“I was here with Bill, my mentor, every day for six years until the day that he passed. I met my husband while I was working here. He was a bus driver, and he would take a break at the transit stop opposite Modernize Tailors. Bill would tease me about him. For our wedding, Bill made my husband’s suit as a gift. In Taiwan, it's our tradition for the bride’s parents to provide the groom's suit. I don't have any family here, so Bill did that for me. It was very touching."
Modernize Tailors (5 West Pender St) is a tailoring house with over 100 years of history and a legacy of crafting bespoke suits for Hollywood celebrities. The establishment was founded in 1913 by Wong Kung Lai, and later operated by his sons, the legendary Bill and Jack Wong in the 1950s. Mia Wu was Bill's sole apprentice when she was still an international student at Blanche MacDonald. Since Bill's passing in 2017, Modernize Tailors continues to serve Vancouver under Mia's leadership.