Dutchman gets fur ahead of competition

Dutch designer Markus Boer, 30, had never worked with fur before he met his Chinese wife, Qiqi Tang.

The two first bumped into each other at a fashion party five years ago and soon fell in love. Boer's expertise as a trained menswear tailor, combined with Tang's business skills as a fashion merchandiser, has made Boer's one of the few upscale made-to-measure brands in Beijing. It specializes in menswear and furs for women.

Trained in Italian style menswear, Boer was a part-time tailor in the Netherlands while studying marketing in Hogeschool Utrecht, or the University of Applied Sciences, Utrecht.

He moved to Beijing six years ago and went into tailoring full-time, offering a made-to-measure service to the city's lawyers and corporate executives.

"I found it very odd then that there was nothing in the middle. It was either super low price with bad quality or high-end overpriced brands," says Boer.

At the same time, Tang, who liked fur, was finding it hard to find things that were both fashionable and affordable.

"Either the designs were outdated or the items were too expensive," she says.

Boer then started designing for Tang.

While Tang is more for fashion, Boer is into classic, elegant styles. So the result of their partnership was a combination of both.

After Tang wore a cherry blossom-colored fur coat, they received numerous requests from their friends to tailor for them.

That piece was developed into a whole collection based on the color, and it became a hit on Taobao.com, an online marketplace.

At first, Boer found the online success difficult to comprehend as he didn't think people would buy something as expensive as fur coats online.

In Boer's native the Netherlands, a fur coat is usually an investment that requires thorough consideration and can be passed on for generations.

"It is a once-in-a-life time experience, like buying a diamond ring or a new car. My mum went to a shop four times to check the fur coat before she bought it. She opened a bottle of Champagne afterwards. It was such an experience."

But in Beijing, he has witnessed the spending power of Chinese customers, who can buy three to four pieces in a month.

"The culture here is different. People buy it now because they like it, and next year they might throw it away. I want to design something that will still be beautiful in 10 years."

The couple's store, located near Sanlitun Taikoo Li, alongside international luxury boutiques, offers womenswear, menswear and children's wear, inspired by their 3-year-old son.

Their online store is now one of the highest ranking stores on Taobao.com.

Their price range from 10,000 yuan ($1,569) to more than 100,000 yuan.

Tang says that about 70 percent of their total sales are online.

She says the brand aims to fill the void between local fur manufacturers, whose designs and fabrics are not as updated, and international luxury brands, which most people can't afford.

She is confident that there are few competitors in the space.

Boer sources its raw materials from major international fur auction houses like Saga Furs, to ensure the quality of the material, as well as take care of animal welfare issues.

The fur pieces are manufactured in Hong Kong and Shenzhen while the menswear is handmade in Ningbo by craftsmen who are trained in European tailoring.

Most of the menswear clients are foreigners living in Beijing while the majority of fur clients are Chinese women.

Boer's clientele has grown on a word-of-mouth basis.

In winter, at least three groups from outside Beijing fly in to buy fur, says Tang.

The couple are now furnishing a new coffee shop neighboring the fashion shop, as a gathering place for friends and clients.

"In future, I hope that when people in China talk about fur, they will first think of us," she says.