Sartorial
JAKE’S THING Liam Jefferies meets the made-to-order menswear specialist bringing mid-century Ivy stylings into the 21st century www.jakesldn.com
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“I’ve used small companies at every stage. I’ve always had that proper ethos in mind, little guys supporting little guys. I think more and more people are making choices about where they’re getting their clothes from and who they’re giving their money to”
ucked away in an East London studio, a menswear revival is taking place. This is the home of Jake’s, a made-to-order company owned and operated by Jake Wigham. After a three-year bout of freelance work for an assortment of Savile Row tailors, Jake set about creating a menswear brand informed by the jazz and Ivy League styles of the 1950s and 60s. Jake’s first shirt model was an Ivy loyalist’s interpretation of the classic button-down collar Oxford shirt, with a traditional six-button front of genuine mother-of-pearl, a five-pleat cuff and a three-finger soft collar roll. His latest is a faithful replica of the iconic Green Chambray shirt worn by Miles Davis on the cover of his seminal album Milestones. Jake sat down for a natter with Liam Jefferies in his Newham workshop.
went on to do a Foundation Art and Design course in Carlisle, so I followed suit, and then applied to the London College of Fashion. My personal statement was like a John Cooper Clarke style poem, laying out my likes and dislikes about fashion and culture in general, while trying to get a bit of my personality across.
Tell us how you started off. I left school at 16 and started working with my dad in a cloth mill in Carlisle, where they mill the red and white cotton for Saudi Arabian headscarves. That was my first introduction to work, but I was literally hoovering dust out of looms and stuff like that; it wasn’t glamorous, believe me. My brother
That’s one way to stand out. I did end up finishing my degree, and I did focus a
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