FashionSt. Collins Lane welcomed M.J Bale’s Master Tailor

M.J Bale’s master tailor Kenichi Kaneko graced St. Collins Lane this week, the only boutique in Melbourne offering custom suiting appointments while he was in town.

Born into the art of tailoring in Tokyo in 1966, the son of a bespoke tailor and silk kimono maker, Kaneko studied fashion design and pattern making before going on to work for an international apparel company, where he developed patterns for ready-to-wear brands.

After 11 years of mentoring from a Japanese master tailor and jobs that took him to New York to work for Brooks Brothers and Burberry, Kaneko was offered a position as General Manager at a small but high-end tailoring workshop in northern Japan.

In 2010 Kaneko and M.J Bale joined forces to create handmade, high quality collections and custom suits – the result of over 50 hours of craftsmanship from the team of tailors of which Kaneko oversees and mentors.

“My soul tells me that when I can make one person happy, I am happy. I want to reflect this philosophy on to my work as well,” the Master Tailor says, who considers his personal style to be ‘classic’.

M.J Bale’s AW17 campaign is in-store now at St. Collins Lane, featuring materials like cashmere and merino combined with true craftsmanship to bring you the sharpest new looks in menswear.