The Master Tailor Behind In the Mood for Love — Master Leung Long-gwong
Master Leung Long-gwong is an experienced cheongsam tailor. He is from Xiqiao, Nanhai, Foshan and is now over eighty years old. He started learning tailoring in his twenties and has over sixty years of experience.
In his early years, Master Leung served his apprenticeship on Cochrane Street in Central, living and dining with his master. After mastering the craft, he worked on Ningbo Street in Jordan. In the early stages of his career, he did not limit himself to cheongsams; he also drafted contemporary fashion, uniforms, and even constructed performance wardrobe for artists at Rediffusion (Hong Kong).
His later single-minded focus on cheongsam tailoring blossomed from a chance meeting with an assistant to the renowned cinematic art director, William Chang Suk-ping. This fateful connection granted him the opportunity to craft imperial wardrobes for acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai’s masterpieces, including In the Mood for Love, 2046, and The Hand (from the omnibus Eros), creating signature cheongsams for A-list stars like Maggie Cheung, Zhang Ziyi, and Gong Li. Among them, Master Leung reserved his highest praise for Maggie Cheung’s sublime charisma in a cheongsam, noting that her well-proportioned silhouette and crisp lines allowed her to wear the garment with absolute elegance and natural ease. Because Maggie Cheung possesses a slender neck, he intentionally designed exceptionally high mandarin collars for her to beautifully accentuate her elongated neckline.
When discussing the finer technical points of cheongsam construction, Master Leung pointed out that the most challenging dimension lies in capturing the bust and waist measurements, as a cheongsam demands an impeccable, second-skin fit. Furthermore, the alignment of fabric patterns requires meticulous precision, with strict attention paid to proportion and the flawless matching of seams. For fuller-figured women, he suggests opting for darker-colored cheongsams, emphasizing that a precisely tailored, form-fitting cut actually delivers a more slenderizing effect than a loose-fitting silhouette.
Today, Master Leung has been retired for many years. Regarding the bittersweet reality that this traditional craftsmanship might eventually be lost to time, he expressed a sense of helpless resignation, noting that modern demand for cheongsams has waned and it is incredibly difficult for the younger generation to sustain a livelihood in this trade. Master Leung’s life journey not only chronicles the unwavering professionalism of a master artisan, but also stands as a living witness to the historical rise and fall of Hong Kong’s traditional garment-making heritage.
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