7 minute read
GREY FOX COLUMN
from The Chap Issue 111
by thechap
Style Column
© Jonathan Daniel Pryce
David Evans considers the future of Savile Row in the aftermath of the pandemic, and what bespoke tailors can do to keep the tradition of tailoring alive www.greyfoxblog.com
It’s always good when winter is past and the days begin to lengthen throughout February and into spring. I live near one of London’s Royal Parks, where wild deer roam free and, from early February, skylarks shout their airy and joyful song above the joggers, dog walkers and humming traffic. That feeling of release, of warm pleasures to come, is echoed by our gradual liberation from the pandemic (hopefully it doesn’t all kick off again before this column is printed). Below I nibble at this theme of moving things on, of looking ahead to the next step in the journey rather than back at the bog we’ve just struggled through.
The restrictions of covid, coupled with increasing concerns about the environment, are inspiring changes in the way we select and wear our clothes. I’ve touched on this in recent columns, so won’t repeat much here, but the lockdown preference for sloppy casual is being tempered by an almost relieved return to tailoring, albeit in a more relaxed style. Buying
© Artefact Tailoring
used and vintage clothing is increasingly popular, and many of us take a close interest in the ethics and sustainability of the products we buy. We are tending to look for clothes that will last because they were made well.
For tailors in Savile Row and elsewhere, business has been quiet and they have struggled, although for many it is picking up now. The better-established survived covid by travelling abroad for business (when they were able do so), online fittings, or by focusing on military and other specialist work unaffected by the pandemic. Some have widened their client base by selling women’s tailoring; others have been helped by their customers putting in multiple orders to make up for those lost during lockdown.
Things were already hard for Savile Row before covid. Rents and business rates are high and some latitude from landlords during lockdown has only temporarily alleviated the problems. A walk down The Row now reveals popups, a coffee shop and stores selling products other than tailoring. The days of the street being populated almost entirely by bespoke tailors are over. If you want a genuinely bespoke Savile Row suit, act soon as things are changing.
I’m not knocking these developments; harsh commercial reality means that only the fittest survive. I’ve heard some comment that bespoke tailoring is now less costly and in some cases better quality outside the UK. I’ve met men who claim to find it cheaper to fly to Naples, say, to order a bespoke suit – and they may prefer the relaxed styles they find there to more structured English tailoring. Savile Row’s landlords have to take care not to let the heritage die by charging their tenants unaffordable rents, although ultimately they may decide that Savile Row is less important than maximising profits.
These are external factors. For the tailors themselves, some feel that they could make themselves more approachable by having more welcoming premises and being open about prices. Walking into a Savile Row atelier can be a daunting experience, although, from my experience, you will receive a warm welcome even if you buy a pair of socks. Tailors should also ensure they respond with agility to customers’ changing needs. Women tailors have arrived in and around The Row over the last few years, blowing away some of the cobwebs (I list some of these at the end of this column). A good, tailored garment looks as good on a woman as on a man – in fact better. The next step is somehow to encourage more of us to try the delights of bespoke (see page 67).
Looking more widely at menswear, we have recently seen Chester Barrie, Hardy Amies, Kilgour, Jaeger and others decline and fall. At time of writing, the future of Gieves & Hawkes is in doubt. The reasons for the demise of these brands are complex and it has to be recognised that tailoring generally is in the doldrums. My impression has been that some of these brands have sought younger customers in their advertising. Ignoring the older man, a viable and financially stable sector of the market, makes no financial sense. Others who rely on the heritage of great British brands, without delivering the quality and styles that made them great in the first place, have not done so well over the last few years, irrespective of the pandemic.
What I’d love to see is the best aspects of British style, its quality and history, its stories, myths, shapes and materials, being developed to keep it ahead rather than being devalued by a drive for a younger market, the dictates of fashion or even unadulterated profit. I’ve talked in a previous column (issue 108, Summer 2021) about how British menswear has influenced the style and shapes of men’s clothing in the West. The UK still has much to say when it comes to fashion but, apart from some very creative but not widely commercially viable fashion designers, there seems to be little effort to find a sellable version of British style that will work in the postcovid world. Ralph Lauren took British styles and made them worldwide best sellers; where are the British brands that will do this? It demands creative marketing and I’m not sure this is always a British strength.
Ralph Lauren’s advertising over the last few decades glows with classics like herringbone tweed, Fair Isle and Shetland knitwear, formal tailoring, evening wear, pinstripes, brogues, Scottish tartans and English silks – products loved from the US to the Far East. Let’s grab back this essential Britishness and move it on, making it marketable and irresistible for both men and women. This can be done by taking back those aspects the UK has become famous
for: the tweeds, flannels, corduroy, leather wear, knitwear, hat making, English shoemaking and the shapes of its tailoring that became the basis for US and Italian styles. The products shouldn’t just be rehashed classics, but need to be fresh, contemporary and wearable. The word ‘wearable’ is key here – most of us won’t wear the excesses of creative high fashion, as we prefer safer styles. We look for clothes that don’t make us feel self-conscious. We want to be relaxed and smart, but the clothes must have enough edginess to enable us to develop looks that reflect our personalities, adventurous or otherwise. The relaxed British man (and woman) points the way forward. Let’s follow them.
Finally, I want shamelessly to promote a new weekly feature on my blog and Instagram. My Masters of Style series looks at men and women who have caught my eye because of their remarkable abilities to select and wear clothes well. I’ve found people from all over the world to take part and I hope that they will inspire us to find our own style. I’m a great believer in the democratisation of style. Each of us is on his or her own style journey. We can decide to go down the fashion road, a prisoner of the
© Jonathan Daniel Pryce
fashion brands that prefer to tell us what to wear each season for their own commercial ends, or we can search out our own style. To do this we are inspired by so much that we see around us, including those whose personal style we admire and can take elements of. That is what I aim to provide in Masters of Style. Please follow this on Grey Fox Blog and on Instagram @greyfoxblog. If you’d like to be featured, or know someone who’d be suitable, do get in touch with me.
Some women tailors in London: (Note this isn’t a comprehensive list) Caroline Andrew: carolineandrew.co.uk The Deck: thedecklondon.com Gormley & Gamble: gormleyandgamble.com Susannah Hall: susannahhall.com Alexandra Wood: alexandrawoodbespoke.co.uk Lawton: lawtonltd.co.uk Kathryn Sargent: kathrynsargent.com Banshee: bansheeofsavilerow.com Katherine Maylin: katherinemaylin.com n
CONTEMPORARY TAILORING
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