【Interactive】 Best Suit Fabrics for Asia's Weather

(T Paterson): Hi Darmian. I will be moving to Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore) from UK. Am looking for suits for work. What are the best suits fabrics for Hong Kong and Singapore?

(Darmian S): Hi T, welcome to Asia!

Climates

Hong Kong has a sub-tropical climate with distinct seasons.

Spring (March – May): Average temperature is about 17°C – 26°C. Temperature and humidity are rising. Evenings can be cool.
Summer (June – August): Average temperature is about 26°C – 31°C. Hot, humid and sunny, with occasional showers and thunderstorms. The temperature can exceed 31°C but high humidity levels can make it feel even hotter.
Autumn (September – November): Average temperature is about 19°C – 28°C. There are pleasant breezes, plenty of sunshine and comfortable temperatures.
Winter (December to February): Average temperature is about 12°C – 20°C. Cool, dry and cloudy, with occasional cold fronts. The temperature can drop below 10°C for a few days.

(Star Ferry and Victoria Harbour of Hong Kong)

Singapore has a tropical climate and it’s summer all year round with average temperatures of 26°C – 29°C throughout the year. It is slightly coller in December and January, but temperatures are unlikely to dip below 23°C at night.

(Night view of Singapore. Photo by Jahoo Clouseau from Pexels)

Suit Fabrics Selection

You have to be alive to the climate on your suits. The best suit fabrics? Darmian has 2 fabrics ideas for you:

Wool – made of natural fiber for all seasons, airy and breatheable. It also gives you a comfortable feel. Wool is suitable for all seasons and presentable.
Fresco – it’s a kind of wool of very light weight (just 230-250g), extremely ideal for hot & humid seasons. With a high twist and plain weave, Fresco is also resistant to wrinkles and is a traveller-friendly fabric.

Where to get a tailor-made Fresco suit? You can get a list of Hong Kong tailor shops at Tailor-M and make online appointments with the tailors. You can also inquire, for example, the availability of certain suit fabrics using the “Message Tailor” button.

Constructing The Suits

Apart from suit fabrics, you should also consider the ways your suit jackets being constructed. Darmian would suggest to go for an unconstructed (or deconstructed) suit jackets, especially if you are in Singapore. An unconstructed jacket (or deconstructed jacket) has little or no structure – It has no canvas (or fusing), very little or if not no padding. There is also no lining except in the shoulder and through the sleeve and no roping.

The reduced weights and layers for unconstructed jackets made unconstructed jackets very ideal for summer seasons. But watch out, because of the highly complex handcrafts/skillsets involved in making unconstructed jackets, you can only find unconstructed jackets at selected custom-made tailor shops in Hong Kong, such as British Tailors and L&K Bespoke Tailor.