A Guide To Bespoke - Savile Row
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Honey~Blade
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Anyone of of good tailors in Sydney?
*Happiness*
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This thread is awesome!!! Thanks for all the info. I'm emailing my dad some stuff tonight! 
Bespoke bites back
By James Sherwood
Published: April 1 2006 FT.com
Two weeks ago an English royal family united and took up arms - though probably not the family you're thinking of, nor the type of arms.
It was rather the tailors of Savile Row who congregated and the weapon of choice was a new industry group: Savile Row Bespoke, a lobbying force whose mission is the protection of that particular corner of sartorial heritage.
Gathered at No 1 Savile Row (aka Gieves & Hawkes) were representatives of the street's founding father Henry Poole & Co, Anderson & Sheppard, Dege & Skinner, Huntsman, Norton & Sons and Richard Anderson.
Present were, for example, iconic figures such as Anderson's master tailor Brian Lishak, who has celebrated 50 years on the Row; and Poole's Angus Cundy, elder statesman of Savile Row; the younger generation of Norton & Sons, Patrick Grant, and Dege & Skinner's William Skinner.
Absent, however, were the more media-oriented tailors such as Ozwald Boateng (who does offer a bespoke service) and Richard James (who doesn't). Absent too were many of the rookie tailors who have set up on the west side of the street and do not meet the requirements of bespoke. Therein lies the crux of the battle.
For alongside the launch of Savile Row Bespoke came a report by Westminster Council that identifies the true threat to the street's made-to-measure businesses: rent rises. Rents have already risen by 57 per cent in the past decade and as more and more non-bespoke, non-tailors invade the territory, the Row is fighting back.
"Savile Row is an internationally recognised brand that we collectively have to promote," says Huntsman managing director David Coleridge. Mark Henderson, Gieves & Hawkes' managing director and chairman of Savile Row Bespoke, says: "Savile Row (is) the international home of bespoke tailoring: thriving, defiant and here to stay."
And it's not just about the shopfront; what Henderson and his cohort also want to protect are the workrooms on site that are the true hallmark of bespoke.
Savile Row employs more than 100 tailors who, as Angus Cundy points out, train for 10 years - "longer than a doctor". These men (and increasingly women) are the lifeblood of the Row, making a little piece of English heritage for between £2,000 and £3,000 per two-piece suit (by contrast, a Brioni suit with a chinchilla collar is about £20,000 and an Alexander McQueen leather jacket £6,000).
So far Hackett, The Duffer of St George and Jil Sander have all tried to open on Savile Row and ultimately made swift exits. Meanwhile, US company Abercrombie & Fitch is taking over the space vacated by Sander and other brands are watching for opportunities.
"What Westminster Council wants to prevent is the displacement of any more of Savile Row's royal family," says Henderson, noting Anderson & Sheppard has already relocated to nearby Old Burlington Street because of crippling rent rises. "Exploiting the Savile Row name to attract high-paying retailers and businesses at the cost of this world-esteemed industry is short-sighted."
However, Savile Row is not without its critics. Nick Hart, the man behind its hottest made-to-measure business, Spencer Hart, is under no illusions that there must be change. "There is a lot of snobbery from people who are sometimes producing very mediocre work," says the man who dresses everyone from Robbie Williams to Estée Lauder chief executive John Demsey. "Playing devil's advocate, a perfectly fitted suit in a very expensive cloth in the wrong style, colour, pattern and trimmings is still a horrible garment. It just fits well."
Hart agrees with Savile Row Bespoke that "it is one of the last craftsmanship businesses that represents British excellence in the modern world. It has real value. For it to be truly effective, though, different talents have to be brought together. The Row cannot be everlastingly relevant if it does not adjust and modernise and also control its image . . . At the moment it is all a bit too much like a Monty Python sketch - another British cottage industry standing on The Titanic drinking Pimms and denying the realities of the modern world.
"At the moment, Savile Row in reality has hardly any passing trade at all. Half the time it is blocked at one end. There is no parking. Half of it is being redeveloped into boutiques and a huge jeans brand for kids (Abercrombie) is opening."
Hart is keen to emphasise the importance of design and marketing. "There is a gap worldwide for a fantastic Savile Row-based brand that could become the benchmark for quality modern tailoring, employ a lot of tailors and train up the next generation," he says. "It needs love, passion, an understanding of world-class service, money, originality, great design, old-school skills, modern-day marketing, patience and it shouldn't be based on what Cary Grant wore."
Ironically, Savile Row has rarely been in better shape, turning over an annual £21m collectively for the bespoke service. As Henderson points out, everyone from Tom Ford to Jude Law shops there, not to mention the crowned heads, politicians and captains of industry who have been patronising The Row for two centuries, as well as an estimated 10,000 others.
"It would be hugely detrimental to our heritage to lose one of our oldest institutions," says Henderson. "As champagne and fine wine are to France, Savile Row is to English heritage and craftsmanship. But we are not preserved in aspic. Savile Row wants to adapt to the times."
It just doesn't want to be moved from its iconic address to do so - even if a little industrial protectionism has to come into play.
By James Sherwood
Published: April 1 2006 FT.com
It was rather the tailors of Savile Row who congregated and the weapon of choice was a new industry group: Savile Row Bespoke, a lobbying force whose mission is the protection of that particular corner of sartorial heritage.
Gathered at No 1 Savile Row (aka Gieves & Hawkes) were representatives of the street's founding father Henry Poole & Co, Anderson & Sheppard, Dege & Skinner, Huntsman, Norton & Sons and Richard Anderson.
Present were, for example, iconic figures such as Anderson's master tailor Brian Lishak, who has celebrated 50 years on the Row; and Poole's Angus Cundy, elder statesman of Savile Row; the younger generation of Norton & Sons, Patrick Grant, and Dege & Skinner's William Skinner.
Absent, however, were the more media-oriented tailors such as Ozwald Boateng (who does offer a bespoke service) and Richard James (who doesn't). Absent too were many of the rookie tailors who have set up on the west side of the street and do not meet the requirements of bespoke. Therein lies the crux of the battle.
For alongside the launch of Savile Row Bespoke came a report by Westminster Council that identifies the true threat to the street's made-to-measure businesses: rent rises. Rents have already risen by 57 per cent in the past decade and as more and more non-bespoke, non-tailors invade the territory, the Row is fighting back.
"Savile Row is an internationally recognised brand that we collectively have to promote," says Huntsman managing director David Coleridge. Mark Henderson, Gieves & Hawkes' managing director and chairman of Savile Row Bespoke, says: "Savile Row (is) the international home of bespoke tailoring: thriving, defiant and here to stay."
And it's not just about the shopfront; what Henderson and his cohort also want to protect are the workrooms on site that are the true hallmark of bespoke.
Savile Row employs more than 100 tailors who, as Angus Cundy points out, train for 10 years - "longer than a doctor". These men (and increasingly women) are the lifeblood of the Row, making a little piece of English heritage for between £2,000 and £3,000 per two-piece suit (by contrast, a Brioni suit with a chinchilla collar is about £20,000 and an Alexander McQueen leather jacket £6,000).
So far Hackett, The Duffer of St George and Jil Sander have all tried to open on Savile Row and ultimately made swift exits. Meanwhile, US company Abercrombie & Fitch is taking over the space vacated by Sander and other brands are watching for opportunities.
"What Westminster Council wants to prevent is the displacement of any more of Savile Row's royal family," says Henderson, noting Anderson & Sheppard has already relocated to nearby Old Burlington Street because of crippling rent rises. "Exploiting the Savile Row name to attract high-paying retailers and businesses at the cost of this world-esteemed industry is short-sighted."
However, Savile Row is not without its critics. Nick Hart, the man behind its hottest made-to-measure business, Spencer Hart, is under no illusions that there must be change. "There is a lot of snobbery from people who are sometimes producing very mediocre work," says the man who dresses everyone from Robbie Williams to Estée Lauder chief executive John Demsey. "Playing devil's advocate, a perfectly fitted suit in a very expensive cloth in the wrong style, colour, pattern and trimmings is still a horrible garment. It just fits well."
Hart agrees with Savile Row Bespoke that "it is one of the last craftsmanship businesses that represents British excellence in the modern world. It has real value. For it to be truly effective, though, different talents have to be brought together. The Row cannot be everlastingly relevant if it does not adjust and modernise and also control its image . . . At the moment it is all a bit too much like a Monty Python sketch - another British cottage industry standing on The Titanic drinking Pimms and denying the realities of the modern world.
"At the moment, Savile Row in reality has hardly any passing trade at all. Half the time it is blocked at one end. There is no parking. Half of it is being redeveloped into boutiques and a huge jeans brand for kids (Abercrombie) is opening."
Hart is keen to emphasise the importance of design and marketing. "There is a gap worldwide for a fantastic Savile Row-based brand that could become the benchmark for quality modern tailoring, employ a lot of tailors and train up the next generation," he says. "It needs love, passion, an understanding of world-class service, money, originality, great design, old-school skills, modern-day marketing, patience and it shouldn't be based on what Cary Grant wore."
Ironically, Savile Row has rarely been in better shape, turning over an annual £21m collectively for the bespoke service. As Henderson points out, everyone from Tom Ford to Jude Law shops there, not to mention the crowned heads, politicians and captains of industry who have been patronising The Row for two centuries, as well as an estimated 10,000 others.
"It would be hugely detrimental to our heritage to lose one of our oldest institutions," says Henderson. "As champagne and fine wine are to France, Savile Row is to English heritage and craftsmanship. But we are not preserved in aspic. Savile Row wants to adapt to the times."
It just doesn't want to be moved from its iconic address to do so - even if a little industrial protectionism has to come into play.
from today's WSJ.com
A Real Savile Row
As designers muscle into the customized-suit market, we sort out confusing labels
By RAY A. SMITH
April 14, 2007; Page P6
High-end fashion designers are edging into the booming market for specially made men's suits, prompting a backlash from Savile Row tailors about the way these makers are labeling their offerings.
Big retailers including Brooks Brothers have already succeeded in getting customers to pay more for so-called made-to-measure suits. Now, luxury labels, including Tom Ford, Versace and Jil Sander, are rolling out their own options that start at 20% to 30% higher than their off-the-rack lines.
The entrance of designers in the market is creating a greater range of options for men who don't want an off-the-rack suit. But the different terminologies for these suits -- custom, bespoke and made-to-measure -- are making it confusing for consumers and rankling the traditional purveyors of custom suits.
At Dege & Skinner, a tailor for 142 years on Savile Row in London, managing director William Skinner worries that customers will think that made-to-measure, which typically involves using a stock pattern that is then adjusted to fit the client's measurements and taste, is the same thing as bespoke or custom, which means starting from scratch. "It's like false trading or false advertising," says Mr. Skinner, who recently joined fellow tailors to trademark the phrase "Savile Row Bespoke" and develop a code describing what it means.
For made-to-measure, a customer selects a style of suit, the fabric and finishes like lining, pockets and buttons. At least six measurements are taken. The suit is cut from a preproduced pattern, adjusted according to those measurements. The process can be done by hand, machine or both. Clients usually return for at least one fitting.
While some made-to-measure and custom suits are made in the U.S., the designer brands take measurements in the U.S. and other countries that they send to tailors, often in Italy. Custom suits are made entirely from scratch -- mostly by hand, in a process that can take at least two or three fittings and at least eight weeks. More than 20 measurements are taken for a bespoke garment.
With sales of off-the-rack suits down nearly 6% last year, designers are keen to find ways to distinguish themselves from mass-producers like Hart Schaffner Marx and Joseph Abboud, who are increasingly rolling out better-quality suits in the under-$1,000 range. In the U.S., the custom and made-to-measure market now accounts for 15% to 17% of suits costing more than $1,200, up from 10% five years ago, estimates the Custom Tailors & Designers Association. "One of a kind is the ultimate luxury," says Milton Pedraza, chief executive of consultant Luxury Institute.
But one of the designer's new suits can cost more than a Savile Row bespoke suit -- even if it's made-to-measure. Mr. Ford, the former Gucci creative director who launched a menswear line this past week, is offering what he calls "custom" suits but are actually made-to-measures, starting at $5,000. At Jil Sander, which calls its made-to-measures "bespoke suits" that are "custom cut, hand sewn and precision-tailored," prices range from $2,880 to $6,600. A Prada made-to-measure vicuña suit will set a man back $26,000.
The top price at Savile Row's oldest shop, Henry Poole & Co., by contrast, is about $9,900 for a vicuña and silk suit.
Amid all these changes in the suit market, Savile Row tailors banded together to create the trade group Savile Row Bespoke (and later trademarked it as a phrase) in 2004. The move was a response, in part, to an increase in tailors' claims to be making custom suits. The Savile Row group intensified its efforts to promote their tailoring last summer as Italian designer Giorgio Armani launched his custom line. At the time, Mr. Armani created a stir with a quote in the Sunday Times of London, dismissing Savile Row as "an outdated institution that has failed to keep up with modern tastes, lifestyle and technology." Mr. Armani later said in a letter to the editor that he meant his "hand made to measure" suits blend the traditional and the modern. "There is plenty of room for both of us," he concluded.
But for Savile Row tailors, the episode underscored how much the world had changed. "Our attitude was the quality of the products speaks for itself," says Anda Rowland, co-chairman of Savile Row bespoke house Anderson & Sheppard and one of the group's five directors. "We let other people eat out of our market." The tailors decided they had to strike back.
Tom FordThe Savile Row Bespoke group based its code on rules set by France's couture federation. Under the code, most of which is posted on a Web site the group launched in January, only suits that are handmade, taking at least 50 hours, and done on or within 100 yards of Savile Row, can call themselves Savile Row Bespoke. The group is still mulling how to enforce the trademark.
The designers, meanwhile, say they want to appeal to both existing customers and men who already have their clothes made to order. "It's not only for the fashion people," says Roberto Lorenzini, president and chief operating officer of Versace's U.S. retail division. "It's also for people working in finance. The customer who comes to us can have something more classical."
But the designers may have a hard sell. Robert Storm, an attorney in West Hartford, Conn., who favors custom and made-to-measure suits, says designers don't appeal to him. "The reason I go to tailors is that I get to select something that is appealing to me rather than something that looks like I walked out of an ad for Vogue," he says.
Giorgio ArmaniGiorgio Armani
Off-the-Rack: From $2,000
Made-to-Measure: From $3,000
Custom: $4,500 to $22,000
Comment: The new custom line is called Hand Made to Measure, but it qualifies as custom because a new model is created specifically for the customer. The suits also meet 19 other custom criteria, including having hand-stitching at the collar edge and elsewhere, the company says.
Brooks Brothers
Off-the-Rack: $898 to $1,700
Made-to-Measure: $1,150 to $3,995
Custom: None
Comment: Customers can choose a suit with half-canvas construction, where the panel that gives the jacket its shape is glued rather than sewn in, or full-canvas construction and more hand-stitching. Waiting time: six or eight weeks, depending on which type of suit is ordered.
David ChuDavid Chu
Off-the-Rack: $1,095 to $2,000
Made-to-Measure: From $2,800
Custom: $3,500 to $22,000
Comment: The designer, best known for founding Nautica, calls his custom line Bespoke David Chu . At Mr. Chu's custom shop in New York, 16 measurements are taken for the jacket and 10 for the trousers. Tailors near Naples, Italy, use the measurements to create suits by hand.
Tom Ford
Off-the-Rack: From $2,900
Made-to-Measure: From $5,000
Custom: None
Comment: The former Gucci creative director, who just launched a menswear line, calls his suits "custom," but they're made-to-measure because they're based on an existing model. "It is not complete bespoke," he acknowledges, adding: "We're a hybrid." Waiting time: seven weeks.
Gieves & Hawkes
Off-the-Rack: None
Made-to-Measure: About $1,400 to $4,000
Custom: About $6,000 to $29,800
Comment: At this Savile Row shop, bespoke suits are made from scratch by tailors who do 52 hours of hand labor on each one. Customers have a choice of 10,000 fabrics. Waiting time is 12 weeks, made-to-measure is six.
Jil Sander
Off-the-Rack: $1,495 to $2,900
Made-to-Measure: $2,880 to $6,600
Custom: None
Comment: Jil Sander Sartorial suits are made-to-measure as they're based on existing models that are adapted to clients' measurements. Fabric is cut by hand. Tailors in Milan do 26 steps by hand to make a jacket and 12 to make trousers. Waiting time: four weeks.
Write to Ray A. Smith at [email protected]1
A Real Savile Row
As designers muscle into the customized-suit market, we sort out confusing labels
By RAY A. SMITH
April 14, 2007; Page P6
High-end fashion designers are edging into the booming market for specially made men's suits, prompting a backlash from Savile Row tailors about the way these makers are labeling their offerings.
Big retailers including Brooks Brothers have already succeeded in getting customers to pay more for so-called made-to-measure suits. Now, luxury labels, including Tom Ford, Versace and Jil Sander, are rolling out their own options that start at 20% to 30% higher than their off-the-rack lines.
The entrance of designers in the market is creating a greater range of options for men who don't want an off-the-rack suit. But the different terminologies for these suits -- custom, bespoke and made-to-measure -- are making it confusing for consumers and rankling the traditional purveyors of custom suits.
At Dege & Skinner, a tailor for 142 years on Savile Row in London, managing director William Skinner worries that customers will think that made-to-measure, which typically involves using a stock pattern that is then adjusted to fit the client's measurements and taste, is the same thing as bespoke or custom, which means starting from scratch. "It's like false trading or false advertising," says Mr. Skinner, who recently joined fellow tailors to trademark the phrase "Savile Row Bespoke" and develop a code describing what it means.
For made-to-measure, a customer selects a style of suit, the fabric and finishes like lining, pockets and buttons. At least six measurements are taken. The suit is cut from a preproduced pattern, adjusted according to those measurements. The process can be done by hand, machine or both. Clients usually return for at least one fitting.
While some made-to-measure and custom suits are made in the U.S., the designer brands take measurements in the U.S. and other countries that they send to tailors, often in Italy. Custom suits are made entirely from scratch -- mostly by hand, in a process that can take at least two or three fittings and at least eight weeks. More than 20 measurements are taken for a bespoke garment.
With sales of off-the-rack suits down nearly 6% last year, designers are keen to find ways to distinguish themselves from mass-producers like Hart Schaffner Marx and Joseph Abboud, who are increasingly rolling out better-quality suits in the under-$1,000 range. In the U.S., the custom and made-to-measure market now accounts for 15% to 17% of suits costing more than $1,200, up from 10% five years ago, estimates the Custom Tailors & Designers Association. "One of a kind is the ultimate luxury," says Milton Pedraza, chief executive of consultant Luxury Institute.
But one of the designer's new suits can cost more than a Savile Row bespoke suit -- even if it's made-to-measure. Mr. Ford, the former Gucci creative director who launched a menswear line this past week, is offering what he calls "custom" suits but are actually made-to-measures, starting at $5,000. At Jil Sander, which calls its made-to-measures "bespoke suits" that are "custom cut, hand sewn and precision-tailored," prices range from $2,880 to $6,600. A Prada made-to-measure vicuña suit will set a man back $26,000.
The top price at Savile Row's oldest shop, Henry Poole & Co., by contrast, is about $9,900 for a vicuña and silk suit.
Amid all these changes in the suit market, Savile Row tailors banded together to create the trade group Savile Row Bespoke (and later trademarked it as a phrase) in 2004. The move was a response, in part, to an increase in tailors' claims to be making custom suits. The Savile Row group intensified its efforts to promote their tailoring last summer as Italian designer Giorgio Armani launched his custom line. At the time, Mr. Armani created a stir with a quote in the Sunday Times of London, dismissing Savile Row as "an outdated institution that has failed to keep up with modern tastes, lifestyle and technology." Mr. Armani later said in a letter to the editor that he meant his "hand made to measure" suits blend the traditional and the modern. "There is plenty of room for both of us," he concluded.
But for Savile Row tailors, the episode underscored how much the world had changed. "Our attitude was the quality of the products speaks for itself," says Anda Rowland, co-chairman of Savile Row bespoke house Anderson & Sheppard and one of the group's five directors. "We let other people eat out of our market." The tailors decided they had to strike back.
Tom FordThe Savile Row Bespoke group based its code on rules set by France's couture federation. Under the code, most of which is posted on a Web site the group launched in January, only suits that are handmade, taking at least 50 hours, and done on or within 100 yards of Savile Row, can call themselves Savile Row Bespoke. The group is still mulling how to enforce the trademark.
The designers, meanwhile, say they want to appeal to both existing customers and men who already have their clothes made to order. "It's not only for the fashion people," says Roberto Lorenzini, president and chief operating officer of Versace's U.S. retail division. "It's also for people working in finance. The customer who comes to us can have something more classical."
But the designers may have a hard sell. Robert Storm, an attorney in West Hartford, Conn., who favors custom and made-to-measure suits, says designers don't appeal to him. "The reason I go to tailors is that I get to select something that is appealing to me rather than something that looks like I walked out of an ad for Vogue," he says.
Giorgio ArmaniGiorgio Armani
Off-the-Rack: From $2,000
Made-to-Measure: From $3,000
Custom: $4,500 to $22,000
Comment: The new custom line is called Hand Made to Measure, but it qualifies as custom because a new model is created specifically for the customer. The suits also meet 19 other custom criteria, including having hand-stitching at the collar edge and elsewhere, the company says.
Brooks Brothers
Off-the-Rack: $898 to $1,700
Made-to-Measure: $1,150 to $3,995
Custom: None
Comment: Customers can choose a suit with half-canvas construction, where the panel that gives the jacket its shape is glued rather than sewn in, or full-canvas construction and more hand-stitching. Waiting time: six or eight weeks, depending on which type of suit is ordered.
David ChuDavid Chu
Off-the-Rack: $1,095 to $2,000
Made-to-Measure: From $2,800
Custom: $3,500 to $22,000
Comment: The designer, best known for founding Nautica, calls his custom line Bespoke David Chu . At Mr. Chu's custom shop in New York, 16 measurements are taken for the jacket and 10 for the trousers. Tailors near Naples, Italy, use the measurements to create suits by hand.
Tom Ford
Off-the-Rack: From $2,900
Made-to-Measure: From $5,000
Custom: None
Comment: The former Gucci creative director, who just launched a menswear line, calls his suits "custom," but they're made-to-measure because they're based on an existing model. "It is not complete bespoke," he acknowledges, adding: "We're a hybrid." Waiting time: seven weeks.
Gieves & Hawkes
Off-the-Rack: None
Made-to-Measure: About $1,400 to $4,000
Custom: About $6,000 to $29,800
Comment: At this Savile Row shop, bespoke suits are made from scratch by tailors who do 52 hours of hand labor on each one. Customers have a choice of 10,000 fabrics. Waiting time is 12 weeks, made-to-measure is six.
Jil Sander
Off-the-Rack: $1,495 to $2,900
Made-to-Measure: $2,880 to $6,600
Custom: None
Comment: Jil Sander Sartorial suits are made-to-measure as they're based on existing models that are adapted to clients' measurements. Fabric is cut by hand. Tailors in Milan do 26 steps by hand to make a jacket and 12 to make trousers. Waiting time: four weeks.
Write to Ray A. Smith at [email protected]1
