The art of bespoke

How the worlds of tailoring and luxury cars both use techniques honed over hundreds of years to produce the finest creations money can buy

MORE THAN ever before, the art of bespoke has become integral to the lives of many. We all want something that bit different, that bit special – and perfectly designed to our own unique needs. It could be furniture, it could be houses, it could be bicycles or, most pertinently for all of us at the Concours on Savile Row, it could be tailoring or cars...

It’s the former that has the longest history: from the Middle Ages until the advent of sewing machines at the end of the 18th century, clothes were made by hand, with tailors producing high-quality work that still stands up to scrutiny today. There was no such thing as mass-market, ready-to-wear clothing, so the less well-off relied upon hand-made secondhand items and hand-me-downs.

By the Victorian era, tailoring was thriving worldwide – and nowhere more so than in London, the so-called capital of the free world at the time. The city’s West End teemed with tailors, and although sewing-machine use became more widespread, much of the capacity for machine-made (but still labour-intensive) clothing was initially taken up by the manufacture of military uniforms.

By the late 19th century machinemade everyday clothes had become more available, but bespoke clothing continued to be the more desirable option well into the 20th century. Suits in particular were mostly handmade until the 1960s, when a technique known as fusing – using adhesive to bond the interlining to the outer material – became widespread in machine-made suits.

Initially, fusing would result in a stiffer, less fitted suit, but gradually the techniques improved, while the fashions of the 1960s and ’70s moved further away from formal wear. It seemed as though tailoring was in trouble, and many great names were lost during the following decades.

The 2000s, though, have seen a great revival, as the demand for unique, high-quality, sustainable clothing and accessories for both men and women reach new levels. Over the past few years in particular, tailoring has seen a resurgence. Many tailors have introduced new materials and innovative ways of attracting fresh customers – even to the point of sending out measuring ‘robots’ to overseas clients during the pandemic lockdowns. Covid was tough on the bespoke industry, which generally requires face-to-face engagement, but it’s bouncing back in 2022.

The automotive world has followed a similar trajectory. When the motor car noisily announced its arrival in the late 1800s, hundreds of makers

sprang up, working from barns and backstreet workshops, producing extremely low numbers. Virtually every model was different, but within three decades cars became available to the masses, thanks to the likes of the Model T Ford and Austin Seven.

At the thoroughbred end of the market, though, most companies tended to sell a rolling chassis, to be topped by bodywork of the customer’s choice from any one of hundreds of coachbuilders around the world. Styles and prices varied wildly, and clients were able to take wild flights of fancy should they dare. The most discerning of them would turn to the coachbuilders of mainland Europe, especially Italy and France. They might be paying over $5000 for the rolling chassis alone, 100 years ago; at least twice the price of a typical family house at the time. The bodywork and interior could easily cost much more than the chassis, particularly once the Art Deco era began to influence automotive style.

Later, as the auto makers adopted more modern types of construction after World War Two, so the coachbuilders began creating special versions of production cars – usually convertibles and coupés that factories weren’t equipped to cope with.

By the 1970s, however, largely thanks to new production methods that had originated in Japan, the major automotive manufacturers no longer needed to turn to outside coachbuilders. As a result, many old names went out of business, with the rest surviving as design houses.

Fast forward into the 2020s, and the luxury car market is once again all about ‘bespoke’. Buyers can specify unique finishes and specs, and hypercars are being built not just in low volume but sometimes with special-order one-off bodies, often in carbonfibre or brand-new composites. The arrival of all-electric ‘platforms’ means there will be more of a chance than ever for unique bodywork to be created.

In both automotive and tailoring, customers are now able to get involved in the creative process; maybe throw in a few personal style references or make real a design that they’ve had in their head for years. It really is like a return to the early days of both worlds – only this time with more thought for ethics, sustainability and future-proofing.