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From shoes to jeans, you can personalise whatever you wear with more brands offering such services

If you are nostalgic for those days of embroidering your initials onto your school uniform, then you will love this next big retail trend: Personalisation. Putting your stamp onto your belongings is no longer the exclusive purview of school kids, as retailers and brands are increasingly offering services such as monogramming and product customisation.

If you are nostalgic for those days of embroidering your initials onto your school uniform, then you will love this next big retail trend: Personalisation. Putting your stamp onto your belongings is no longer the exclusive purview of school kids, as retailers and brands are increasingly offering services such as monogramming and product customisation.

Once confined to sartorial niches like tailored menswear and haute couture targeted specifically at high-end consumers, the trend is expanding into the mass market.

“Customisation makes one feel special, like she is standing out in a sea of clones and that the item she owns is one-of-a-kind and truly exclusive to them. Besides, with the growing pervasiveness of social media platforms like Instagram, everyone wants to post their OOTD (outfit of the day) shot, hoping that their one-of-a-kind outfit or item can make them a social media influencer,” said Tan Chee Boon, editor of fashion titles Style: and Style:Men. “Millennials increasingly see themselves as a brand, and they want the clothes they wear to reflect their brand.”

The rise of individuality, self-expression and social media as global cultural trends have led to the surge in customisation in fashion retail, from shops in Tokyo offering customised Converse sneakers to Uniqlo’s DIY T-shirt customisation machine UTme! at its store at Bugis+. The latter was launched in July last year, and is linked to the brand’s UTme! app which facilitates the design process and allows each customer to experiment with several designs before the T-shirt is printed at the machine.

The increased interaction that customers have with the brands during the customisation or personalisation process is one reason it is sparking interest among retailers. The race to engage and retain customers in the digital age has meant that retailers have to create increasingly unique and engaging consumer experiences.

This is what spurred homegrown lifestyle brand Naiise to create a unique “retail-entertainment” concept for its brick-and-mortar stores, including the new flagship store at The Cathay. The sprawling 8,500sqf store includes a new Studio Life space with a workshop that can accommodate up to 30 people. It also has a DIY corner where customers can explore crafts and personalise their gifts.

“The Studio Life DIY concept is part of our strategy of retail-entertainment and emphasises our belief in creating memorable retail experiences in our stores,” said Cheryl Yong, PR and buying manager at Naiise. “We believe that more customers are looking for differentiation, destination stores and unique and rewarding shopping experiences. Naiise is constantly seeking to connect people with design, help them understand design products better, and also increase support for local designers by showcasing their work and help to grow the appreciation for craft. One way is through workshops, where people can pick up a range of skills and enjoy the process of design.”

Active footwear brand Timberland launched its Design Your Own programme late last year, which was met with great success. “With growing demands from consumers and a more discerning taste in fashion, it is only natural that consumers begin to move beyond ready-to-wear items and want something ... that is exclusively theirs. Unlike limited-edition pieces, a customised piece that bears the creativity of the consumer resonates stronger with them .... Customisation has evolved such that it not only represents exclusivity, but also a form of individual expression,” said Wendy Goh, marketing manager for Singapore and Asia Pacific at VF Brands Pte Ltd, which owns Timberland.

At the other end of the spectrum, luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Burberry offer personalisation services for selected items from their collections. Once reserved for top-tier VIP customers, the monogramming of big-ticket luxury goods has become so popular that a few brands have extended this privilege to regular customers, albeit for a fee in some instances.

You can put your initials onto Burberry’s Heritage Trench Coats, its Heritage Cashmere Scarves and engraving on selected perfume bottles. Louis Vuitton offers several tiers of personalisation, from complimentary hot-stamping to its Mon Monogram customisation service for leather goods.

Even brands that do not offer these services permanently are testing the waters (and the demand for them) at pop-up events. Denim giant Levi’s celebrated the 143th anniversary of its classic 501 jeans with a pop-up Levi’s Tailor Shop at Ion Orchard last month, where customers who made a minimum purchase of S$150 can personalise their pair of 501 jeans with iron-on patches, fabric patchwork and initials painting.

Departmental stores are also jumping into the fray, with events featuring personalisation services garnering good responses. “We have short-term events which provide personalisation services for shoes, bags and even engraving services for cosmetics. We are in the midst of planning to integrate long-term personalised services in the next phase,” affirmed a spokesperson for departmental store giant Robinsons.

It seems like in the future of retail, you don’t truly own something until it bears your mark.

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