HUNTSMAN SAVIL E ROW
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Paul Newman
Cecil Beaton
Duke of Portland Lord Louis Mountbatten
David Bowie Viscount Churchill King Alfonso XII of Spain
Queen Victoria Henry Kissinger
Alexander McQueen Duke of Verdura
Colin Firth Eric Clapton
Hubert de Givenchy We are proud to welcome you to the world of Huntsman. Made by hand with natural fibres, moulded by the warmth of your body, a Huntsman creation will bonify with time, giving you pleasure, comfort and elegance on many occasions. We are keen to know how you are getting on, and tend to the care of our precious creations to ensure your satisfaction for years to come. So please call on us, we are always on hand for advice and support whenever and wherever needed.
Katharine Hepburn
Edward VII
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
Lucian Freud
Prince of Wales Sartorially Yours,
Gregory Peck For Huntsman & Sons Gianni Agnelli
Bing Crosby Elizabeth Taylor H
“To cross the threshold of Huntsman may be just one step, but it is also a giant leap. Huntsman is a mythical name, tailor to kings and Hollywood royalty as well as the home of the fabled one button coat of almost magical power.� Nick Foulkes
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“You can’t take shortcuts when you’re making clothes by hand. Look at the cutters and tailors, third and fourth generations, sharing stories you’ll never learn from a book.” Campbell Carey, Creative Director
FROM BREECHES TO BEST-DRESSED
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he firm was founded in 1849 when tailor Henry Huntsman purchased a “Gaiter and Breeches Maker” on New Bond Street. Quickly the house gained a reputation for its hunting and riding attire, dressing Europe’s aristocracy and Britain’s royal family for all their equestrian pursuits. From father to son, the tailor established lasting relationships with its customers, only to see many depart for the Great War never to return. Their fate is movingly recorded in the firm’s ledgers, then
honoured 100 years later in a burst of blood red ceramic poppies sweeping through the store’s window. That store is 11 Savile Row where the firm moved in 1919, presaging a period of great change for the tailor. Well-connected clients like the dashing Duke of Windsor brought a new generation of the great and the good through its doors. And while Huntsman focused more on the suits its reputation now rests on, it can still harness its satorial riding expertise, for instance when dressing Prince Harry
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and his polo team for the
Sentebale Cup. Between the wars the house passed into the care of Robert Packer, whose ownership saw the continued development of the design and construction of the famed one button suit and the ever refined Huntsman silhouette. This commitment to consistency and quality introduced a host of new clients, including Cecil Beaton, Winston Churchill, Marlene Dietrich and Bing Crosby. And from the tailors’ benches a new talent was rising. Apprenticed at age 15, Colin Hammick showed a skill and aesthetic that would introduce Huntsman to the most select circles. As Head Cutter he refined the tailor’s signature jacket cut and counted such notable figures as Gregory Peck, Paul Newman, Gianni Agnelli and Laurence Olivier among his clients. His own personal elegance was recognised too, when he won the Tailor and Cutter’s Best Dressed Man award in 1971. As the years passed, the firm grew. New materials like nylon were introduced, much to the horror and eventual interest of other tailors. The signature cut evolved, apprentices matured into tailors and cutters, grandsons and daughters returned with vintage Huntsman clothes. But some things stayed the same: the dexterity, detail and skill that goes into the making of every Huntsman garment.
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THE MAGIC BEHIND THE MOVIE
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ilm director Matthew Vaughn was just eighteen when he visited 11 Savile Row for his first bespoke fitting. It was the beginning of a long relationship with Huntsman that would ultimately find its expression in his movie Kingsman: The Secret Service, 2014. Smart and funny, the film imagines its secret agents are gentlemen, dressing in only the finest suits, living by the motto “Manners maketh man”. To complete the vision, their headquarters are hidden behind the front of a Savile Row tailor: No. 11 Huntsman.
“I started imagining what would happen if I pressed a secret button and the whole room became an elevated lift going down into a secret lair.” Matthew Vaughn
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TIME WAITS FOR BESPOKE
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beautifully tailored garment takes time. Time to get to know you: your physique, your busy life, your tastes and preferences. Time for fittings, for sourcing the best fabrics, for training younger hands. Time to get everything just right, so that when you finally put the finished piece on, you never want to take it off. 80 hours 36 measurements 8000 fabrics 8-10 weeks
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“The measurements only tell you so much. I look at how people stand, how they move. Everyone of us is different.� Dario Carnera, co-Head Cutter
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FROM HAND TO HAND: THE ART OF BESPOKE
espoke begins with your Client Manager: desires are discussed, styling set and cloth chosen. Up to 36 measurements are then taken by your cutter, and special requirements noted. Transferring numbers to paper, your pattern is struck out on to cloth with chalk, and cut with shears that have been passed down through generations. Lining, pads, canvas, trimmings, thread and cloth are all wrapped up and handed to the tailor who roughly bastes the layers of the garment
together. At the first fitting your cutter observes how it hangs, fits and moves, marking alterations by chalk. Then the garment is ripped back to two dimensions, adjustments made and pockets added. At the second fitting the mirror shows you something that more resembles a garment. Sleeves, hem and button holes are left until last, to get just right. Then the garment passes to the presser, and receives a final check by our Head Cutter before arriving in your hands. Ready to enjoy.
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BRINGING YOUR STYLE TO LIFE About Town Sophisticated two- and three-piece suits for work or play are the backbone of the modern gentleman’s wardrobe. A classic navy chalkstripe, a staple lounge suit in grey flannel, double-breasted for business, something more relaxed for informal dinners. Tailored clothing complements your life and your style.
“The thing I like about country clothes is the English fashion of wearing colours that blend into the surroundings; not only sport, but ordinary living. So, you wear these soft browns and greens, and I find that very attractive.” Julian Fellowes, writer
For over 160 years we’ve cut clothes for country pursuits. From jackets and vests complete with gun pleats, patch and bellows pockets, through to breeches and matching caps, we create the full
look. And that includes casual wear like sports jackets, blazers and weekend trousers. A vast selection of country cloth ranges from cavalry twill to corduroy, moleskins to flannel and, of course, tweed. Matching tweed checks across the body is an art, and we’ve enhanced it further with our house designs.
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Country Life
Fit for the Occasion A close-fitting morning suit for Royal Ascot and weddings, a distinctive dinner jacket for gala events, sharp white tie for banquet or ball - our team can assist with all manner of formalwear requests. We are strong advocates for the beauty and tradition of tartan trews. And in recent years have also been pleased to see a resurgence in sophisticated midnight blue dinner suits and elegant velvet smoking jackets.
seersucker separates. For the Riviera, a rich royal blue mesh-jacketing and cream trouser combination. And at the other end of the weather chart? Heavy thornproof tweeds, naturally water-resistant overcoatings, warming woollen flannels and high-twist worsteds will withstand the wind and rain of even the harshest winters.
Sui generis
For a tropical holiday, a lightweight half-lined singlebreasted suit in a pale colour, cut in a tropical-weight, open-weave travel cloth or fresco. For the spring season in London, a Solaro suit or perhaps lightweight cotton
Some of our most memorable creations are made for a one-off occasion or event - expeditions, film and TV series, award ceremonies. From Marc Newson and Charlotte Stockdale’s driving suits for the Mille Miglia to Hugh Bonneville’s outfits in Downton Abbey, it’s a chance to create something really special.
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For All Seasons
THE ESSENCE OF HUNTSMAN The Legendary One Button Jacket Riding coat meets dinner jacket in a slim, structured and sophisticated cut that complements your posture. Higher armholes offer freedom of movement. Strong shoulders and tapered waist achieve a contoured look. A slightly flared skirt lengthens the silhouette. Perfectly elegant, quintessentially British: you’ll feel like standing tall.
Timeless House Tweeds Bold checks and rich earthy tones distinguish the tweed collections we produce every 18-24 months. Most are woven at one of the world’s oldest mills, on the Isle of Islay in Scotland. There they use traditional looms, local spring water and raw woollen yarn to create cloths of unrivalled quality and character. By tradition, tweed was inspired by the colours of the local landscape, its oranges and browns, purples and greys camouflaging hunters of deer, grouse and hare. We retain these classic ground shades but bring our tweeds up-to-date by introducing strikingly dynamic over checks well-suited to the modern tailored wardrobe.
“The versatility of the tweed shows how Huntsman is about more than the clothes, it’s about a lifestyle.” Pierre Lagrange, Chairman
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Limited Edition Luxury Cloths It’s not uncommon to welcome a vintage garment back to our store. Their longevity is down to the sophisticated fabrics we use, which adapt to occasions and climates, and stand the test of time. Working directly with mills and wool brokers, we buy the finest fleeces at auction. The lower the micron - a measurement used to determine the diameter of the fibre - the finer the wool. Our luxury cloth initiative was launched in 2007 with the 14.9 micron 1PP cloth series - a sell out. This was followed in 2010 by Opus, then the finest wool to go on auction in Australia. Our bale of 11.9 micron 1PP fleece was woven to a luxurious 230S quality and 310g weight. Only 34 suit lengths were made, woven into a staple navy twill and elegant herringbone, of which nothing now remains.
The Pinnacle of Cloth Production In 2015 we launched probably the finest wool in the world to date: Infinity 3. This navy, diagonal pinstripe suiting combines the purest traditions of New Zealand Saxon Merino farming with the cutting-edge expertise of Dormeuil’s woollen mill in Yorkshire. Measuring an average fineness of 12.6 microns, the cloth was woven to a super 230S quality and 240g weight, and is deliciously soft, while maintaining its superior strength and elasticity. For more information about our luxury cloths please visit www.huntsmansavilerow.com/cloths
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Commissioned Silk Linings A blast of colour. A flicker of movement. A flash of detail. In recent years, we’ve perfected the art of printing on silk, lining jackets in the ultimate private commission. This is an opportunity to play with expectations, to experience the pleasure of secrets and surprises. From Ed Rusha’s iconic acrylic Boy Meets Girl, to Magritte’s Man in a Bowler Hat, to a photograph of grouse bursting into flight: the image is just the first choice. Then there are decisions about positioning the piece and getting the best colour match, all of which make it a highly collaborative process between printer, tailor and client. Much like commissioning a portrait.
“I like the idea of a concealed secret. When someone wears a great jacket, there’s a private luxury that only the wearer can experience, almost like you are flashing.” Ed Ruscha, artist
Beatrice Caracciolo’s Pine Needles
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LADIESWEAR
hat do Lauren Hutton, Daphne Guinness, Charlotte Stockdale, Adele Astaire, Kick Kennedy, Queen Victoria, Katherine Hepburn, Nicole Kidman have in common beyond innate style and beauty? They enjoy the elixir of the Huntsman cut, as flattering to ladies as to gentlemen. From the perfect attire on the shooting grounds, at last reconciling style with comfort, to the everyday perfectly cut jacket, not forgetting dashing coats and tuxedos, our cutting expertise can also be enjoyed by our female clients.
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WWW.HUNTSMANSAVILEROW.COM
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herever you are, the Huntsman website is always available for our unique range of luxuries and essentials, all delivered to your door within five working days Eye-catching ready-to-wear suits and jackets, designed by Campbell Carey and cut off the bespoke block, flattering fitted trousers, crisp Egyptian cotton shirts, gorgeously textured double-lined ties, majestically soft knitwear and simply the best accessories: hats in classic house tweed, the finest leather gloves, elegant cufflinks and the softest cashmere scarves.
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CARE TIPS
ur cutters suggest that a singular suit is to be worn once or twice a week, rotating your collection regularly. This will prolong the lifespan of each individual suit drastically. We recommend only dry-cleaning your garments once or twice annually. To refresh your suits, instead opt for a sponge and press clean; chemicals used during the dry-cleaning process can damage your garments over a prolonged period of time. If you do dry-clean your Huntsman suit, ensure that the whole suit and any additional trousers are cleaned at the same time, as the process can sometimes cause discolouration. Buying an extra pair of trousers with every suit will double its life expectancy; due to friction, trousers are always the part of the suit to show signs of wear. If your suit is a woollen garment, opt to have the creases steamed out rather than pressed. Due to the spring-like make-up of the wool, when heated with steam, the fibres spring back into shape. More pleasant alternatives to mothballs include lavender and cedarwood; these fragrances have more of a floral scent, compared to the pungent smell of chemicals. When ironing your shirts, don’t steam your collar or cuffs, use the heat of the iron. When pressing your collar, face it down on the ironing board, so you are pressing from the outside to the middle, to ensure you do not get a wrinkly band. Remember to fold knitwear rather than hanging it; using clothes hangers will stretch the shoulders of the garment. Store suits in suit bags to protect against moths, damp and overall damage. Preferably hang trousers using clip hangers from the hems; the weight of the waistband helps remove creases.
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Paul Newman
Cecil Beaton
APPOINTMENTS AND VISITS
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Duke of Portland
hether for styling advice, choice of cloth, a bespoke fitting, an alteration, ready-to-wear or a general enquiry, our client managers and cutters are there to help you. In London, you can either drop in to see us on Savile Row or make an appointment to ensure that we can offer you the necessary time and attention. In New York, Huntsman on 57th Street is open by appointment only. You can also book an appointment at one of our trunk shows. We visit major cities in both the US and Asia and make trips to Europe and the Middle East. Additionally, we are happy to visit international clients in their preferred location - please email us if you would like to arrange this.
Lord Louis Mountbatten
David Bowie
Viscount Churchill
King Alfonso XII of Spain
Queen Victoria
Hubert de Givenchy
Katharine Hepburn
HRH Edward VII Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Lucian Freud
London
H.Huntsman & Sons 11 Savile Row London W1S 3PS tel: +44 (0)20 7734 7441 email: shop@huntsmansavilerow.com
Henry Kissinger
Alexander McQueen New York
Duke of Verdura
Huntsman on 57th 9th Floor 130 W. 57th Street New York 10019 tel: +1 646 590 2595 email: usa@huntsmansavilerow.com
Colin Firth Eric Clapton H
Prince of Wales Gregory Peck Gianni Agnelli
Bing Crosby Elizabeth Taylor
LONDON ON SAVILE ROW NEW YORK ON 57TH STREET WORLDWIDE BY APPOINTMENT www.huntsmansavilerow.com
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INGSMAN