stick with us and find out!”