Mastercutter Mr Loh


Master Cutter & Founder of Lord’s Tailor

Suited for Excellence

From a young age, when Robert Loh discovered that he had a flair for tailoring and there was a shortage of skilled tailors in the industry, he began to develop a passion for meticulous bespoke tailoring.
When he first started out, he worked for three years under the instructions of a ‘master’ in the trade in the tailoring center of Kuala Lumpur. After 3 years, he had learnt everything he could but was still not happy with the quality of his work and decided to further his knowledge and skills in London. So, he enrolled in Tailor & Cutter, which was the leading tailoring academy in London in the 1970’s, and trained under some of the most skillful and renowned tailors of the day.
Following his return to Kuala Lumpur, Lord’s Tailor started in modest premises in Jalan Alor under the old brand, Groovy Apparel.
Robert Loh’s big break came soon after. In 1975, through the recommendation of the Hilton Hotel manager, Mr Loh had the opportunity to tailor suits for Mohammad Ali. The legendary Mohammad Ali and his entourage were amused to discover that the suits, made by a relatively small Asian man, were of exquisite quality and fit their large American body shapes. His brush with the famous heavyweight-boxing champ was featured in the local papers and attracted many new customers. Soon after, even the former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Muhammad, came knocking on his door and Robert’s reputation for creating a meticulously cut suit began to spread.
It was around the early 1980’s that the business was renamed to Lord’s Tailor. Mr Loh’s wife, Liew Lee Lee, felt that since Robert had trained in London, “Lord’s Tailor” was more appropriate and up-market. Plus, bell-bottoms that covered the shoes were no longer in fashion.
All his life, Mr Loh approaches everything that he does with a spirit of excellence. Be it tailoring, or cooking or gardening, he takes pride in ensuring that the outcome is perfect. When it came to tailoring, he often applies his knowledge in physics and engineering to produce what he thinks is the perfect fit for an individual. According to Mr Loh:
I am fortunate to be able to do what I love and earn a living doing that. And it gives me joy when I see my tailor made garments being worn by top international celebrities and figures. I always encourage my children to pursue what they love and enjoy doing.
The achievement that Mr Loh is most proud of is winning the BrandLaureate Award for Product Branding Retail Category – Premier Custom Made Apparel 2010 and in 2011. It means that his many years of dedication to the perfect fit are finally bearing fruit.
After years of building the business, Mr Loh’s hope for Lord’s Tailor in the future is to see it go international under the leadership of his son, Kenny:
I hope that Lord’s Tailor can build a name for ourselves internationally as well – this will show the world that Malaysia can produce suits as beautiful as London-made and Italy-made apparel. But what would make me even more proud is to see my son, Kenny Loh, master my trade and continue to take over the business that my wife and I have built up over the years and build up Lord’s Tailor in Malaysia and internationally.