LA BOWTIQUE

from The Chap Issue 111

by thechap

WILDE WIT

Photoshoot

Gustav Temple meets Mickael Korausch, founder and maker of La Bowtique bow ties, to discuss his day job on Savile Row, how he learned to make bespoke bow ties and whether you can wear a polka dot pocket square with Black Tie

Models: Mickael Korausch www.labowtique.com, Johan Ekelund www.sharpanddapper.com; Elom Gabriel www.elavanyo.com; Gerald Onourah www.collarbonelondon.com Photography: Ross Robertson @roo_withaview

PHOTOGRAPHS TAKEN IN THE CLUB ROOM AT HUNTSMAN, SAVILE ROW WWW.HUNTSMANSAVILEROW.COM

“Tying a bow tie is a skill every man should know, like changing a tyre on a car. Once you’ve learned how to do it, you never forget. Learning to make them takes a little bit longer! Ideally you should match the bow tie to the facing on the lapels of the dinner jacket”

ou work at Huntsman of Savile

YRow. What’s your job there? I am front of house, guiding the clients through the whole bespoke process, from choosing the right cloth to choices in cut and style. I am the interface between the client and the cutter and tailor. It’s a very sociable job and I have made many friends among the customers. How did you come to be one of the few bespoke bow tie makers in the country? I came to the UK when I was very young, and on a visit to Brighton saw a copy of The Chap in Snoopers Paradise. I really liked the aesthetic, so I looked into that classic British style more and started wearing vintage clothes. I also saw an advert for one of the Chap parties, the 10th anniversary one at Bloomsbury Ballroom, so I went there in my finest tweed suit and met lots of like-minded people, then more of them at The Chap Olympiad.

I wanted a decent bow tie and had found it almost impossible to find one in France. Only Charvet in Paris had them and they were way too expensive. Even in London there was no single place you could buy a good bow tie, and certainly not a bespoke one.

So I tried making my own, and at first it was a lot of trial and error, with no experience in sewing. Then my mother introduced me to a seamstress friend of hers in France, who taught me to sew properly and gave me advice on construction. Then my skills just developed from there.

So you learned how to make bow ties by making bow ties? Exactly. The process of learning was very long and slow. I learned everything by making mistakes, seeing what works and what doesn’t work, and all about fabrics and different linings. I now have dozens of different patterns, from the standard curved shape to the pointed batwing style.

It sounds as though making a bow tie is a bit like tying one – lots of trial and error? Tying a bow tie is a skill every man should know, like changing a tyre on a car. Once you’ve learned how to do it, you never forget. Learning to make them takes a little bit longer!

Ideally, you should match the bow tie to the facing on the lapels of the dinner jacket. So I work with clients at Huntsman, where we make a lot of formal wear, to make the client a bow tie in exactly the same fabric as the facings on the lapels of the jacket they’re having made.

What was your aim when you launched La Bowtique? To be the only maker of bespoke bow ties of a very high quality. There is also a ready-to-wear range, available in Gaziano & Girling, at 39 Savile Row, and from the web site. I specialise in bow ties, though I do also make a few ties and cravats, as well as pocket squares.

Where are the bow ties made? In my workshop in Bethnal Green. With my time limited by my day job at Huntsman, it is getting difficult to keep up with all the orders. I need an apprentice but the right person is very hard to find. Not many young people have the skill and patience to learn something this intricate.

Who are your favourite bow tie wearers? My friends on Savile Row, mainly. Of course there are a few famous names like Humphrey Bogart and Cary Grant, while Roger Moore wore them in the 70s but with classic style, along with Michael Caine, but I prefer to admire people for their style who I actually know. I’m not someone who really idolises anyone.

Lots of my customers (who I can’t name, of course!) look very elegant. The guys in the photo shoot all look amazing in black tie. Is there something a little bit stuffy about an informal bow tie, or can young men carry it off with an ivy style? I don’t like the word ‘stuffy’. Yes, bow ties do look particularly good on young, slim chaps, but there’s no reason for them not to work on older or wider fellows. Bow ties always look better than a tie when there is a small space to fill, like on a double-breasted suit or with a waistcoat or Fair Isle sweater. When a tie is worn with any of those, most of the tie is not actually visible, but with a bow tie you can see the whole thing. You have to choose the right collar for a bow tie – cutaway collars should be avoided and especially spearpoint. Bow ties are displayed much better with a standard collar shape to show them off.

When it comes to formal wear, how much should men experiment without departing too much from tradition? I think it’s better to stick to the traditional, but I see no reason to jazz things up for a more party atmosphere. Black tie events are usually a celebration of something, so why have everyone dressed exactly the same? Creativity and fun have their place with black tie, as long as you’re having a nice time and you’re not wearing anything silly. I don’t approve of things like black shirts or messing about too much with the classic monochrome palette. Dark red socks and even scarlet socks can work with black tie, for a subtle splash of colour in a discreet part of the outfit, though I sometimes wear grey socks with black tie, to retain the monochrome tone throughout. The black tie pocket square should ideally be white, but we have been experimenting with a few departures, such as a touch of grey or black on a white pocket square.

What are your next plans for La Bowtique? The most important thing is to find someone to help expand the ready-to-wear range and collaborate with more people. I’d like to develop new products for ready-to-wear, offering more elements to the black tie collection and expand that range. I’ve been working with illustrator Fab Gorjian. He made some paintings and I turned them into pocket squares. We used off-white, cream, some with a gold or black stripe on white, a variation on black and white. One even has a red lipstick design on white. n

MICKAEL (right) WEARS: Large Dropped Bow Tie in Black Satin JOHAN WEARS: Large Classic in Black Grosgrain

GERRY (middle) WEARS: Large Dropped in Black Velvet ELOM WEARS: Large Classic in Black Velvet

You’ve tried the rest, now get the best

A huge range of beautiful antique pocket watches, from the mid-19th century to the Second World War, and every conceivable style of antique watch chain.