Savile Row Magazine Summer 2024

5 | EDITOR’S NOTES

Edward Sexton, the tailor who shook up Savile Row

6 | NEWS FROM THE ROW

The best stories and pictures from the world of fashion and style

22 | LOOKING GOODWOOD

Henry Poole designs suits for The Duke of Richmond and his sons

| FLOWER POWER

Daisy Knatchbull’s women’s store is taking Savile Row by storm

| SAVILE ROW

Cindy Lawford looks back on the life and times of Edward Sexton

40 | THE BIG INTERVIEW

Patrick Grant, the driving force behind Norton & Sons, reveals all

46 | A CHAMPION OF SAVILE ROW

Tribute to Robert Bright, the man who founded Golden Shears

49 | GOLDEN SHEARS 2023

Girl power! The top three prizes are all won by brilliant women

52 | GOLDEN SHEARS 2021

Tom Carr takes the top prize in an event beset with problems

54 | WELCOME TO THE PARTY

Savile Row Gin CEO Stewart Lee on his exciting plans for the brand

58 | ART FOR ART’S SAKE

Anna-Louise Felstead, an artist with a passion for cars

62 | BAHAMAS TRAVEL SPECIAL

Daniel Evans goes in search of glamour – and James Bond

COVER Daisy Knatchbull

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Stewart Lee

MANAGING EDITOR

Daniel Evans

Email: daniel.evans@publicationsuk.co.uk

GUEST WRITER

Cindy Lawford

DESIGN

James Kratz

PRODUCTION

Angela Brown

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Email: info@savilerow-style.com

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Whilst every care has been taken in compiling this publication, and the statements contained herein are believed to be correct, the publishers and the promoters will not accept responsibility for any inaccuracies. Reproduction of any part of this publication without permission is strictly forbidden.

©Publications UK Limited 2017. The publishers make no recommendation in respect of any of the advertisers, and no recommendation may be implied by way of the presence of their advertisements.

DESIGNED & PUBLISHED BY PUBLICATIONS UK LIMITED

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WHEN A WELL-KNOWN personality passes away, the superlatives are fired out from all directions – the finest, a revolutionary, a legend – but we all know such opinions are an exaggeration. Usually. But in the case of Edward Sexton, the tailor who shook up Savile Row with his bright colours and daring styles, the words are exactly right. Ever the dedicated professional, Sexton was fitting suits two weeks before he died last July and, as befits a fashion icon, the tributes flowed.

For more than 60 years, Sexton worked in the fashion industry, becoming one of the driving forces of change, most famously combining with Tommy Nutter in the 1960s to bring a touch of rebellion to the traditions of Savile Row. Nutter was the public face and Sexton the tailoring genius behind Nutters, the fashion house which ripped up the rules.

When I caught up with Sexton a few years ago, it was his work at Nutters which brought a sparkle to his eye. “When I got together with Tommy, Savile Row was a really staid place,” he told me. “It was boring. There were curtains across the windows – all very intimidating. But we were two young guys who wanted to make a living and create our own look. When we put our garments in the window, it shocked Savile Row to the core. People said: ‘We’ll give them six months’.

“The turning point came when the clients of other tailors looked into our window and then went into their tailors and said: ‘Could you please make my lapel a little bit wider? Could you please make my trousers a little more flared?’

Gradually, Savile Row started to change. The curtains came down, the heavy oak doors were left open and you would start to see models appear in (other) windows as well. We were a breath of fresh air.”

Thanks to the financial backing of Beatles manager Peter Brown and Cilla Black among others, Nutter, then 25, and Sexton, then 26, opened their tailoring house at 35a Savile Row on Valentine’s Day

EDITOR’S NOTES

1969. From the moment their suits were put on show, the house became known for clothes with a cutting-edge style that were beautifully made, without the slightest compromise of the Row’s high standards.

“All the tailors had to admit that,” recalled Sexton. “Respect that.”

The pair went on to make the iconic white suits Mick and Bianca Jagger wore, as well as those worn by Paul McCartney and John Lennon on the cover of the Beatles’ Abbey Road album. Sexton was also a big hit with women and worked closely with, among others, Naomi Campbell and Annie Lennox as well as US President Reagan’s wife Nancy. In fact, McCartney was so impressed with Sexton’s work that he sent his daughter Stella to him to learn her trade. Sexton once told her: “There is one important thing you can learn from your dad. If he writes a bad song, he’ll never publish it. The same with your garments. They have to be perfect. Anything below is not worth it.”

In recent years, Sexton designed suits for Harry Styles when he launched his solo career and Rick Astley was resplendent in Sexton pink for his Glastonbury set last summer. Sexton once explained: “I don’t make suits, I build them, stage by stage. And I’ve not really moved far from the Nutter look throughout my career because it’s elegant, it’s romantic, it’s style.”

Sexton’s never-ending enthusiasm for tailoring was reflected in an interview he did with Cindy Lawford for Savile Row Style Magazine in 2022 when he told her he had no interest in retiring. “I love what I do. I have this huge passion for it. Once Savile Row is in your blood, it’s in your blood.”

Sexton, never one to rest on his laurels, always said “you’re only as good as your last suit”. He would be glad to know that his final client – the man he was working with two weeks before he died – was delighted with his finished suit from Edward Sexton.

That verdict will surprise no one.

DANIEL EVANS Managing Editor, Savile Row Style Magazine

NEWS

Stories from the Row

HENRY POOLE & JAGUAR: WHEN TWO ICONIC BRANDS COME TOGETHER

Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal James Barclay enjoys his new look

HENRY POOLE & CO HAS collaborated with Jaguar TCS Racing to create a bespoke dinner jacket and lightweight suit for Team Principal, James Barclay. As James attends all races in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship hosted in major cities including Hyderabad, Cape Town, Jakarta, and São Paulo, he needed clothing suitable for wearing in climates all around the world.

Known as the founders of the tuxedo, the team at Henry Poole began their bespoke and meticulous tailoring process, using high standards of cutting and tailoring skills, and applying their distinctive style to create two exclusive designs, a dinner jacket made from midnight blue Barathea 120s worsted wool and a dark

blue midweight suit made from 100s wool and cashmere.

The collaboration demonstrates the coming together of two brands that share a heritage and a passion for excellence.

‘The collaboration demonstrates the coming together of two brands that share a heritage and a passion for excellence’

Established in 1806, Henry Poole has a long history of offering the very best in fine British tailoring, while Jaguar has a rich motorsport history that has informed the evolution of its road cars.

Simon Cundey, Managing Director of Henry Poole & Co, said: “We at Henry Poole & Co. are very proud to work with Jaguar, like ourselves a company of heritage, quality and craftsmanship. The concept of the synergy between luxury, style and performance relates to us both, plus with innovation going forward for the future.”

James Barclay, Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal, said: “It’s been a pleasure to work closely and witness first-hand the skilled team at Henry Poole & Co. They are rightly so very proud of their history and they are a key part of why Savile Row is world renowned for bespoke suit making. Jaguar too has a rich and illustrious heritage in motorsport, so I’m proud to represent the coming together of two iconic brands to showcase our passion for attention to detail and craftsmanship both now and as part of our innovative futures.” n

Jaguar Team Principal James Barclay, who needs clothing suitable for wearing in climates all around the world, collaborated with Henry Poole to create a bespoke dinner jacket and lightweight suit

Gear up for Savile Row Concours, Mk III

Thoroughbreds from the worlds of tailoring and motoring on show

AFTER A SUCCESSFUL debut in 2022 and an even better second event last year, everything is looking good for the third edition of the Concours on Savile Row on Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd of May. As usual, the two-day event will bring together the world of luxury tailoring and the finest collector cars you could hope to see. With Savile Row closed to traffic, the public will once again be able to stroll among the carsfrom pre-war thoroughbreds to

the latest electric hyper cars - as well as enjoy the craftsmanship on show from the expert tailors.

Jenny Casebourne, Head of Portfolio at The Pollen Estate, said:

“The Pollen Estate is delighted to host Concours on Savile Row for a third year in 2024.

Savile Row is London’s iconic destination renowned for tailoring, craftsmanship and style, and we are excited to see the new collaborations and the synergies with the car manufacturers come to life. The event is a fantastic opportunity for

visitors to go inside the tailoring houses and meet the individual tailors as well as experience the expertise and craft behind a bespoke suit first-hand. Concours on Savile Row is a great addition to London’s events calendar and will showcase the very best of British tailoring to a global audience.”

Last year, David Gandy and Patrick Grant were two of the big names to entertain the crowds. Patrick, the man in charge at Norton & Sons, talked animatedly about his enthusiasm for Made in

Britain and David talked about his love of motor cars and the success of his Wellwear clothing business. Among the other big names to speak were, from the world of tailoring, Henry Poole’s Simon Cundey, Jeremy Hackett and Joe Morgan from Chittleborough & Morgan. And, from the world of motoring, there was James Barclay, managing director Jaguar Land Rover Motorsport, Jonathan Wells from the Morgan Motor Company and drivers Jacky Ickx and Freddie Hunt, son of F1 champion James. n

The two-day event sees the world of luxury tailoring and the finest collector cars you could hope to see come together.

Last year, David Gandy, left, was happy to stop and chat with people in the crowd. Top left, some of Savile Row.’s finest tailors and business people.

A legend of Hollywood comes to the Row

William Fay, who worked on films such as Independece Day and Hangover, enjoys a tour of the famous street

ATOUCH OF Hollywood glamour came to Savile Row earlier last summer when renowned Hollywood film producer William Fay, whose work is highly regarded across the industry and the wider public, enjoyed a tour of the famous street in the company of Savile Row Gin CEO, Stewart Lee.

During his illustrious career, William, the former President of Production of Legendary Pictures, been involved in the making of blockbuster movies like Independence Day and The Hangover series.

William was shown around five tailors – Gieves and Hawkes, Henry Poole, Dege and Skinner,

Above: William Fay, Savile Row CEO Stewart Lee and guests enjoy a cocktail in the Green Room

Hackett and Hunstman – and very much enjoyed himself. Said Stewart: “William had a great time. He was particularly interested in the history and fine detail which went into everyone’s work.”

William has been a successful producer and film executive for over 25 years. At Legendary Pictures, he was Executive Producer on a

‘William had a great time. He was particularly interested in the history and fine detail which went into everyone’s work’

number of films including the box office hits Superman Returns, the Spartan epic 300, Ben Affleck’s The Town, Clash of the Titans and the smash comedy The Hangover, the highest grossing R-rated comedy ever. Legendary also joined with Warner Bros to co-produce and co-finance The Dark Knight and Inception which were nominated for eight Academy Awards each, winning six between them.

William rounded off his tour of Savile Row with some cocktails in the Green Room at JP Hackett. When he was once asked about whether there was much drinking on a film set, William said: Oh yes. Actors know how to take care of themselves pretty well.” n

Hollywood film producer William Fay enjoys his trip around Savile Row, where he visited Gieves and Hawkes, Henry Poole, Dege and Skinner, Hackett and Hunstman

Racing delight

Jack Barclay Bentley and Huntsman unveil two new models in bespoke collaboration for 2023

ACK BARCLAY

JBentley’s partnership with Huntsman has taken its next step forward with two new exclusive designs. Created last year with the Bentley Mulliner bespoke division, the limited edition Bentayga and GTC models are a union of two of Mayfair’s most prestigious heritage brands.

The Bentley Bentayga and Continental GTC Huntsman Edition feature bespoke interiors inspired by the sartorial heritage of the renowned Savile Row tailoring house. Huntsman Head Cutter and Creative Director Campbell

Carey worked closely with Jack Barclay Bentley and the design team at Mulliner to carefully translate Huntsman’s 174 years of bespoke heritage into the design.

Campbell Carey was delighted by the collaboration: “It is with great enthusiasm that we reignite our celebrated partnership with Jack Barclay with two new Huntsman models. As Huntsman’s Head Cutter and Creative Director, it’s always a pleasure to work alongside bespoke craftspeople within other industries. In collaborating with the design team at Bentley

Mulliner we have created an exclusive collection of cars that reflect the iconic style of Bentley and Huntsman and bring a harmonious balance of sartorial flare and luxury with world-class engineering and innovation.”

These models have been tastefully furnished with Huntsman DNA. Signature cloth design features throughout both vehicles, with upholstery in the Huntsman charcoal four-point star design, contrasted with honeycomb cross stitching. The Huntsman logo and the signature ‘H’ motif can be found

The new models debuted during the Concours on Savile Row in May, with both vehicles on display for the first time

embroidered in the headrests, and embossed on the kick plates, with even the keybox receiving a custom treatment; inlaid with tweed and stamped with the Huntsman logo.

Jack Barclay Bentley – now operated by the HR Owen Group – was established in Mayfair in 1927 by famous ‘Bentley Boy’, Jack Barclay, just eight years after Huntsman arrived on Savile Row, a stone’s throw from the showroom. The two brands share mutual values of bespoke, exemplary customer service and a quest for perfection, and these two latest creations celebrate those values.

Ken Choo, H.R. Owen CEO said: Jack Barclay Bentley and Huntsman Savile Row are two Mayfair institutions, built on world-famous customer service and a bespoke product that defines luxury. The collaboration between

our two names, with the help of Mulliner, is a natural fit and the latest evolution in our partnership. The Huntsman Edition cars are rare and beautiful, and only available to our customers.”

The new models debuted during the Concours on Savile Row in May, with both vehicles on display for the first time. Every Huntsman Edition car – whether Bentayga

Above: the limited edition Bentayga and GTC models are a union of two of Mayfair’s most prestigious heritage brands

or Continental GTC – comes with a bespoke Huntsman jacket for the owner, created in one of Huntsman’s exclusive house cloths. Customers will be invited to visit Huntsman’s premises on Savile Row to choose their cloth and undergo a measuring session to ensure their jacket is crafted to their requirements.

The Huntsman Edition cars are the next milestone in the ongoing partnership between Jack Barclay Bentley and Huntsman. In 2019, the brands launched a limited edition Bentayga, with buyers able to choose between ‘The Sportsman’ or ‘The Businessman’. Both featured a distinctive Peck 62 tweed throughout the interior, which was exclusively created in celebration of Huntsman’s Centenary year and inspired by an original Gregory Peck coat from the Huntsman archives. n

Rylance learns the Hunstman way

Award-winning actor spends a week on the Row and impresses Campbell Carey

WHEN ACADEMY Awardwinning actor Mark Rylance wanted to get it right when he appeared as a tailor - or is it a cutter? - in the film

The Outfit, a crime drama set in 1950s Chicago, he immediately decided he wanted to be taught by the best. So Huntsman, which had already supplied clothing for The King’s Man, was approached to see if they could repeat that success with The Outfit so Rylance met up with Huntsman’s creative director Campbell Carey who showed the actor the secrets of bespoke suit-making. Rylance

‘He does his best to avoid the gangland intrigue but his workshop becomes central to the film’

spent a week on the Row and certainly impressed Carey.

“He was a great pupil who spent the first couple of days watching what I was doing, watching what the tailors downstairs were doing and taking notes. On day three, he started asking all the right questions and really got into what’s involved,” said Carey. “We had him cutting out random bits of cloth, and also learn how to hold a thimble and needle properly. We really had him practise the action of cutting, sewing and chalking as well. And we showed him how to measure someone, and that was great fun.

“He took in all the things that are seen in the film, like when you hold your tape measure, or when you play with your lapels, you’re always checking the garments to make sure they’re looking their best. The clothes were everything for this movie.”

In the film Rylance plays Leonard, a Savile Row-trained tailor – though he insists on calling himself a cutter - who makes suits for the best gangsters in Chicago. He does his best to avoid the gangland intrigue but his workshop becomes central to the film. n

Above: Mark Rylance at work.

Below: A pencil sketch of the initial idea

Left: Mark Rylance in The Outfit. Below: Campbell Carey, Head Cutter, Mark Rylance and Steve Venn, Coat Maker take a break during training

JASON MOMOA SHAKING THINGS UP ON SAVILE ROW

Star of Aquaman has a blast every time he visits Henry Poole. By Daniel Evans

T’S NOT OFTEN THAT HOLLYWOOD’S FINEST take time out to travel across London to visit a particular store in search of clothes but that is exactly what Jason Momoa, of Aquaman and Dune fame, did when he wanted to have the very best in Savile Row tailoring.

Jason knocked on the door at Henry Poole & Co on two Saturdays, only to find them closed. He then called up on a Monday and explained, as a busy actor, he could only get over at the weekend. Daniel McDonald, a cutter at Henry Poole, recognised the name and, soon enough, arranged a Saturday appointment for the American star.

Simon Cundey, managing director at Henry Poole, says Jason certainly does turn heads when he visits. “We have a blast every time he comes,” says Simon. “He shakes up Savile Row by bringing his classic cars or some friends who are amazing characters – skateboarders, rock climbers. You never know who you are going to meet when Jason’s in town.”

Some of the items Henry Poole has worked on with Jason have been for film premieres – the James Bond blockbuster No Time to Die, the Ridley Scott film House of Gucci, and Dune, in which Jason plays Duncan Idaho. In the book, Idaho is described as ‘a handsome man with curling black hair to whom women are easily attracted’ … Sounds like a role Jason was born to play.

Jason’s suit-making exploits on Savile Row have been brilliantly captured on a video which is available on YouTube. The opening scene sees Jason pull up on the Row, exit his impressive motor and tell his viewers: “This is the first time I’ve had a hand-made bespoke suit made on Savile Row. Since I was 21 or 22, I’ve been walking past Henry Poole, looking in the window. It’s my favourite window. I’ve always wanted to get myself a suit and now, 20 years later, I’m getting my first English-made bespoke suit.”

As he chats and interacts with the staff at Henry Poole, Jason tells Daniel: “I want a seersucker suit.”

“Do you want to keep it classic or do you want it to go a little bit funky?” asks Daniel.

“It’s important to have both,” says Jason. “Keep it classy and go funky.”

Simon explains the secrets of a good seersucker suit. “It’s super lightweight, very much a summer suiting,” he says. “It’s cotton-based and has a crushed look to it. The traditional colours are mid blue and white and it’s still popular in America –in the Carolinas, New Orleans and Georgia.”

As Henry Poole get closer to finishing the suit for the Dune premier – where Jason walked the red carpet in a claret cotton velvet jacket with a burgundy brocade waistcoat - they decide they need something a little bit different so they go over the road to Hawthorne and Heaney, the embroidery experts, where Claire Barrett adds some

finishing touches. As Simon explains: “We can sketch out something we like, and they make it work.”

Simon is clearly delighted to have Jason as a regular client. “He enjoys people and is passionate about many things in life. He’s inspired by creativity and craft,” says Simon. “When he’s here at Henry Poole, he makes a point of going round to see everybody in the workshop. And the thing about Jason is that he is super fit. He’s up there with his 50-inch chest but he’s also got a 36-inch waist. And it’s not often you get guys with that sort of shape.”

The video itself has already had more than 400,000 views and the comments show just how popular the man is. One fan writes: “Out of all the very rich and famous people who have walked through (Henry Poole’s) door, I bet they have never met anyone quite so genuinely down to earth as Mr Jason Momoa” while another says: “Congratulations to Henry Poole & Co for amazing work. They are definitely the gold standard. So is the embroidery shop across the street. And Jason has such an amazing vibe.”

Yet another writes: “(Jason’s) excitement at getting a bespoke Savile Row suit was genuine and lovely to see. They were truly amazing suits. A man immediately carries himself better and looks more confident when he’s wearing a great suit” while other comments include: “After knowing about Henry Poole & Co for so many years it’s really fascinating to get such a great look inside their establishment … Henry Poole, you went from Winston Churchill to Jason Momoa; not bad going guys, truly not bad.”

But let’s leave the last words to the man himself. After the suit fittings and film premieres, Jason closes the video by saying: “You’ve turned me into a changed man, Mr Henry Poole.” n

delightful

Top: Jason Momoa with Henry Poole’s Simon Cundey, left , and Daniel McDonald, right. Above: Jason next to a picture of Winston Churchill

Quailors proud to be part of PRIDE 2023

In just three years, the community has gained over 50 members who gather regularly to network and share ideas

QUAILORS, THE FIRST LGBTQIA+ group for people in the tailoring industry, hosted its first ever PRIDE event on Savile Row last summer. The group invited its community to come together to celebrate PRIDE and join members ahead of marching in the London parade in July for the first time as

a collective. The event took place at The Deck London at 32 Savile Row where the drink sponsors were Savile Row Gin. This year the Quailors officially marched in the PRIDE parade in London for the second time, following the 2022 parade where the tailoring trade had a presence in London PRIDE’s march for the first time.

Founded in 2020, the Quailors’ co-founders Andrew Johnson and James MacAuslan, wanted to build a social community for LGBTQIA+ people who work in and support the tailoring industry in London and across the UK where they can feel safe, as well as to encourage a younger generation of tailors to join the trade.

In just three years, the community has gained over 50 active members who gather regularly to network and share ideas and opportunities among their peers, as well as over 600 followers on social media. Said James: “We hosted both a prePRIDE celebration on Savile Row and an after party in Soho because everyone is welcome to work, walk down or shop on ‘The Row’ – regardless of their sexual identity.” n

Quailors co-founders Andrew Johnson and James MacAuslan, far left, and other guests, left, enjoying the party

Mike Ashley steps in to buy iconic Savile Row business back from Hong Kong owners

GIEVES BACK IN BRITISH OWNERSHIP G

IEVES & HAWKES, one of the most famous names in tailoring, is back in British hands after being bought by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group. The iconic business, with its main store at No 1 Savile Row, was sold to Ashley last November by the Hong Kongbased owner Trinity Group after it fell into administration at the beginning of 2022.

All five of Gieves & Hawkes’s UK stores will be part of the deal. Frasers Group, which already owns Sports Direct and House of Fraser, emerged as a potential buyer in September and sealed the deal for an undisclosed sum in November. Hong Kong conglomerate Trinity Ltd took over Gieves & Hawkes in 2012 but Trinity was subject to a winding-up petition for debt in September 2021. Michael Murray, chief executive of Frasers, said: “We are delighted to have acquired Gieves & Hawkes, securing a long-term future for an iconic 250-year-old brand. This acquisition further adds to our portfolio of strategic investments in luxury and premium brands.”

Gieves & Hawkes, which has held Royal Warrants since 1809, has made clothes for King Charles III, George VI and George V, as well as the princes William and Harry. It also dressed Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington and Winston Churchill. The firm moved to the Georgian townhouse at 1 Savile Row after Gieves acquired the Hawkes brand in 1974. Gieves was founded in 1785 and Hawkes in 1771. n

Championing sustainability and recycling on Savile Row

Daniel Evans talks to Su Thomas about her green ambitions

SU THOMAS, KNOWN to many on Savile Row for her excellent work with the Savile Row Bespoke Association, has taken up the new challenge of improving sustainability among the finest tailors in the land. After the best part of 20 years managing the SRBA, Su has committed to improving recycling and renewal in a part of Mayfair more used to sticking with tradition and heritage. As we sit in the offices of Holland and Sherry, Su tells me

why she decided to make the move. “I got fed up with seeing tailors throwing away high-quality 100 per cent wool waste,” she says.

“I started talking to some of the older tailors who remembered that they used to pick up the waste and, back then, they had the machines to break it down to reuse it. I decided I wanted to see if we could go back to that. I didn’t know how it was going to turn out but I was determined to give it a go. When I told the tailors what I was doing,

Looking to change things are, from the left, Su Thomas, John Parkinson and Sam Goates

they said ‘fantastic, yes… we’re on board with that’.”

Su set up her company, EcoLuxe, last year to focus on her recycling ambitions and encourage the tailors of Savile Row to recycle their own textile waste into cloth of such quality that it could be resold to their high-end clients.

“The aim of it is to find a zero waste programme,” she explains. “You take textile waste, you break it down, you have a transparent process so you can show you can break it down.

You have to put something else with the waste so it is strong enough to spin again so we’ve gone for British organic lambswool. You spin it again and then it goes back into weaving. It’s a completely zero waste circular programme.”

Su oversees what is now a three-point production line. First, the waste cloth – or mungo – is collected in bags by individual Savile Row tailors, it is then transported up to Yorkshire and handed over to John Parkinson who has a textile recycling business. Once the yarn is produced, it travels another 500 miles to be woven by Sam Goates who runs Woven in the Bone, a micro-mill in Buckie on the north east coast of Scotland. Then, it returns to Savile Row to be made into new garments.

The project was unveiled during the annual Campaign for Wool Month in October. Campaign for Wool, which has King Charles

as its patron, was set up back in 2010 to promote the wool industry and highlight the importance of sustainability, aims which Eco-luxe shares.

As John explained: “It’s been an incredibly exciting project to work on and we’re delighted it came to fruition during Wool Month, which is a key event for us to demonstrate and promote responsible textile manufacturing. From things that have been dropping onto cutting room floors and thrown away we end up with a beautiful piece of cloth that’s ready to be used all over again.”

It’s early days yet, but initial reports suggest the enterprise will be a success. Leon Powell, Senior Cutter at Anderson & Sheppard, told the Haptic & Huw podcast: “I think a lot of customers will

Above, Anderson & Shepard senior cutter Leon Powell collects ‘mungo’ for recycling; below, garments from Eco-Luxe on show during Wool Month

really enjoy this story. In today’s society, people want to know where their clothes come from – the background. And we were so impressed with the cloth we have commissioned a length for ourselves. The romance, the idea, everything about it. Just fantastic for the industry.”

After Su had decided she wanted to take on this recycling project, her first challenge was to find a craftsman with the skill – and machinery – to carry out the task.

After a nine-month hunt, she tracked down John Parkinson, who was involved in textile recycling using traditional Yorkshire methods, but even he didn’t have the right machinery. Su explains: “It was pre-Covid and, at the time, DEFRA were giving out grants for sustainable projects and I was happy to support John’s application to build the first fibre opening machine back in the UK. It’s an absolutely massive machine – it cost around £220,000 and takes up the whole of the warehouse.”

Savile Row’s big five – Anderson & Sheppard, Henry Poole, Dege & Skinner, Gieves & Hawkes and Richard Anderson - are very much fans of the project. As Su said: “They all have Royal Warrants and you have to tick an awful lot of sustainability boxes to retain them. So, collecting their waste and giving it to us fits into that. But we are still in a research and development period. Having proved this recycled cloth was good enough to be used by Savile Row tailors, we have to look at other areas – like can we dye? Should we use vegetable dyes? If you dye in the normal process, you are introducing chemicals into the equation.”

Su knows that the ultimate success of the project will depend on producing cloth the tailors on Savile Row want to use on a regular basis but she is up for the challenge. “We can provide a great story for tailors to tell,” she says. “Everyone has a very clear idea of exactly what happens. It’s very British - all made in the UK. From taking the clippings on the floor and bringing them back to life, it’s really about the story from start to finish and showing it can be done.” n

Richard James opens £2m ‘cathedral to tailoring’

The new store is spread over three floors and includes a cocktail bar

RICHARD JAMES HAS opened a new bespoke £2 million store on Clifford Street, just off Savile Row, the third outlet in the company’s fashion armoury and its co-founder and managing director Sean Dixon couldn’t be more excited.

“We started the business back in 1992 with what was the smallest store on the street, and now we have got some 2,500 sq ft here, so we have grown,” says Sean. “A lot of our customers have been with us since we opened that first store and many of them have gradually moved from ready-to-wear tailoring to made-to-measure and bespoke, so there is a certain symmetry to the way we are set up here.”

The new store - “a cathedral to tailoring,” is how the company describes it - is spread over three storeys with Sean adding: “There’s a lot of rich colour and that’s testimony to Richard himself, who I co-founded the business with in 1992. We really wouldn’t be where we are now without him. He retired from the business a few years ago, but he remains with us in spirit and style as well as name. The walls are in rich burgundy, orange, blue and yellow, and the patterns on the curtains and carpets neatly

reference our in-house print design, which is something else that we have a reputation for.”

The work was led by international interior designer David Thomas who said: “I felt strongly about respecting the building’s exterior architecture – the only all-white building on Clifford Street – and bringing back the interior to its former glory. Restoring the original details, whilst adding elements of modernity.”

Head up to the first floor and you’ll find a stylish cocktail bar,

The most important thing is that people feel welcome when they enter the store, says co-founder Sean Dixon

complete with comfortable seats and classy artwork. Sean explains: “We wanted to create a space that our customers could use and feel at home in, so a bar seemed like a good idea. Our shops have always been convivial, sociable places that have forged friendships. I remember when Oasis, Elton John and Lord Brown all came in at the same time, and they all got on famously. An unlikely gathering, perhaps, but the thing is that we have always appealed to people with a certain attitude, rather than any particular demographic. I think our customers are the most adventurous on Savile Row.”

And, according to Sean, the novelty of loungewear which took off during the Covid-19 lockdowns has worn off, with more people now choosing to dress more formally. “The world of tailoring, and the suit, is actually having a bit of a resurgence,” he said. “But the most important thing is that people feel welcome when they enter the store. Buying a suit can feel intimidating, so we wanted to create a place where people can spend time and be helped through the process, whether they are buying ready to wear or having a suit made. It should be a very pleasant experience.” n

CALL TO GIVE SAVILE ROW SUITS SAME PROTECTED STATUS AS MELTON MOWBRAY PORK PIES

THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE of the trade lobby group for Britain’s luxury brands had told MPs that Savile Row suits should have the same protected status as Melton Mowbray pork pies and Cornish clotted cream. Helen Brocklebank, chief executive at Walpole’s, said: “If we don’t put protections around these incredible regional clusters of highly skilled craftsmen

that are unique to our country, then we could risk losing those skills over the next 10 or 15 years.”

Essentially, MPs are being urged to widen the Protected Geographical Indication regime to include Savile Row. At the moment, the regime grants certain products from a specific place legal protection from misuse and imitation and Walpole is urging the government to expand the

Melton Mowbray pork pies, Savile Row suits should be legally protected

category to cover hand-made crafts. Ms Brocklebank added that it was a “really easy” change to make that would move the dial for these “unique national assets”. She said: “If the scheme was extended to include non-produce-based craft products – like Savile Row tailoring – this would help protect the skills these industries rely on and, in turn, the communities they support.” n

Like

Kathryn Sargent expands into Scotland

Savile Row’s first female Master Tailor taking her business north of the border

AVILE ROW MASTER

STailor Kathryn Sargent has expanded her business into Scotland, opening a new studio in Edinburgh’s Howe Street. And Kathryn, the first female Master Tailor to have her own shop on Savile Row, is thrilled with the new premises. She said: “As well as wanting to extend Savile Row tailoring to Scottish clientele, we noticed a number of our existing clients were travelling through Scotland on business and leisure trips and requesting tailored outfits and fittings for their trips, so bringing Kathryn Sargent Bespoke Tailoring to Scotland is a natural step.

“I have always been inspired by the heritage of Scotland – its colours, textures, fabrics, and landscapes – and ever since starting my business I have had a Kathryn Sargent Harris Tweed specially woven in the Outer Hebrides. To mark the opening of the new Atelier in Edinburgh we are creating two new colourways of Kathryn Sargent Harris Tweed designs in green and blue, in addition to the original brown design. We will also offer a broad selection of tartans and can help and explain the nuances and specific protocols of Scottish dress

and, if customers are interested, advise on clan tartans.”

The shop will be under the day-to-day guidance of Head Cutter Alistair Nimmo. Alistair, who was born in Stirling, trained with Kathryn and holds a Savile Row Bespoke Diploma. He said: “I’m proud to be heading up the Scottish arm of the business. It’s a natural fit with my personal heritage and professional passion for Scottish dress, deep knowledge of tartans, tweeds and ceremonial dress. Whether people want traditional Hogmanay dress or something more renegade in tartan, we can make it.

“As well as our numerous contacts with craftspeople and specialists in Scotland who will be supporting the business in terms of supply and manufacturing, we have tried where possible to support the local economy with the fit-out of Howe Street. These include tradespeople and artisans, such as signwriter Thomas Paints, Glasgow-based textiles company Timorous Beasties who have hand printed our wonderful fitting room curtain, and Fine Artist Laura Gill has created a beautiful new artwork capturing Edinburgh in her unique style, especially for our new location.” n

ANDREW ENJOYS HIS LIFE ON A DESERT ISLAND

Tailor tells of his life and travels from Trinidad to Savile Row

AVILE ROW TAILOR

SAndrew Ramroop was invited onto Desert Island Discs to talk about his life and musical loves. He talked about travelling from Trinidad to England when he was 17 and tells host Lauren Laverne: “I sailed to Southampton not knowing anything. I did what I did without giving it much thought. I wanted to be where the pinnacle of sartorial excellence was practised and I wanted to be amongst the finest.”

Andrew grew up in a remote village in Trinidad and sewed his first garment at the age of nine, creating a simple pair of trousers from a pillowcase. He left school at 13 and was apprenticed to a local tailor who told him tales about Savile Row – the place where James Bond’s suits were cut. Inspired by this vision, Andrew saved up for a ticket to sail to the UK: he emigrated at the age of 17, only the second person to leave his village. He found work on Savile Row, went on to complete a degree at the London College of Fashion, and then gained a job at Maurice Sedwell, eventually taking over the business when Maurice retired.

In recent years, Andrew has been closely involved in training the next generation of tailors. He was awarded an OBE in 2009, for his work in tailoring and training, and was the UK’s Black Business Person of the Year in 2017. n

It’s a

BOOK

LUXURY ITEM: A tenor steel pan drum

ANDREW’S

ANDREW’S SONG CHOICE

Portrait of Trinidad by The Mighty Sniper Another Brick In The Wall, Pt. 2 by Pink Floyd Time Will Tell by Jimmy Cliff The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel

Man’s Man’s Man’s World by James Brown & The Famous Flames Desiderata by Les Crane Maria La O by Neil Latchman Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel

CHOICE: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace

FAVOURITE SONG: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel

Kathryn Sargent outside her new Edinburgh atelier alongside Alistair Nimmo

From the left: Lord William Gordon Lennox, The Duke of Richmond, and the Earl of March and Kinrara pictured outside Goodwood House by Dominic James for Tatler magazine

LOOKING GOOD AT GOODWOOD

The Duke of Richmond and his two sons are delighted with their new look for the races. By Daniel Evans

SIMON CUNDEY, MD AT HENRY POOLE, IS NEVER a man to duck a challenge so he was delighted when The Duke of Richmond asked him if he could design three suits for himself and his two sons ahead of last year’s horse racing at The Qatar Goodwood Festival, one of the highlights of the summer season.

Henry Poole’s team of master tailors joined forces with the Richmond family - The Duke of Richmond himself and sons, the Earl of March and Kinrara and Lord William Gordon Lennox - to tailor each linen suit to their individual styles and preferences. Every detail, from the choice of fabric, cut, fit, and finishes, was meticulously considered, creating traditional garments that reflect contemporary style.

And Simon was more than happy to get involved. “It was a pleasure to work on this project with the family,” he enthused. “Selecting the best Irish linen in a beautiful buttermilk hue and using the colours of Goodwood Racecourse for the interior lining and pocketing resulted in a beautiful pure bespoke Henry Poole suit, cut and made at our Savile Row premises, which we hope the family will enjoy for years to come. It is admirable to see the innovations that the Dukes of Richmond have brought to the Goodwood Estate over generations.”

Tom Pendry, Cutter and Director of Henry Poole, added: “This was an intriguing project in many respects. As well as learning about some of the history and heritage that inspired the concept, it was a pleasure to work with the different members of the family and have their individual inputs. Despite the overall fabric colour being consistent, the different stylistic choices from each gentleman made it easier to see each garment as a personal take on the same theme.”

Lord William Gordon Lennox, who looked splendid in his new suit, said: “The partnership between Goodwood and Henry Poole is a brilliant celebration of British heritage and craftsmanship. It will be a joy to wear such a beautiful piece of clothing inspired by Goodwood’s racing history, which not only showcases the quality of tailoring that this country, and Henry Poole in particular, is so well known for, but also continues the modern elegance for which Goodwood is known.”

The Goodwood Festival is known for being a relaxed

‘It was a pleasure to work with the different members of the family and have their individual inputs’

TOM PENDRY, CUTTER AND DIRECTOR OF HENRY POOLE

yet elegant affair when it comes to style. King Edward VII, who came racing every year until his death, was responsible for changing the dress code from a formal top hat and tails to a more informal way of dressing and Goodwood later became known for its quintessentially English look of linen suits and Panama hats. It was a look that gave Goodwood a much more carefree, holiday feel than any other racecourse and led to the King calling it “a garden party, with racing tacked on”.

Established in 1806, Henry Poole regularly dressed King Edward VII, inextricably linking the two brands through this shared connection in their history. For, as well as dressing the King, Henry Poole also has records of both Henry Gordon Lennox and George Gordon Lennox as clients in 1857. George ordered a frock coat in 1860, the same year as the Prince of Wales. n

Far left: Lord William Gordon Lennox outside Henry Poole & Co and, below, working with MD Simon Cundey

DAISY THE

BIG TIME JOINS

Daisy Knatchbull and her all-women team, now based at 32, Savile Row, have ambitious plans for the future. Daniel Evans reports

ANYONE LOOKING for reassurance that the future of Savile Row is bright after the troubles of recent years need only spend some time in the company of the vivacious ball of energy that is Daisy Knatchbull.

When I first met Daisy in 2021, she was sitting proudly in the surroundings of The Deck, a womenonly tailor at 19, Savile Row. Fast forward to spring last year, in what is, in Savile Row time, a blink of an eye, and she is welcoming guests from across the world of fashion and trendy London life to the opening of her even more impressive business setting at 32, Savile Row, directly across the road from Henry Poole and Huntsman, two of the big beasts of The Row.

The impressive party list includes Prince Edward’s daughter Lady Helen Taylor, D&G model Lady Sabrina Percy, Arabella Holland, Natalie Salmon, Flora Vesterberg and Hum Fleming and Daisy, unsurprisingly, is delighted. As she greets everyone with a smile, she is clearly in her element. “I’m loving the evening,” she says. “I’m very blessed and honoured to have so many people here to celebrate the opening of The Deck. The move means we have a bigger presence and more store frontage. To be among the bastions of British tailoring is an honour, a great thing, and we really have the opportunity to make our mark on The Row. I hope we stay here for the next 100 years.”

Before the party, Daisy reflected on what inspired

‘I love that we’ve made history with the first shop front for women on Savile Row and I’m excited for what’s to come.’

her to create her business. “I launched The Deck with a vision to dress the world’s most self-empowered women and now, three years later, I couldn’t be prouder of where our house stands,” she says. “This new space on Savile Row is the biggest physical manifestation of The Deck to date, designed and curated to reflect the grand scale of our garments on offer.”

Daisy is quick to sum up what she sees as the ambition of the business. “It’s where classical elegance meets modern femininity,” she says without hesitation. “I’m not a tailor – that takes years and it’s an impeccable skill - so I thought I’d go out and offer a made-to-measure service for women myself which we launched in 2019. The business just flew. We started in a little basement in the King’s Road. We dressed a lot of celebrities early on and we had a lot of loyal clients. Then, in September 2020, we got the opportunity to move to Savile Row. It was a lifelong dream of mine to sit at the centre of British tailoring. I never imagined it would happen this quickly but it’s fantastic. We really want to make this work and be around the best in the business.”

Daisy, who has an all-women team behind her, continues: “I love that we made history with the first shop front for women on Savile Row and I’m excited for what’s to come. I want The Deck to become the place to go for all women’s tailoring – not just jackets, trousers, dresses, skirts but also for overcoats, jumpsuits, shirts, knitwear whatever it is. We want to produce timeless clothes that are never going to go out of fashion and which celebrate the woman of today. People had been doing women’s clothing on Savile Row for ages but it made up a tiny portion of their business and no one was really focusing solely on women because it was often deemed ‘more difficult than men’ due to our varying body shapes and curves. We have so many women who come in and burst into tears because they have never had a pair of trousers that have fitted them before. The ready-to-wear industry insists that women are one size. Of course, it is sometimes more complicated

From left to right: Lady Sabrina Percy, Hum Fleming, Daisy Knatchbull, Natalie Salmon and Flora Vesterberg at the opening of The Deck at 32 Savile Row

Looking good: Daisy’s clients include, above and clockwise: Elizabeth Hurley, Lauren Hutton, Laura Wright, Claudia Winkelman, Rashida Jones and Arizona Muse

doing women’s tailoring because no two women are the same. I think a lot of women want what we have but don’t know we exist. That’s why it is so addictive. Once they have had something with us, they want to come back. It’s a really incredible feeling and, suddenly, what you had before doesn’t seem as appealing.

“We ensure longevity, versatility and durability in everything we do. We want to help people understand why it is worth the investment and that this is something you can pass down to the next generation. And we do free repairs for life. As soon as people receive a garment from us, they understand. They’ve got something that’s made for them, with their choice of cloth, linings and buttons made with the highest quality cloth in the world from Savile Row merchants. It makes sense. There won’t be a child in a factory somewhere in Bangladesh making the clothes. The pandemic has only accelerated the changes that need to happen in fashion. And that’s exciting. Savile Row has always had this message that this is something to pass down to your son, your nephew. Now we can say the same for women. Bring your daughters, pass it down to your nieces, pass it down to your godchildren, your sister. When you deliver a good, quality product that people are happy with, they see the value in that and will come back.”

So why call yourself The Deck? Daisy explains. “We are called The Deck as there are four suits in a deck of cards and we start with four looks. You can mix and match and change all the styling details as you wish. The singe-breasted jacket, the double-breasted jacket, the boyfriend (a more over-sized, four-buttoned, double-breasted jacket) and the safari jacket. Then for trousers - we have the cigarette, straight-leg, wide-leg and flair-leg. I enjoy making goodquality, beautiful things that make people happy. You have to have a belief and a mission when you start your own business otherwise what is it all about? You need to make money, for sure, but there has to be a driver in that you want to see change.

“Our clients are investing in craftsmanship. Good quality clothes made with natural fibres and traditions and techniques. It’s anti-fast fashion. It’s good for the planet. Our real ‘enemy’ I guess is fast fashion. People are wanting to turn to more slo-mo fashion and invest in hyper personalised products and craftsmanship. We are doing something so unique that we don’t need to be around other women’s shops.”

Daisy’s early success has been confirmed by The Deck being chosen by Walpole as one of the Brands of Tomorrow and, secondly, the announcement of a collaboration with Turnbull and Asser, where King Charles has had his shirts made since he was a lad.

Walpole is the industry body for the British luxury sector and each year its initiative guides 12 of what Walpole calls “Britain’s most innovative fledging luxury companies”. Walpole launched the Brands of Tomorrow programme in 2007 to build a pipeline of next-generation brands as part of its vision for securing the long-term growth of the UK’s luxury sector. Each of the selected brands attends a series of practical workshops on key business development topics and are paired with a mentor who is a senior

‘We are called The Deck as there are four suits in a deck of cards and we start with four looks. You can mix and match and change all the styling details as you wish.’

Great reaction: Daisy wore a top hat and tails to Ascot in 2016. She is pictured with William Boughey

leadership figure from the luxury sector. As Walpole chief executive Helen Brocklebank explained: “This initiative was designed to help early-stage luxury brands drive their success, creating economic growth for the country. As we move beyond the pandemic, and forge a new vision of Global Britain, its role has never been so important.” It’s a partnership which clearly delights Daisy. “It’s an amazing thing to be recognised as a brand of tomorrow,” she says. “That’s big. It’s lovely to get that recognition.”

Daisy is equally pleased by the Turner and Asser partnership. “We are doing a collaboration for four women’s shirts which is really exciting,” she says. “We’ve gone to the best in British shirt making and said we want to design four shirts – the four easy, breezy white shirts that you can wear smarten up, relax, tone down, pair up.”

Daisy has spent her working life in fashion. “It’s where I always wanted to work,” she explains. “From a young age I was interning wherever I could, doing work experience, making coffee – learning, growing, trying to figure out where I wanted to sit in the fashion industry. After various fashion internships, I got a job assisting the fashion director of the Sunday Times Style magazine. That was really cool and I loved it but I was always looking for the next thing. I like to think I have an entrepreneurial mind where I was always trying to find the gap in the market, trying to see if there was any room for me to make my mark on the womenswear world.”

‘In 2016 I wore a top hat and tails to Royal Ascot and that got a fantastic reaction and set something going in my mind about this suitshaped gap for women.’

Daisy is full of confidence about the future. “We want to scale globally,” she says. “I want The Deck to be somewhere as many women as possible know about.”

Daisy landed a job on Savile Row with Huntsman as PR co-ordinator which gave her the chance to be in the heart of the tailoring world and learn about that.

“I’d never been on Savile Row,” she says.

“I was there for four and a half years and worked my way up to be communications director for the business. In 2016 I wore a top hat and tails to Royal Ascot and that got a fantastic reaction and set something going in my mind about this suit-shaped gap for women.”

As she rises to the top of her trade, Daisy is keen to help other women navigate the same path. “Young, female entrepreneurship is something I’m passionate about,” she says firmly. “I do a lot of stuff around mentoring young women trying to get ahead. It’s about nurturing young, female entrepreneurship. It’s harder as a woman entrepreneur. When I started out, I hadn’t studied finance, economics, business. I wish I’d done that so I had to teach myself all of these things. I didn’t want to feel stupid or ask the wrong question or feel ashamed I felt that way. I have a network of female founders who can share their experiences – their highs, their lows. It’s a very lonely thing starting your own business but talking about that with other people who are in the same boat makes us stronger. There are a lot of talented women out there. Change is coming. There’s never been a better time to be a woman.”

Unsurprisingly, Daisy is full of confidence about the future. “We want to scale globally,” she says. “We have so much demand overseas. There are some really cool things that are happening and I’m excited about that. I want The Deck to be somewhere as many women as possible know about. We get a lot of clients who come in and say ‘I wish I knew about you. I wish you had been around 10 years ago’. It’s just about getting that message out and consistently delivering on quality. Too many businesses as they grow lose sight of quality and the ethos that underpinned them at the very start. It’s important that we keep really tight on that as we grow. The next market for us would be America. We are currently concentrating on the face-toface but lots of exciting things for the online are coming up soon. It’s about being sensible.”

As I leave the store, where staff are busy dealing with a man who wants “something special” for his sister’s birthday, I can’t help feeling that Daisy’s will be a positive and energetic voice on Savile Row for many years to come. n

DAISY ON THE SPOT...

Bowie or Jagger? That’s really hard…Jagger. No, Bowie. Ascot or Henley?

Ascot Pimm’s or champagne?

Pimm’s

Cornwall or Cotswolds?

Cornwall

Skiing or sailing?

Skiing

Rugby or football?

Football

Coffee or tea?

Tea

Salmon or steak?

Steak

Favourite

Bond?

Sean Connery

EDWARD THE SAVILE ROW REVOLUTIONARY SEXTON

Cindy Lawford remembers the life and

times of the Wizard with the Scissors

HE WIZARD WITH the Scissors is no more. Edward Sexton worked right up until his death at the age of 80 last year and, although his fame is usually conveyed by reference to a long list of celebrities whose clothes he cut, the true value of the man and the tailor can best be understood by those who worked alongside him in the cutting room. To them his loss is most keenly felt, and his inspiration absolutely vital for the continued success of the business and the craft.

Tclient, throw it in the bin and create a new one from scratch. Or it could cause him to have two different systems for cutting suits running simultaneously, a “centre line or a side line system”. With clothes as well as patterns, Sexton was “willing to destroy everything and start again”, ripping the facing off suits in an insatiable quest for something better than what they had created for the customer last time. He would often say, “You can’t just give your customer the same suit.”

Commercial brand manager

“He had a vision, and it was about creating beautiful lines and beautiful clothes,” says Dominic SebagMontefiore, creative director of Edward Sexton

“He had a vision, and it was about creating beautiful lines and beautiful clothes,” says Dominic Sebag-Montefiore, creative director of Edward Sexton. “He was always wrestling with how to make a better garment.” Sexton’s never-ending desire to see the suit freshly could cause him to tear up a much triedand-annotated pattern for an old

Dressed impeccably in his double-breasted suits, Edward Sexton himself advertised his bold style very well, with its well-known lapel, shoulder and higher waist

Henry Sexton remembers his grandfather passing through the Savile Row shop and happening to notice and not quite approve of the way a ready-to-wear jacket was fitting a customer. “He couldn’t help himself and he would take the sleeve out.” Likewise, Sexton’s bespoke team might at any one time be working with “four or five different jacket types”, says Sebag-Montefiore, with styles ranging all the way back to the late 1960s and 1970s, through to the present day. The various jacket types might differ only a quarter of an inch here, a quarter of an inch there. Never set in his ways, the “decisive and intuitive” Sexton did not mind how much time his experimentation could take. “He was driven, he was focused,” adds Sebag-Montefiore, who could get called late at night about changing a trouser pattern. “He wasn’t commercial. It wasn’t about making money. It was about making great clothes.”

Responsible for putting together many of the suits worn by celebrities for which Sexton is most famous, coat maker Henry Humphreys describes his boss of more than 50 years as “the guy at the end of quality control” who “taught me everything I know”. And the boss did not hesitate to inform his top coat maker when he was not entirely pleased with his work. “We’d have really bad arguments, calling each other all sorts of names,” says Humphreys. But after a quick cigarette or a long night’s sleep, the two titans of suit making would always be amicable again, ready to get on with the job. It was “the old-fashioned way”.

Dressed impeccably in his double-breasted suits, Sexton himself advertised his bold style very well, with its well-known lapel, shoulder and higher waist. Humphreys points out how the belly of a lapel on a suit being made for a tall customer sweeps back at the top and points to the shoulder seam. “It’s going to look fantastic on him.” Sexton’s jacket style is, in Humphreys’ view, glamourous, “classic 1940s with a

modern twist”, its lapel and roped shoulder complemented by a cut that is “very straight and up and down”, with a collar that “sits into the neck”, “touches all around”. His cut is both nostalgic and contemporary, in Sebag-Montefiore’s words, “a shape that flows”. A regular churchgoer, Edward Sexton used to tell his grandson that “God was sitting on his shoulder. Really that’s why he has such a strong shoulder.”

Essential aspects of Sexton’s own personality clearly made it into his suits. His creative director speaks not only of their “authentic British quality” but also of their “cheeky rebelliousness”, “playfulness” and “sense of occasion” that won over a dynasty of British rock stars intent on their own dazzling rebellions. Sexton himself “had a good sense of humour”, was “very naughty” and “had a glint in his eye”. Henry Sexton describes how his grandfather “had this cheeky grin in the fitting room”, and Humphreys recalls his boss fitting an art dealer for a morning suit for Royal Ascot, with the art dealer on the phone the whole time and Sexton saucily threatening, “I’m going to get a hammer and nails and nail his feet to the floor.”

According to Dominic SebagMontefiore, Edward Sexton was not desperate to keep [anyone] as a customer. He liked to tell his clients, “They’re not your clothes. They’re mine, and you get to wear them.”

Sexton wasn’t impressed by celebrities and, according to Sebag-Montefiore, “He wasn’t desperate to keep [anyone] as a customer.” He liked to tell his clients, “They’re not your clothes. They’re mine, and you get to wear them.” After all, he created the art form that was his unique suit. Asked to name the most important lesson Sexton had taught him, Sebag-Montefiore responds with fulsome clarity: “Never fit the clients. Create a look that you want. You don’t show off their flaws. You create a look and a shape and a proportion that isn’t necessarily their body. It needs to fit their body, but it’s not fitted to their body. It’s fitted to an aesthetic that you want.”

Asculptor in cloth, Sexton was able to feel his way toward an understanding of what he wanted to achieve with each bespoke client. “He didn’t always fit with his eyes. He fitted with his hands as well,” says his creative director. “He would feel the tension in the fabric, gently touching it, [discovering] where there was tension, where it needed tweaking.” Henry Sexton notes that after his grandfather had eye surgery last year for cataracts, “He would still come into a fitting. He could still feel the suit. He put his hands on the board and he knew.” Edward Sexton just knew.

Backed by his employees, Sexton made a brave decision during the pandemic to open a popup on Savile Row with a new ready-to-wear range of clothing. Later, he moved his entire bespoke team to the Row and opened a permanent shop right where he had been decades before.

He had learned his craft well, absorbing from his own father the value of acquiring manual skills in order to feel useful and have financial security. He used to talk about how he helped build his family’s first home. Or he would point out how he laid the tiles in his kitchen. Over the pandemic, he put a new roof on his garden shed, and he was always working in his beloved garden. Flowers seem to have brought out what Sebag-Montefiore calls Sexton’s “romance”. He recalls once when Sexton was supposed to supply designer Rick Owens with garments for a buyers’ meeting in Paris, but he kept “messing about with the sleeves”, and so the garments were two days late. By way of apology, “Edward just sent a huge bunch of flowers. It was a very strange thing to do in a business context.”

Edward Sexton clearly inspires a deep loyalty. Aware from previous work experience that “padding collars was not my thing”, Henry Sexton made the grandfather who had once dressed his teddy bears extremely proud by deciding to join him and his carefully chosen group of employees. “We’re still a small business”, he says, with five in the Savile Row shop and

six in the bespoke workroom upstairs. His grandfather “was very good about having his people for everything, and he put a lot of trust in that.” Sebag-Montefiore recalls that when Edward Sexton had decided he should work for him, “He didn’t mess about. Once he’d made his mind up, it was then and there.” After three missed calls to Sebag-Montefiore, Sexton then told him simply, “You’re coming to work for me.”

The 73-year old Humphreys was a mere 17 when Sexton, age 26, discovered him one morning as Humphreys was walking into work at Kilgour, French and Stanbury, with a jacket he had put together under his arm. It was 1969, and Sexton and Tommy Nutter had just opened their tailoring house on Savile Row. Humphreys recounts how Sexton “stopped me and said, ‘Let me have a look at that [jacket].’”

After a quick assessment on the Mayfair pavement, Sexton made an immediate request that took the form of a command: “Come in.” Humphreys soon found himself with an increase in salary and a friend for life in the fellow south London lad. “He came from the Old Kent Road and I came from Waterloo,” Humphreys remarks. “We were mates. He looked after me.”

Backed by his expertly trained, devoted employees, Sexton made a brave decision during the pandemic to open a popup on Savile Row with a new ready-to-wear range of clothing. And, a year ago, he moved his entire bespoke team to the Row and opened a permanent shop right where he had been decades before. “He loved walking up and down Savile Row, having a cigarette in the morning,” says his grandson. “He was so happy to be back.” The ready-to-wear range

Above: Rick Astley resplendent in Sexton pink for his Glastonbury set last summer; left: Sexton in New York in 1974

A sculptor in cloth, Sexton was able to feel his way toward an understanding of what he wanted to achieve with each bespoke client

with Edward Sexton’s name on it is expanding further with the new winter collection, including chore jackets in striking colours with elegant pocket placement. Though there is some sadness among Sexton staff members that their old boss will not see the new collection, there is also a confident certainty that he would have been delighted with the eyecatching pieces. Henry Sexton remembers his grandfather often saying, “A faint heart never won a fair lady.” n

Cindy Lawford gives tours of Savile Row and Jermyn Street, as part of her business, Fashion Tours London. Find out more at fashiontourslondon.co.uk

Patrick Grant fronted a TV documentary, Coronation Tailors: Fit for a King, about military uniforms ahead of the Coronation of King Charles III

My life on Savile Row

Daniel Evans hears one man’s view of why the future looks bright

Patrick knows the fashion industry does not have a good reputation when it comes to green credentials and is aware that sustainability has shot up the agenda

AS THE SUN BEATS DOWN ON SAVILE Row, bouncing off the prestige and classic cars on display outside Britain’s finest tailoring establishments, Patrick Grant, director of Norton & Sons, is very much in his element. He is delighted to see the Row packed with enthusiasts of both fine clothing and stylish cars as the second Savile Row Concours gets underway and he feels the future is looking good for the home of high-class tailoring.

“I started at Norton’s in 2005 and, back then, the number of young people looking for apprenticeships on this street was pretty low,” he says. “We probably got one person a month coming in to ask about apprenticeships. I was then involved with a BBC documentary about Savile Row which sparked a lot of interest. After it went out, the phone was ringing off the hook. Making things is becoming cool again and I think, for many young people, a job with your hands where you are using your skill and your brain to produce something of exquisite quality is now seen as a cool job to have in a way for a long time it wasn’t.

a month to two or three a week. Now, happily for Savile Row, the position with apprenticeships is very buoyant. There are far more people applying for apprenticeships than we have places to teach.”

Patrick is certainly one of the more high profile tailors on the Row. As well as his involvement with Norton & Sons, he fronted a TV documentary about military uniforms ahead of the Coronation, has been presenting The Great British Sewing Bee since 2013 and is currently doing some work with King Charles (about which more later).

This year, we are 202 years old which makes us one of the oldest tailors on the street. It’s a wonderful business

First, Patrick tells how he became involved with Norton & Sons. “I was finishing off my post grad and I happened to be reading the Financial Times and there it was, at the back in the businesses for sale section,” he recalls. “I couldn’t believe it! There was this little advert – For Sale, tailors to emperors, kings and presidents. I thought this can’t be real but it was. I flogged everything I could find to sell, including my house and my car.

“After we made that documentary, there was an immediate change in the number of people who were coming to apply for jobs here. We went from about one

“We have been on Savile Row since 1821 which makes us one of the oldest tailors on the street. We have always done tailoring. It’s a wonderful business. We’ve never been one of the big, shouty ones. It’s always

been the one that connoisseurs will track down. We’ve enjoyed being almost under the radar but not quite. We were big on making clothes for people who travelled and explored. Even today we have some customers who are polar explorers and people who do mad things like take pianos to tribes in the middle of the Amazon.

“Lord Carnarvon was a customer so Tutankhamun’s tomb was opened by a man wearing a lightweight suit – although it didn’t look that lightweight, to be honest. It looks like it’s about 25 ounces from the photographs. We’ve always made lightweight, unstructured stuff. Everyone thinks the Italians were the only people to do lightweight tailoring but Brits, for good reason and for bad, spent a lot of time in hot places and they needed clothes to wear too and Norton’s was one of the houses that specialised in lightweight, unstructured stuff that you could wear in countries where it was 40 degrees all the time. We still have those skills in-house today.”

Patrick knows the fashion industry does not have a good reputation when it comes to green credentials and is aware that sustainability has shot up the agenda. “We need to buy fewer things,” he says. “We need to consume less and we need to consume better things that are going to last longer and are not going to have any damaging effects on the environment on the way in and certainly aren’t going to have any damaging effects on the environment on the way out.

“We need to get out of the habit of buying lots of inexpensive things. The inexpensive stuff has got so cheap. You can go and buy a pair of shoes for a tenner –polyurethane top glued on to a plastic bottom. Horrible stuff that’s doing terrible things to the environment at every stage of its production then when the sole falls off, which it will do after you’ve worn it about three times, it goes in the bin and ends up in landfill and never biodegrades. Instead of that, you could get a pair of shoes that are made out of something that’s a by-product of our food industry, that’s totally natural and biodegradable and will last you for ages and every time it needs repairing, you can take it to somebody who can fix it for you. So, you’re putting more money into the economy.

Patrick saw a great example of longevity while he was making the programme about uniforms for the BBC ahead of the Coronation

“I still have a dinner suit of my dad’s which was made in the 1930s by a tailor in Edinburgh. It’s a bit agricultural but it is bombproof. I wore it all through university, both under grad and post grad, I’ve crawled through hedges backwards in it but you give it a brush and it looks as good as new. It’s coming up for its 90th birthday and it’s still in perfect nick. I’ve got a couple of other pieces from my dad which were made in the 1930s and jackets from my grandad made in the 1950s which are still great. It’s not just that the clothes are good but the more you wear these things, they pick up history and become part of the story of your life, your interactions with your friends. We can remember wearing things at a particular occasion and that gives them value too. Every time you repair something, it adds to its value.”

Patrick saw a great example of longevity while he was making the programme about uniforms for the BBC ahead of the Coronation. “As part of that documentary, we went to a firm in Birmingham called Firmin which makes buttons. It’s the most incredible place on earth. There is equipment in that factory which dates back to the 1650s. They help make the Household Cavalry helmets and they have an old blacksmith’s elm that was there when the business was formed in 1655 and they still use it. After seeing it on TV, a lot of people got in touch, all saying the same thing: ‘Isn’t all of this craft wonderful and shouldn’t we all do more to preserve it?’ Of course we should, but that means putting your money where your mouth is. Don’t buy ten cheap things, buy one good thing and care for it. Make it last

Patrick Grant being interviewed during the Savile Row Concours

and enjoy it because you will enjoy wearing that one good thing so much more than ten inexpensive things.”

More recently, Patrick has talked about working with King Charles. “I’ve met him on many occasions,” says Patrick. “He is a lover of beautiful things – a lover of clothes and a lover of craftsmanship. He is a great example of how to live with stuff for a very long time. He was having some new dress shoes made by Tricker’s (in Northampton) but he loved the ribbon on his old dress shoes so he asked Tricker’s to take the ribbon off the old shoes (which were probably around 50 years old) and put them on his new shoes. It was the connection with the past, with everywhere those old shoes would have been. There’s something intangible there that adds to the value of our clothes – the more we wear them, the more we keep them.”

at Trinity Buoy Wharf in east London and now we have a school in the King’s home at Highgrove in Gloucestershire. The King believes we should all know how to fix our clothes and do these basic things so he set up a school to teach people to do it.”

We need to ensure that Savile Row remains the absolute pinnacle of hand tailoring anywhere on the planet

In 2018, Patrick became cochair of the Prince of Wales’ charity Future Textiles, an organisation that works towards creating jobs in the UK’s garment making industry. “It’s an amazing charity,” explains Patrick. “It teaches young people to sew. The main sewing school is in Dumfries House up in Ayrshire. So far, we’ve taught more than 6,000 kids how to sew. They come for a day or they come for a week and they learn how to sew with some brilliant people. We’ve also got a sewing school

As the crowds continue to teem up and down, Patrick’s words of optimism regarding the future health of the Row sound well founded. “Savile Row is unique because everyone understands that what we do here is incredibly special. People are prepared to pay for the skill of those who are making your suit,” he says. “Everyone who is a customer on Savile Row appreciates what that is worth – it is the skill of the human beings who crafted that suit, the skill of the weavers who have created that cloth, and the finishers and the spinners, and the famers who have raised the sheep or have grown the cotton. All of that stuff we need to value in a very different way.

“We’re lucky on Savile Row because people already do value it but we need to learn to have that same respect for craftsmanship and materials in everything we buy and ensure that Savile Row remains the absolute pinnacle of hand tailoring anywhere on the planet.” n

Coronation Tailors: Fit for a King and The Great British Sewing Bee are both available on BBC iPlayer

ROBERT BRIGHT, A CHAMPION OF SAVILE ROW

The man who founded Golden Shears has died at the age of 89. Daniel Evans reports

WITH THE PASSING of Robert Bright, chairman of Wells of Mayfair and the man who founded Golden Shears back in 1974, Savile Row lost one of its finest ambassadors and leading lights. His death, at 89 years of age, brought to a close a life which was dedicated to excellence and encouraging the highest standards from the finest tailors in the land.

“Robert’s influence on Savile Row cannot be under-estimated,” says Simon Cundey, managing director

Robert Bright’s life was dedicated to excellence and encouraging the highest standards from the finest tailors in the land

at Henry Poole & Co and current chairman of Golden Shears. “He was always looking out for people who wanted to come into the trade but who might have found it a challenge. He would always try to help those who may have been told they would not make it. He’d say to someone: ‘Come in again tomorrow. We’ll give you an extra hour. We’ll get you there in the end’. He had time for everyone. Many people owe their careers to the little windows that Robert opened into our trade.”

Simon knew Robert for the best part of 40 years. “As a boy growing up, Robert was always around,” recalls Simon. “My first memory of him was when he gave me a week’s work experience (at Wells of Mayfair) when I was 16 and I did a week of trimming. It was quite daunting to meet him at first. He said very little and wanted you to say something first. He would always take a few breaths before he spoke. For me, he was a very true and fair person. If I had to sum him up in three words, I’d say he was a talented, humble tailor.

“He was always looking out for the trade and helping people get into it. If someone was interested in getting into the trade, he wanted to find a way that would work for them. When I took over as chairman of Golden Shears in 2006, Robert was always there to keep us in line, making sure everything was covered. One thing regarding Golden Shears that did floor him a little, though, was that he never really understood the modern enthusiasm for celebrity. ‘Why is that person known so well? I’ve never read about them and don’t know anything about them’, he would say. He’d never heard of Jodie Kidd or David Gandy, for example.”

Another of Robert’s long-time friends was Alan Cannon Jones who worked at the London College of Fashion for 27 years, where he was director for menswear and bespoke tailoring before retiring in 2012. He remembers the first time he met Robert who was then lead governor at the college. “It was when I went for an interview at the college in the early 1980s,” he said. “I was approached after speaking at a conference – it wasn’t a job I

“Robert was always looking out for people who wanted to come into the trade but who might have found it a challenge”

SIMON CUNDEY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, HENRY POOLE & CO

applied for – and, when I arrived, I was expecting a normal interview but was shown to a room and given a bundle of cloth and asked to cut and make a sleeve for a jacket. Then I was told that, after Mr Bright had seen it, I may be interviewed. I went off for a cup of coffee while my sleeve was inspected and, when

I came back, I was told I would be interviewed. I was asked a couple of questions and then offered a job as a lecturer.”

Alan was keen to highlight Robert’s involvement in encouraging new people into the business. “He was passionate about vocational training,” he said. “He was very involved with his own company - Wells of Mayfair – in pioneering a youth training scheme and getting apprentices in. He’d take apprentices in from a wide circle. If people showed interest, then he would give them time. As chairman of the grants committee for the Clothing

A talented, humble tailor: Robert Bright at work

“Robert’s vast experience and passion for the trade upheld his values of excellence, fairness and integrity; he was a shining example of all that is best in a Merchant Taylor.”

REAR ADMIRAL JOHN CLINK

Industry Training Board, he ensured that any of the Houses who were taking on apprentices had access to funding to support the training schemes. It was because of his work in promoting vocational training that he was awarded the MBE.”

Robert was also heavily involved in the charitable side of the trade and, some ten years ago, was instrumental in merging two charities – the Tailors’ Benevolent Institute and the Master Tailor Benevolent Association – into the Bespoke Tailors’ Benevolent Association. Elizabeth Fox, current secretary of the BTBA, knew him well. “I first met Robert at the end of the 1980s. He was such a tall, imposing man with wonderful bearing. He was a

walking advertisement for Savile Row. He was immaculate,” she said. “He had a genuine interest in people. If he heard that somebody was unwell or that their business was struggling, Robert would be the one who would call and keep in contact with people. He had a great sense of humour and a twinkle in his eye. He could be quite stern sometimes but it didn’t last for long. He had a very distinctive voice and I shall miss hearing that at the end of the phone very much.”

Robert is survived by his wife Jean and four children. After announcing the news of his death, Rear Admiral John Clink CBE told members of the Merchant Taylors’ Company: “Robert was a muchloved member of our fraternity.

Above: Robert Bright after he was presented with his MBE, awarded for his work in promoting vocational training

After joining the Company in 1987, he immediately became involved in re-establishing the links between the Company and its historic trade. He was elected to the Livery in 1990. Robert is best known as a pillar of strength in the trade, and as a grantee of a royal warrant of appointment to HRH the Duke of Edinburgh. His legacy in the City is impressive. He was chair of the Golden Shears committee from its inception and was involved in the City and Guilds committee and was chairman of the Livery Companies’ Skills Council. Robert’s vast experience and passion for the trade upheld his values of excellence, fairness and integrity; he was a shining example of all that is best in a Merchant Taylor.” n

GIRL POWER!

Trio of women take the top prizes at prestigious event

GIRL POWER WAS THE name of the game at Golden Shears 2023 as three young women walked away with the honours at this year’s prestigious event. And, unlike in recent times, it was the college entries which dominated, ahead of the trade contestants. First prize and The Golden Shears went to Mila Dastugue from The Wimbledon College of Arts with Victoria Demekhina, from The Tailoring Academy, collecting The Silver Shears. The Rising Star was Imogen Pike, also from The Wimbledon College of Arts.

The presentations were made at a packed Merchant Taylors’ Hall earlier last summer with all 22 finalists – whittled down from more than 70 entries - presenting their finished works in stunning surroundings in front of family, friends and industry experts.

Simon Cundey, Chairman of Golden Shears and MD of Henry Poole & Co, could not have been happier with the evening. “We’re delighted to be back as a live show after the pandemic and at this historic and amazing venue,” he said. “It’s lovely to be live. That is a big thing for us. Having the rapport with everyone – the families, the college lecturers, the trade shouting and screaming for their entries was fantastic. It is imperative that the clothing industry does all it can to motivate the next generation of fashion leaders and nothing demonstrates that better than the Golden Shears competition.

“It was big transformation this year with a swing towards the colleges. It shows that if you get the right lecturer and your lecturer gives you the inspiration to do something special, you can

Mila Dastugue, centre, holds the Golden Shears with, on the left, Victoria Demekhina collecting The Silver Shears and, right, Rising Star Imogen Pike

win Golden Shears. And it’s quite dramatic for me to see that. It was incredible to see the colleges come through so well this time. Wimbledon were very strong, so, too, Sunderland and Rochester. They are real class acts now. And I’m super happy to see three women win.”

Mila, who also won a cheque for £3,000, was blown away with her victory. “I’m extremely happy to have won,” she said. “I put in so much work and I was really hoping to do well but not expecting. From design to finishing took 500 hours. My entry was inspired by the 1930s - Marlene Dietrich and Elsa Schiaparelli. The 1930s is such a nice period for art and one of the first periods with women in suits. I’m interning at Thom Sweeney at the moment and I really would like to be a cutter.”

SILVER SHEARS WINNER 2023

Runner-up Victoria, who received a cheque for £2,500, explained: “I started my journey in fashion less than two years ago and it’s unbelievable to win this award. Tailoring has been my passion since I was at school. I moved to this country with my husband before Covid and then went to The Tailoring Academy in Macclesfield. I’m currently working at Samuel Brothers in Aldershot. They do military tailoring. Looking ahead, I want to be in tailoring, absolutely.”

Imogen, who was presented with a cheque for £2,000, said: “It’s amazing. I’m so surprised and so excited to win this. I study costume

The Technical Judges were: Joe Morgan, Chittleborough & Morgan; Dario Canera, Huntsman; Victoria Townsend, The London Academy of Bespoke; Juan Carlos Benito, Hackett; Davide Taub, Gieves & Hawkes. The Style Judges were: Kirby Allison, Tony Gaziano, Harry Jarman, and Hilary and Michael Whitehall.

The participating colleges and companies were: Anderson & Sheppard, London College of Fashion, UAL, Cosprop, Inkberrow design centre (IDC College), Leeds Arts University, Morgan and Fenwick, Savile Row Academy, The Tailoring Academy, The University of Sunderland, University for the Creative Arts Rochester and Wimbledon College of the Arts, UAL. The evening was hosted by Nick Hewer.

The event was held with the support of CAPITB Trust, The Merchant Taylors’ Company, The Pollen Estate, The Textile Institute and Savile Row Gin. n

The three winning designs: The presentations were made at a packed Merchant Taylors’ Hall with all 22 finalists presenting their finished works in stunning surroundings in front of family, friends and industry experts

design and am really interested in history. I’d love to work on Savile Row some day.”

The Golden Shears, known as “The Oscars of the Tailoring World” were founded in 1974 by Robert Bright, MBE. Entrants are either apprentices with a tailoring company or university/college students on a tailoring course. All have to demonstrate excellence in both their design and tailoring skills and be vetted by their master or course leader. This year, from over 70 entries, 22 were selected on technical merit to go through to the final and be judged by a celebrity style panel.

RISING STAR WINNER 2023

A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

The challenges facing Golden Shears 2021 were immense. Daniel Evans discovers how they were overcome with style

IT WAS, BY ANY STANDARDS , a remarkable achievement. The chances of holding a successful Golden Shears 2021 – often called the Oscars of the tailoring industry – looked pretty remote at the beginning of the year. Where would they be held? When would the judging be done? How would the entries be put together?

But it was a challenge taken on with gusto by Golden Shears chairman Simon Cundey. “February would have been the Golden Shears but we had to think a little bit outside the box this time round,” he says. “We are talking about the most prestigious award in craft tailoring and we wanted it to be the best it could be.”

Simon went on: “It’s been a very unusual year – in fact it’s been a very unusual two years. I can safely say that in my lifetime, the last year has been the toughest Savile Row has been through. For the Golden Shears, we filmed the judging taking place and streamed the announcement of the winners live online. All the winners impressed me. They showed a diversity of colour, a diversity of style and had some great characters who can go on to do great things for the companies they’re with or even a chance to do something themselves.”

Top of the pile this year was Richard Anderson’s Tom Carr. “I was in the pub watching the stream on a laptop with six of my mates from the trade,” he recalls. “It was great. I was elated. It was a genuine moment of shock and it was lovely to share that with friends who I

Top of the pile was Tom Carr who was then working at Richard Anderson

have worked with and known since I started seven years ago.”

Tom’s entry was inspired by his grandfather who used to work in the engine rooms of cargo ships. “I entered a siren suit – a one-piece overall garment, popularised in the Second World War when people would hastily go to bunkers. It is something you put on quickly but look smart in as well. I added a despatch rider-inspired overcoat as my second garment. Because the siren suit had a military theme, I wanted my second garment to complement that. The overcoat doesn’t look like a replica piece –it is inspired by some key distinct features, but I gave it a bit more modern pizzazz with the cut and cloth choice.”

Runner-up and winner of the Silver Shears was Maurice Sedwell’s Judith Ekblom Jarrold whose entry was a male ensemble reimagined for women. “I made a female version of a morning suit – the traditional

striped trousers, dove-grey waistcoat and then the morning coat but made for a woman,” she explains. “I made the waistcoat trousers as a jumpsuit so all-in-one and slightly changed some of the style details of the jacket to make it a bit more modern. I don’t see any reason why a woman can’t wear the same things as a man and for it to be flattering and something they enjoy wearing.”

John Pickering, a trainee at Dege & Skinner, was delighted to be chosen as Rising Star in the awards. “I was watching at home with some friends and couldn’t really believe it when my name was read out,” he says. “I made trousers, a coat and a cape in tartan. It used a lot of material. There was lots of cloth and I wanted it to look dramatic when it came out on the runway. It’s definitely a winter outfit.”

Simon Cundey was clearly a relieved man when the awards were presented at a special event

held at The Service on Savile Row one evening in the middle of August and was full of praise for the work and effort put in by the judges. There are ten – five on the technical side and five who look at the style of the entries. The technical judges were Joe Morgan from Chittleborough & Morgan, Brigitte Steppputtis from Vivienne Westwood, Jonathan Becker from Couch & Hoskin, Leon Powell from Anderson & Sheppard and Davide Taub from Gieves & Hawkes. The style judges were Daisy Knatchbull, founder of The Deck, journalist and creative strategist Aleks Cvetkovic, presenter and illustrator Lilah Parsons, TV presenter Dave Berry and Tom Chamberlin, editorin-chief of The Rake magazine.

And Simon was quick to thank the partners and supporters of the Golden Shears - The Pollen Estate, owner of the majority of buildings on Savile Row, The Merchant Taylors’ Company and the Drapers’ Company, CAPITB Trust and The Textile Institute. “Without their invaluable support, we would not be able to hold the event,” said Simon. “We depend on their backing.”

Below: John Pickering, a trainee at Dege & Skinner, won the Rising Star award

To celebrate the awards at The Service, the drinks were sponsored by Savile Row Gin whose MD Stewart Lee said: “We are delighted to support this event and congratulations to the winners. On behalf of the company, we would like to present each of the winners with a bottle of Savile Row Gin.” n

Runner-up and winner of the Silver Shears was Judith Ekblom Jarrold

PARTY! Welcome to the

Exciting times ahead for Savile Row Gin and its CEO Stewart Lee. Daniel Evans finds out more

STEWART LEE, THE EFFERVESCENT CEO of Savile Row Gin, is a man on a mission. Having set up the luxury drinks company back in 2019, he is now focused on helping to build the business across Mayfair and beyond. Stewart, who has been at the helm of his successful publishing company for more than 25 years, has decided the time is right put more resources into Savile Row Gin, including the recruitment an experienced head of operations from the drinks industry. And Stewart, who last year produced the acclaimed official souvenir programme for the Coronation of King Charles, can’t wait to get cracking. “I’m delighted that we are now going to be able to build Savile Row Gin into the brand it deserves to be,” he says. “We’ve got some fantastic people who have worked with us almost since day one and they know how great the potential is. Naturally, I was delighted to be asked by Buckingham Palace to produce the official souvenir programme for King Charles so that took all of my energy then but now is the right time to build up Savile Row Gin.”

Stewart, no stranger to Savile Row himself, has set some early targets for the growing business. “Initially, I want to see the brand established in the community,” he says. “It’s important that we ‘own’ Mayfair – that we are in all the major Mayfair establishments, bars, restaurants and members’ clubs. We’ve recently got into the Arts Club and are about to get into Annabel’s. We are gradually getting ourselves into all the destinations we want to be in. It’s really important that we have a firm foothold in Mayfair.”

Stewart is particularly pleased that now, alongside the London Dry Gin he already produces, there is a flavoured gin which has joined the party. “I’m delighted to add a second gin to our stable,” enthuses Stewart. “Kumquat has always been our signature botanical and we wanted to work around that and mix it with rhubarb to create something summery. It’s a beautifully flavoured gin and we are proud to put it alongside our London Dry. We wanted to bring out a flavoured gin –it’s something that the market wants. A lot of people do love a good, refreshing gin. Our London Dry Gin is an honest, solid dry gin so it’s nice to complement that with a flavoured version. And we have an exclusive partnership with Fortnum and Mason who are selling it at the moment. As our label says, it is spiced with exotic kumquat and has a playful finish. It’s nice to build up a portfolio and, yes, we are planning to bring out more gins in the future.”

The company is run from – where else? – Savile Row itself. “The business is based at our home at No 14,” says Stewart. “It’s the former headquarters

Savile Row CEO Stewart Lee and his team in the Green Room at Hackett & Co IMAGE

David Pearce

of the royal dress maker Sir Hardy Amies, who was there for decades. It’s a magnificent building and we are delighted to have access to the Green Room there for our gin events, including our Savile Row Gin Experience. Guests come into the Green Room, listen to a talk about the making of a bespoke suit by the head cutters at Hackett, they then see some cocktail-making magic with Michal, our head mixologist, and his team. Then it’s gin-making time. The guests get to choose their botanicals, put everything into the mini stills and see the gin coming out. People then leave the Savile

Above: Jeremy Hackett and Savile Row Gin

Co-founder David Gandy outside the store at 14, Savile Row

Row Gin Experience with a bottle labelled ‘Distilled and bottled in Savile Row’. To make your own gin in Savile Row is special. To enjoy the surroundings and to learn about the top end of British bespoke tailoring and be involved in British bespoke distilling all in one go is quite unique. A lot of people aspire to a bit of Savile Row style and elegance and they are getting that in a bottle. I like to say it is where sartorial elegance fuses with gin distilling excellence.”

Stewart is a well-known figure on Savile Row, a fact which helped him establish the venture in the first place. He explains: “When I began to think about launching my gin business, I thought there may have been a Savile Row Gin already out there but, because Savile Row is such a protected name, there wasn’t. But I recognised I had the contacts and the trust in Savile Row to actually take on and do justice to the brand and make sure it lived up to the values and ethics that Savile Row stands for. Everyone involved with Savile Row Gin is involved with Savile Row. Our stakeholders, our shareholders, our partners – the likes of Henry Poole, David Gandy, me as the publisher of Savile Row Style Magazine – we all have a longstanding history with Savile Row. We were established with the full backing of everyone on the Row and testament to that is the fact we are pretty much involved with every event which happens on Savile Row. I was particularly proud to have been involved in the first-ever Pride event on the Row

‘We want to bring a touch of Savile Row style into people’s living rooms all over the country’

‘It’s important that we are in all the major Mayfair establishments, bars, restaurants and members’ clubs’

with the Quailors last year. It was held at The Deck and was a great success.

“I’ve really enjoyed working on Savile Row Gin over the past few years. We’ve done more than 100 events, everyone loves the SRG project. I’ve been overwhelmed by the responses we’ve had, not just with our retail partners – we’ve recently got into Selfridges – but also the reaction of people who come to the events. People are always asking me: How is Savile Row Gin doing? I’m now really excited about recruiting a head of operations to the business and ensuring the project has the attention, the resources and the personnel it needs. We want to bring a touch of Savile Row style into people’s living rooms all over the country.”

Looking to the future, Stewart is certainly not lacking in ambition. “We want to be recognised as a luxury, premium spirit, and it’s important we take it international,” he says with confidence. “The Savile Row brand carries huge weight globally and part of my strategic plan is to take the brand into North America, South America, and beyond.

The European market is very important too. The Savile Row Gin plan globally is enormous and we will be looking to expand our export business.”

After all the chat, Stewart is ready for a drink – a gin and tonic, naturally. And how would he sum up Savile Row Gin in three words? “Smooth. Sophisticated. Sensational.” And with that, Stewart heads off, with a smile on his face and a determined look in his eye as he plans a bright future for his drinks company. n To book a Savile Row Gin Experience or to find out more about it, go to

Guests enjoy making their own gin in the stills at JP Hackett

Anna-Louise has a passion for painting cars and is a regular face at Monaco

FROM THE STYLE OF THE SAVILE ROW CONCOURS TO THE PITLANES OF MONACO

Daniel Evans talks to artist and car fan Anna-Louise Felstead

THE FIRST TIME I MEET ANNA-LOUISE

Felstead, we are standing beside a cocktail bar at Henry Poole & Co on the first evening of the Concours on Savile Row. Outside, vintage cars are lined up in both directions, from a Ferrari Testarossa Spider to a 1964 Jaguar E-Type Coupe and from a 1937 Bentley 4.5-litre Gurney Nutting Sedanca Coupe to a Morgan Super 3. Inside, car enthusiasts and tailors, fashionistas and film stars are enjoying the friendly jostling and bonhomie of the crowded bar as they chat about how the exquisite style of a Savile Row suit compares with the fine lines and eye for detail seen in the classic motors on display.

The second time is a few weeks later when Anna-

“The Concours on Savile Row was a delight. I love being around cars and car people and to see all those vintage motors in one place was a real treat.”

Louise - known to her friends at A-L – has found time to meet at Vardo, a popular restaurant near Sloane Square, to talk about her love of art and, particularly, her love of painting and drawing motor cars. A-L is a well-known face at Monaco, Le Mans, Goodwood and Pebble Beach out in California, to name just a few of the places she has worked which are famed for their motoring heritage.

“The Concours on Savile Row was a delight,” she says. “I love being around cars and car people and to see all those vintage motors in one place was a real treat. Magnificent cars and delicious cocktails. What’s not to like?”

A-L, who trained at Central Saint Martins and the Royal College of Art, started painting cars when she was introduced to James Wood, a well-known driver of historic cars. “James suggested I should paint pictures of racing cars,” she explains. “He sent me pictures of him racing in Monaco so I went down there with him in 2008 where he introduced me to lots of people. I started painting pictures in the paddock and, before I knew it, I was being commissioned. People would wander past and see me at work and buy them on the spot. I was asked if I was going to Monza, to Spa, to Goodwood, to the Nürburgring, to all these car events and it spiralled from there.”

NAUGHTY

BUT N IC E ...

As her reputation as a talented painter of cars grew, one interesting side-line – which she calls her ‘naughty car paintings’ – emerged. A-L takes up the story. “I was at Pebble Beach in 2010 and an Aston Martin dealer approached me and asked me to paint his car. He sent me a picture of it but asked if I could paint his girlfriend in the picture too.

“I said: ‘Absolutely - just send me a picture of her as well’.

“He said to me: ‘Well, if I send you the pictures, I don’t want you to be offended’.

“What do you mean? I asked.

“‘Well, she’s wearing quite provocative clothing. Is there any way you could give the painting a slight bondage theme?’

“I said ‘sure’ but wondered ‘what have I got myself into here?’

“I returned to the UK and he sent me some pictures of a woman in a tight black PVC mini dress and stockings etc. I produced a sketch, which he approved, but asked me to change a few things so I Googled ‘bondage’ and quickly found a lot of inspiring material... When I produced my final painting (with a few additions to really get the theme across) he cracked up with laugher and said: ‘I can’t hang that in my office!’

“What did you expect? I said. You commissioned a

A-L’s racy car pictures have proved a big hit with her followers

bondage painting! I think it ended up hanging in his downstairs loo…”

A-L put the picture on Facebook, tagged a bunch of her car clients and friends, and was inundated with requests from people asking her to paint their cars. “I had one client in Switzerland who commissioned 30 original paintings and they are all hanging in his garage. He loves the reactions they provoke. Recently, I had a stand at Salon Privé. I had all my reportage paintings of Monaco up on the wall but put some unframed naughty ones in a browser so people could see them and, surprisingly, they were incredibly popular. People are very amused by them. They are not too rude, just a bit of cheeky fun.”

And she is clearly delighted to be an artist. “I absolutely love my life,” says A-L. “I’m very lucky. No two days are ever the same. I’m my own boss. I work hard. I don’t have to be at a certain location. My philosophy in life is to say ‘yes’ to everything and do as much as I can because I think you have a more interesting life by saying ‘yes’ to stuff. I was amazed by friends who said they couldn’t work for themselves –that they would never get out of bed and would watch TV all day. That drive of not knowing where my next pay cheque is coming from excites me. I have a young son who takes up a lot of my time. I’m a single parent. I can’t afford to sit around all day going for long lunches. I get up in the morning, take my son to school, go for a run and then start my day’s work. Last weekend, I drove down to the Le Mans Classic, bumped into a bunch of friends who introduced me to other people and I already have a few commissions.”

When I ask A-L to describe her style, she is quite definite. “I would call my style impressionistic,” she says. “I’m not interested in representing something in a photographic way. I prefer drawing from life rather than from my imagination. I am envious of people who can create incredible illustrations from their head although I like to be physically in front of something.”

Looking to the future, A-L is planning on bigger and better works of art. “Because I’ve always worked on location, the majority of my paintings have always been in a size and format that would be easily transported. Now, I’ve got a fantastic studio in Earlsfield which allows me to work on a much, much larger scale.”

The life of an artist has certainly allowed A-L to travel the world. She says: “Before my son was born, I lived in Cornwall, Sussex, New York then Wiltshire. I was tempted to move to Singapore for a while. I go to Pebble Beach every year. I’ve never really stayed in one place for too long. And I don’t just paint cars. When I was in New York, I did lots of abstract cityscapes. I’ve got a couple that I won’t sell. They are only small, but I just love them.”

Whatever else the future holds, A-L is certainly not going to be very far from a vintage car for long. “I fell into this world quite by chance and I love it,” she says. “I will always paint cars because I find them fascinating. There are a lot of collectors and dealers I know in London who I go and see. It’s like a travelling family in a way. You meet such a mixture of successful, enthusiastic, talented and interesting people who all come together for their genuine love of the sport and I really love that about the historic car world.” n

IN SEARCH OF GLAMOUR

–

AND

JAMES BOND

The Bahamas stands out as one of the world’s most iconic holiday destinations. Daniel Evans sets out to discover its secrets

AS I’M ENJOYING A cocktail while sitting at the Moon Bar on New Year’s Eve at Atlantis – along with Baha Mar, one of two mega resorts in The Bahamas – an American sits down on the stool next to mine. After ordering his drink, he turns to me and asks in a Texan drawl: ‘You winning?’ It’s a regular opening line among the tourists who are attracted to the huge casino I can see from my seat but for me, someone who lives and works in Nassau, it doesn’t really work. You see, some time ago, the very Christian population of the country had voted to ban

gambling – a decision which went against some in the government who saw great profit in taxing the casinos. So, with one eye on commercial reality, the government passed a law which meant it was ok for tourists to gamble while the natives – and people like me, on work permits – had to watch the roulette wheels spin from afar.

So, when my new friend – you get a lot of those in The Bahamas – enquired about my luck, I was about to go into minute detail about why I didn’t play the tables when I reconsidered his question in a broader context. ‘Am I winning?’ Well, I’m sitting In the

Moon Bar, one of the coolest places in The Bahamas, the casino is buzzing, laughter fills the air and New Year’s Eve lies ahead ... so, yes, I reckon I am winning…

The two mega resorts on New Providence – the main island of The Bahamas - employ over 13,000 between them and are the tourist engine of the economy, with the $4.2bn Baha Mar - which opened in 2017 - claiming two million visitors a mere two years later. There are also dozens of other hotels and a growing Airbnb sector to accommodate the increasing number of visitors to one of the most glamorous destinations in the world.

THUNDERBALL TAKES ITS TOLL ON CONNERY

This is an edited film review written by Richard Schickel in LIFE magazine in January 1966

THE TROUBLE WITH THUNDERBALL is easily explicable; it is just like the three James Bond movies that preceded it. To put it bluntly, they are hung up on the formula that has bought them such stupendous success in the past and are clearly afraid to tamper with it, except to inflate it. Thunderball is once again a titillating but careless representation of a succession of physical sensations, some pleasant [the sexual ones] some not so pleasant [taking beatings and giving them out]. These are pinned in a primitive storyline - this time SPECTRE has heisted a couple of a bombs and is blackmailing the world by threatening to obliterate Miami. Every time the essential vacuity of all this threatens to become obvious, the producers, as is their custom, distract us by introducing some futuristic gadget for us to gawk at like the locals at a country fair.

I’ll give them their due. Some of the new hardware is marvellously diverting, the standards in girls are as high as ever and their generosity and general skills with action scenes is as blithe and brutal as ever. But their own past generosity in these matters is now rising up to haunt them and they are straining, straining, straining to top themselves.

It’s all obviously taking its toll of Sean Connery, too, for the weariness of his original characterisation has now passed over the line into zombiehood. You can’t blame him. Locked in by a character who was not very interesting to begin with, and which neither he nor his cohorts have dared develop, he gives the impression of a man hanging on, waiting for the next gadget, girl or gimmick to distract us from the knowledge that at the centre of 007 there was only a cipher. n

And glamour is what it is all about - it’s in the country’s DNA. This is no bargain trip to the sun – for Americans, that means Florida and for Europeans that’s southern Spain or Greece. But if you want glamour – and keeping your costs down is not your major concern – then booking a flight to Nassau could be the start of your high-life adventure.

When I talk to people back in the UK about living in The Bahamas, they usually have two questions: why is the sea such a beautiful colour? And have you met James Bond yet? The answer to the first is slightly easier than the answer to the second. The reason the sea looks so turquoise and inviting is partly because, in shallower waters, the colour of the water reflects what is on the bottom and, as that is bright while sand, the surface shines. The other, less well-known reason, is that The Bahamas has

no rivers which means there is no sediment being taken out to muddy the waters. In fact, the word Bahamas is said to derive from the Spanish world bajamar, meaning shallow water.

As for James Bond, he’s all over the place – but, as in most of his films, he always seems to be one step ahead. As anyone who saw Daniel Craig’s first iteration of Ian Fleming’s character in the 2006 Casino Royale film, the Ocean Club on Paradise Island – which likes to be known as The One and Only – is where M sends Bond in search of a crook called Dimitrios. Not only does Bond win the villain’s Aston Martin DB5 in a game of cards, he also wins over his wife Solange after seeing her ride a white horse along the beach. Not surprisingly, The Ocean Club makes the most of its links with Bond, with a fair smattering of photographs around the grounds and on my son’s first visit, we spent an entertaining

couple of hours watching YouTube clips of the movie on our phones and then trying to find the exact location. As we rounded off the afternoon with Bond’s favourite cocktail – a vodka martini, shaken not stirred – overlooking the immaculate lawns which run down to the beach, we thought the life of a secret agent would suit us just fine. There is plenty of other Bond memorabilia about, though most of it out at sea. The shipwreck seen in Thunderball’s underwater fight scene is still enjoyed by divers today as is the site known as The Tears of Allah from the 1982 Bond movie Never Say Never Again. Incidentally, my favourite coffee shop – Bon Vivants at Sandyport - normally has a few Fleming novels available for customers and, for a few months, my regular visits included a chapter or two of Thunderball. And if that isn’t enough Bond to satisfy you, feel free to go on your own real-life James Bond hunt and check out

I’m sitting In the Moon Bar, one of the coolest places in The Bahamas, the casino is buzzing, laughter fills the air and New Year’s Eve lies ahead

Above: The port in Nassau, New Providence is often packed with cruise liners. In the far distance is the mega resort Baha Ma

where Sean Connery lived. The 007 star who died in 2020 liked The Bahamas so much he made it his permanent home back in the 1990s – but be prepared for disappointment as Connery also liked his privacy and lived on Lyford Cay, out on the west of the island, which has its own, impressive private security arrangements.

A trip to one of the islands which surround New Providence is an excellent way to spend a day where the increasingly popular

attraction of swimming pigs has been delighting tourists –particularly American ones – for several years. It’s not clear how this activity started in the first place - and it has led to some companies cashing in on its popularity – but if you choose a good firm (I recommend Powerboat Adventures) you will spend an hour or so speeding towards a deserted island where you can feed some iguanas before heading to another private

island for a day of shark watching, snorkelling – as well as swimming with those pigs – all wrapped up with an excellent BBQ and free bar where I’d suggest a couple of coconut rum cocktails before boarding the speedboat for the trip back to Nassau. Of course, it is a tourist trap but it is regularly voted the best in The Bahamas.

Although most visitors are happy to base themselves around their hotel, I think it is worth venturing further afield so allow me a few brief recommendations. The Island House, way out west, has its own private cinema, two good restaurants and well stocked shop. Book yourself some seats for the early evening movie and then enjoy the fine menu at Mahogany. The Sky Bar at Baha Mar is also worth a visit. Get there before the sun goes down for the best views over the island. And for music so cool it can frost your glass, see if you can track down two Bahamian masters, Peter Peter and Daddy Long Legs. They are normally found entertaining the locals at The Cricket Club opposite Fish Fry on a Saturday night. Another lovely spot is Jaws Beach, again way out west. It changed its name after Michael Caine pitched up to make the truly awful Jaws: The Revenge. You’ll go a long way before seeing a worse film but the beach is fabulous. Finally, you could enjoy some proper Bahamian bars at Potter’s Cay. You won’t find any other tourists there but they’ll be mighty glad to see you. Track down Phil who runs the Stingray Point bar. Mention my name and he’ll make sure you have a good time. In fact, when I was taking my son back to the airport after his first visit, I asked him, out of everything we had done – and we’d done a lot – what was his favourite? Drinking and chilling in Phil’s bar, he said without hesitation.

A trip to one of the islands which surround New Providence is an excellent way to spend a day where the attraction of swimming pigs is proving increasingly popular

Like a lot of developing countries that rely on tourism to power the economy, The Bahamas - which is made up of around 700 islands and cays and covers an area of some 180,000 square miles - has its problems. There is a fair amount of crime and the murder rate is disconcertingly high. One reason you will struggle to find either of the two local papers – The Tribune and The Nassau Guardian – in tourist areas is that they are often full of the latest killings and robberies. That being said, the crime is normally gang-related and confined to areas where tourists are unlikely to venture. The locals are also mad keen on fast food. I don’t think I’ve been passed Wendy’s in Cable Beach without seeing a sizeable queue of cars outside and the KFC on West Bay Street causes daily traffic jams.

The Nassau Rowing Club does have one rule which may well be unique – if one of the wealthy guys with a sea plane wants to land, you’ve got to get out of the way…

It is certainly the case that The Bahamas is in need of the tourist dollar. Along with Covid-19 which hit the global tourism market, The Bahamas is still struggling to recover from Hurricane Dorian which crashed through large parts of the northern Bahamas in 2019. So, if your taste is for the high life at one of the world’s most glamorous destinations, then tap ‘The Bahamas’ into your search engine and prepare to live life like James Bond. A succession of friends flew out for a week or so and all had a great time. One, a keen rower, linked up with the Nassau Rowing Club and went out a few outings on the lake. He enjoyed it so much, he is now working on plans for a more formal twinning arrangement between the club and his regular one in London. The Nassau club does, however, have one rule which I imagine may well be unique in the rowing world – if one of the wealthy guys with a sea plane who live alongside the lake wants to land, you’ve got to get out of the way… Finally, I think it is worth paying the extra to get a direct flight to Nassau – going via the US will save you a few dollars but getting through customs in the States is a nightmare. And if you do take the plunge, you will do so in the knowledge you are helping a nation working hard to get back on its feet. n

The Bahamas is made up of around 700 islands and cays and covers an area of some 180,000 square miles