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Taipei to be Asia's golf fashion capital! | |||
| December 7, 2003; Source: AnyoneForTee.com Sandelin opens clothing factory in Taiwan to bring Swedish style to Asia | |||
 TAIPEI. Golf in Asia is set to take on a new look as Swedish star Jarmo Sandelin opened his first clothing factory in Taiwan this week. Marking the importance of the occasion for the island's economy, the opening ceremony was perfomed by Taiwanese Prime Minister Chen Shui-bian (pictured right), who spoke of "a sartorial revolution on Asia's fairways".  After performing the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Chen was invited to tour the factory and tried on some of Sandelin's original headgear designs. During the visit, Jarmo presented Chen with his favourite item, a creation inspired by the tropical pomelo fruit.Much to Jarmo's delight, the Prime Minister responded by symbolically blessing a golf ball with a kiss. The ball will be kept on permanent show at the premises, according to Sandelin. "I don't want to lose that one!", he said later.  The colourful Sandelin (seen here modelling his creations), together with his compatriots Jesper Parnevik and Fredrik Jacobson, has long been at the cutting edge of golf fashion in Europe and the US, but this is the first time that Swedish fashion design will be produced in Asia for Asians.Jarmo's choice of Taiwan as a base was strongly influenced by his win in the 2002 BMW Asian Open at the Westin Resort, Ta Shee. "That was a big win for me, and I developed a great affection for the people of Taiwan. I always wanted to return and contribute something to this country", he explained.  Jarmo's first Taiwanese-made collection, under the brand name "Pyjarmos", will be launched in time for Chinese New Year on January 22nd, 2004. "It's a time for gift-giving", said Jarmo, "and it will be the Year of the Monkey, which gave me the inspiration for several of my designs (see right)."Unfortunately for his golf, the new venture was obviously still on his mind as Jarmo made the short trip to Hong Kong for this week's Omega Hong Kong Open, where he narrowly failed to make the cut with rounds of 71 and 72 for a three over par total. Fredrik Jacobson (dressed by rival Swedish designer Johan Lindeberg) is faring better, and lies 4th on 6 under par after three rounds at the Hong Kong Golf Club. This minor setback is unlikely to worry Sandelin, whose garish outfits have always been more talked about than his scores. As we await his 2004 Collection, we can only guess at the output of his factory. Before successfully rebuilding its economy around heavy industry and hi-tech consumer electronics, Taiwan was long known in the West as a producer of cheap toys and clothes, brightly coloured and of dubious design. If his previous fashion statements (see below) are anything to go by, Jarmo may not have had much trouble finding staff among the ranks of Taiwan's long-term unemployed. | |||
| Editor's note: All of the pictures below are taken from Jarmo Sandelin's personal website www.buyjarmo.com, where you will find not only merchandise, but also details of his career, fan club, schedule, sponsors and more. The 'product names' are Jarmo's, not ours. Jarmo is clearly passionate about fashion. His site opens with a letter to visitors, which we reproduce here in full:  Dear Friends,Golf clothing has always been very conservative. My ambition is to offer a less conservative, yet stylish alternative. Through the years I´ve received extensive press coverage regarding the way I dress on the course. The products on my shop-site is the first step in making my personal choices available to the golfing public. Every item is designed by me personally. Every fabric is choosen with utmost consideration. All with the intention of offering the customer unique garments that´s still affordable. I hope you will find these products as exciting as I do personally. Jarmo Sandelin | |||
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