Kelvin Choo: Starting Over With Shirt Brand After 25-Year Hiatus

He was a 27-year-old with no formal training when the Magnificent Seven was christened in 1990 – a stripling in the company of designers more than 10 years his senior.

- Carmen Sin

Now 62, Kelvin Choo is starting over with his own brand after a 25-year hiatus. Only this time, sans the public feting of his early career, the speed and ease of which he confesses was “a little awkward”.

In July, his comeback label, SHRITS by KVCHY, quietly entered department store Takashimaya Shopping Centre. His new line of women’s blouses is mostly pinstriped and classic, on the dressy side of casual.

He says: “It’s very me. I’ve always loved the shirt.”

For the long-time polo player, that means a collared, sporty and faintly old money top. Prices are between $99 and $199.

It is early days, but Choo hints at promising sales — “one customer bought seven shirts” — even if figures are nowhere near his maiden label Rest & Relax’s explosive opening day in 1986, when he made $50,000 by closing time. “But you cannot compare the two. There was no competition back then,” he says.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, before the influx of foreign high-street brands like Zara and Topshop, Rest & Relax was a first mover in second-skin styles.

Bodycon dresses, racy knit halters, micro shorts, crop tops and the like shot Choo to quick success. These were mixed up with the khaki pants and breezy button-downs he favoured, he says.