Savile Row
Encyclopedia
Savile Row is a shopping street in Mayfair
, central London
, famous for its traditional men's bespoke
tailor
ing. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers. The short street is termed the "golden mile of tailoring", where customers have included Winston Churchill
, Lord Nelson
and Napoleon III.
Savile Row runs parallel to Regent Street
between Conduit Street at the northern end and Vigo Street at the southern. Linking roads include Burlington Place, Clifford Street and Burlington Gardens.
, and is named after Lady Dorothy Savile, wife of the 3rd Earl of Burlington
. It originally ran from Burlington Gardens (then Vigo Lane) to Boyle Street, with houses only on the east side, but in 1937–8 it extended to Conduit Street, and in the 19th century houses were built on the west side. The original architectural plan is believed to have been drawn up by Colen Campbell
, though Henry Flitcroft
appears to have been the main architect of the street, under the supervision of Daniel Garrett
, while Nos 1 and 22–23 Savile Row were designed by William Kent
, who lived next door in No 2. Dr Livingstone
was laid out in state in No 1, when it was the headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society
, before being buried in Westminster Abbey
.
Initially, the street was occupied by military officers and their wives; William Pitt the Younger
was an early resident. Irish-born playwright and MP, Richard Brinsley Sheridan
lived at 14 Savile Row for a short time before his death in 1816.
During the 19th century, the gentry became concerned with neat dress, and Beau Brummell
epitomised the well-dressed man. He patronised the tailors congregated on the Burlington Estate, notably around Cork Street
, and by 1803 some were occupying premises in Savile Row. None of those original tailors survive today.
In 1846, Henry Poole is credited as being the 'Founder of Savile Row' after opening a second entrance to his late father's tailoring premises at № 32 Savile Row; however, there were tailors on the Row long before Poole's.
In 1969, Nutters of Savile Row modernised the style and approach of the traditional tailors; a modernisation which continued in the 1990s with the arrival of designers like Richard James, Ozwald Boateng
and Timothy Everest
.
With increasing rents and criticisms from Giorgio Armani
of falling behind the times, the number of tailors on Savile Row declined to just 19 in 2006. Some tailors had expressed concern in 2005 that an increase in commercial development in the area could lead to the death of the business locally, as tailors — many of whom traditionally manufacture their suits on the premises, in basement studios — could be priced out of the local property
market. The Savile Row Bespoke Association was created to address these problems, and to encourage training, organise events and other initiatives.
There is frustration among many remaining that even some established British brands use the 'Savile Row' designation on imported clothes.
But despite these problems the Row continues to be a mecca for men around the world who want the very best of tailoring and it also continues to attract new recruits. Some of these may be 'old' recruits, in that they have had long experience in Savile Row before starting their own businesses (see Tailors, below), while others are younger newcomers attracted by its elegance and craftsmanship.
from 1939, close to the Port of Liverpool
and its cloth supplier in Huddersfield
, it introduced semi-bespoke and ready-to-wear
tailoring to the row. Sold to Austin Reed in 1980, it went into receivership in 2002, which split the factory from the retail operation. Now owned by Prominent Europe, famous clients have included Cary Grant
and Sir Winston Churchill
, while both Steve McQueen
and Sean Connery
wore Chester Barrie in their films.
. In 1981 Roy and Joseph parted company with Sexton, and formed Chittlebrough and Morgan. They produce only bespoke clothing with no ready to wear or made to measure.
, Michael Jackson
, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Clark Gable
, and U.S. President Harry S. Truman
.
. The company is by royal appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, His Majesty the Sultan of Oman
and His Majesty the King of Bahrain
.
tailor
located at №1 Savile Row. The business dates from the late 19th century, and was formed by the merger of two separate businesses, Gieves (founded 1785) and Hawkes (founded 1771).
Starting out with roots from two suppliers who focused on the British Army
and the Royal Navy
, it was the first Savile Row tailor to provide ready-to-wear clothes. There are various Gieves & Hawkes shops and concessions around the UK and in several other countries. It holds a number of Royal Warrant
s, presently covering all three British Royal Warrants (HM Queen Elizabeth II, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, and HRH The Prince of Wales
).
In the March 2006 report, 'Bespoke Tailoring in London’s West End', by the City of Westminster
(Department of Planning and City Development), it was recorded that between 6,000 to 7,000 suits were made in and around the Savile Row area annually, at the time of the report; with Gieves and Hawkes making about 700 of those suits. It was also recorded that 20% of Gieves and Hawkes business at number 1 Savile Row was from the bespoke operation.
's novel The Bonfire of the Vanities
, the narrator refers to flamboyantly rich Sherman McCoy's jacket, he observes "Huntsman, Savile Row, London. Cost a god-damned fortune."
at №14 Savile Row, founded by English
dressmaker
Sir Edwin Hardy Amies
(17 July 1909 - 5 March 2003) in 1946. Having been managing designer for Lachasse in 1934, and having designed clothes for the British Board of Trade under the government Utility Scheme, Amies bought the bombed out shell of №14 in 1946.
Amies was one of the first European designers to venture into the ready-to-wear market when he teamed up with Hepworths in 1959 to design a range of menswear. In 1961, Amies staged the first men's ready-to-wear catwalk shows, at the Ritz Hotel in London. The Hardy Amies name is still licensed globally, particularly in Japan
. Amies also undertook design for in-house work wear, which developed from designing special clothes for groups such as the Oxford University Boat Club
and London Stock Exchange
. Amies also designed costumes for films, including 2001: A Space Odyssey
.
Amies is best known to the British public for his work for HM Queen Elizabeth II. The association began in 1950, when Amies made several outfits for the then Princess Elizabeth's royal tour to Canada
. Although the couture side of the Hardy Amies business was traditionally less financially successful, the award of a Royal Warrant
as official dressmaker in 1955 gave his house a degree of respectability and resultant publicity. One of his best known creations is the gown he designed in 1977 for Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee portrait which, he said, was "immortalised on a thousand biscuit tins." Knighted in 1989, Amies held the warrant until 1990, when he gave it up so that younger designers could create for the Queen.
In May 1973, Amies sold the business to Debenhams
, who had themselves purchased Hepworths which distributed the Hardy Amies line. Amies purchased the business back in 1981. In May 2001, Amies sold his business to the Luxury Brands Group. He retired at the end of the year, when Moroccan
-born designer Jacques Azagury became head of couture. In November 2008, after going bankrupt, the Hardy Amies brand was acquired by Fung Capital, the private investment arm of Victor and William Fung, who together control the Li & Fung group. The current collection is overseen by creative director Claire Malcolm.
, in 1806, originally specialising in military tailoring, with particular merit at the time of the Battle of Waterloo
. Their business moved to Savile Row in 1846, following the death of founder James Poole.
In 1982, MD Angus Cundey brought the firm back to Savile Row (No. 15), after being in exile on Cork Street since 1961; Poole were forced to move to Cork Street, because the lease at number 32 expired and the unlisted building was demolished.
, in 1923 it merged with existing Savile Row tailor A.H. Kilgour to form Kilgour & French. In 1925, Fred and Louis Stanbury joined the firm, and in 1937 the business changed its name to Kilgour, French and Stanbury. Reverting to the name Kilgour in 2003, it was bought by JMH Lifestyle in 2008.
tailor
located at №16 Savile Row. Established in the city of London in 1821 the firm moved to Savile Row in the middle of the 19th century. In the 1960s Norton's incorporated the other Savile Row firm of J. Hoare & E. Tautz. The firm were tailors to Sir Hardy Amies.
1969 by Tommy Nutter
and Edward Sexton
who had worked together with at Donaldson, Williamson & Ward. Financially backed by Cilla Black
and the MD of the Beatles Apple Corps Peter Brown
. Nutters was the first shop on Savile Row to pioneer 'open windows' and had bold displays created by the then unknown Simon Doonan
; as such, the shop modernised the perception of Savile Row. Nutters of Savile Row dressed the entire social spectrum from the Duke of Bedford
and Lord Montagu
, to San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown
, to Mick
and Bianca Jagger
, and The Beatles
. Nutter's designs included Bianca Jagger's wedding suit, the costumes for the 1989 Batman film
including those worn by Jack Nicholson
, and three of the suits worn by The Beatles on the front cover of Abbey Road. Nutter left the business in 1976 and went to work at Kilgour, leaving Edward Sexton to continue running the business. Nutter died from complications arising from AIDS
on 17 August 1992, while Sexton works in Knightsbridge
under his own name.
OBE was an initial pioneer of the new bespoke movement
, who sees himself as both tailor and a designer, so coining the term 'bespoke couturier'. There is also a ready-to-wear outlet on Vigo Street. Born in Ghana
in the late 1960s and brought up in north London, Boateng started tailoring at age 16, selling his mother's designs on Portobello Road
; by twenty three he had set himself up full-time in business. He began making bespoke suits in 1990, and is credited with introducing Savile Row tailoring to a new generation. The first tailor to stage a catwalk show in Paris, Boateng's many clients include Will Smith
, Jamie Foxx
, Samuel L. Jackson
, Dhani Jones
, Russell Crowe
, Keanu Reeves
, and Mick Jagger
. He was appointed creative director of Givenchy
menswear in 2003.
, and then worked under the legendary cutter Edward Sexton
followed by seven years at Anderson & Sheppard, before founding Steed. January 2002 was Steed's eighth year in business, which saw an amicable split with Mahon. In September 2008, Edwin's eldest son Matthew DeBoise joined the company and is currently learning the trade under his father, along with assisting the day to day running of the company.
, Gary Cooper
, Marlene Dietrich
, Cecil Beaton
, Laurence Olivier
, Noel Coward
, Ralph Fiennes
, Manolo Blahnik
and Prince Charles. In 2004, Tom Ford
became a customer of the firm, commissioning suits that would later appear in a 10 page ‘W’ magazine photo shoot. A founding member of the Savile Row Bespoke Association, Anderson & Sheppard moved off Savile Row to 32 Old Burlington Street in March 2005.
the Mortimer family established a military outfitters. Meyer's company supplied both the Prince Regent
and his fashion mentor, Beau Brummell
, as early as 1800. When the Prince became King George IV he awarded the company a royal warrant
which, through Queen Victoria and monarchs since, it still holds today from Queen Elizabeth II. After Meyer pioneered modern trouser design in the 19th century, he formed a new company with Mortimer in Edinburgh, called the Royal Clan Tartan Warehouse. A founding member of the Savile Row Bespoke Association, after being bombed out of its premises during World War 2, the company relocated to its current location at 6 Sackville Street.
tailoring as practised in the Row and the surrounding streets. This cluster of excellence has made a contribution to London and the British image which has been formally recognised by the City of Westminster in a recent study.
Mark Henderson, Deputy Chairman of Gieves & Hawkes
is the chairman of SRB, which is based at No. 1 Savile Row, the premises of Gieves & Hawkes.
The member tailors are: Anderson & Sheppard, Dege & Skinner, Gieves & Hawkes, Hardy Amies, Henry Poole & Co, H.Huntsman & Sons, Meyer and Mortimer, Chittleborough & Morgan, Norton & Sons and Richard James. Each member tailor is required to put at least 50 hours of hand labour into each two-piece suit.
The offices of The Beatles
' Apple Corps
were at 3 Savile Row; The Beatles, Badfinger
, Mary Hopkin
and others recorded in the Apple Studios in the basement. The Beatles' final live performance was on the roof, on 30 January 1969. The "Rooftop Concert" concludes the documentary film Let It Be
.
Mayfair
Mayfair is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster.-History:Mayfair is named after the annual fortnight-long May Fair that took place on the site that is Shepherd Market today...
, central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
, famous for its traditional men's bespoke
Bespoke
Bespoke is a term employed in a variety of applications to mean an item custom-made to the buyer's specification...
tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
ing. The term "bespoke" is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers. The short street is termed the "golden mile of tailoring", where customers have included Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, Lord Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson
Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronté, KB was a flag officer famous for his service in the Royal Navy, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. He was noted for his inspirational leadership and superb grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics, which resulted in a number of...
and Napoleon III.
Savile Row runs parallel to Regent Street
Regent Street
Regent Street is one of the major shopping streets in London's West End, well known to tourists and Londoners alike, and famous for its Christmas illuminations...
between Conduit Street at the northern end and Vigo Street at the southern. Linking roads include Burlington Place, Clifford Street and Burlington Gardens.
History
Savile Row was built between 1731 and 1735 as part of the development of the Burlington EstateBurlington Estate
The Burlington Estate is an area in Mayfair to the north of Piccadilly in the West End of London, England . It was developed in the 18th century. The estate was owned by the Earls of Burlington, in particular Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington....
, and is named after Lady Dorothy Savile, wife of the 3rd Earl of Burlington
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington and 4th Earl of Cork PC , born in Yorkshire, England, was the son of Charles Boyle, 2nd Earl of Burlington and 3rd Earl of Cork...
. It originally ran from Burlington Gardens (then Vigo Lane) to Boyle Street, with houses only on the east side, but in 1937–8 it extended to Conduit Street, and in the 19th century houses were built on the west side. The original architectural plan is believed to have been drawn up by Colen Campbell
Colen Campbell
Colen Campbell was a pioneering Scottish architect who spent most of his career in England, and is credited as a founder of the Georgian style...
, though Henry Flitcroft
Henry Flitcroft
Henry Flitcroft was a major English architect in the second generation of Palladianism. He came from a simple background: his father was a labourer in the gardens at Hampton Court and he began as a joiner by trade. Working as a carpenter at Burlington House, he fell from a scaffold and broke his leg...
appears to have been the main architect of the street, under the supervision of Daniel Garrett
Daniel Garrett
Daniel Garrett was a British architect who worked on the Burlington Estate, Culloden Tower,, Raby Castle, and Banqueting House.-History:Garrett started as a clerk of works, then in 1735 set up his own practice in the North of England...
, while Nos 1 and 22–23 Savile Row were designed by William Kent
William Kent
William Kent , born in Bridlington, Yorkshire, was an eminent English architect, landscape architect and furniture designer of the early 18th century.He was baptised as William Cant.-Education:...
, who lived next door in No 2. Dr Livingstone
David Livingstone
David Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
was laid out in state in No 1, when it was the headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
, before being buried in Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.
Initially, the street was occupied by military officers and their wives; William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
was an early resident. Irish-born playwright and MP, Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
lived at 14 Savile Row for a short time before his death in 1816.
During the 19th century, the gentry became concerned with neat dress, and Beau Brummell
Beau Brummell
Beau Brummell, born as George Bryan Brummell , was the arbiter of men's fashion in Regency England and a friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV...
epitomised the well-dressed man. He patronised the tailors congregated on the Burlington Estate, notably around Cork Street
Cork Street
Cork Street is a street in Mayfair in the West End of London, England. It is very well known in the British art world for the commercial art galleries that dominate the street. It is located to the north of Burlington House, which houses the Royal Academy, a leading British art institution...
, and by 1803 some were occupying premises in Savile Row. None of those original tailors survive today.
In 1846, Henry Poole is credited as being the 'Founder of Savile Row' after opening a second entrance to his late father's tailoring premises at № 32 Savile Row; however, there were tailors on the Row long before Poole's.
In 1969, Nutters of Savile Row modernised the style and approach of the traditional tailors; a modernisation which continued in the 1990s with the arrival of designers like Richard James, Ozwald Boateng
Ozwald Boateng
Ozwald Boateng OBE is a British-born fashion designer of Ghanaian descent, known for his trade mark twist style on classic British tailoring. Inspired by his father's suits, Boateng opened his first shop on Savile Row at the age of 23.-Biography:...
and Timothy Everest
Timothy Everest
Timothy Everest, MBE is a Welsh bespoke tailor and designer who has, according to Vogue, "dressed some of the world's most famous people". Born in Haverfordwest, Wales, he moved to London in his early twenties to work with innovative Savile Row tailor Tommy Nutter, where he learned the art of...
.
With increasing rents and criticisms from Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani
Giorgio Armani is an Italian fashion designer, particularly noted for his menswear. He is known today for his clean, tailored lines. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, and by 2001 was acclaimed as the most successful designer to come out of Italy, with an annual turnover of $1.6 billion and a...
of falling behind the times, the number of tailors on Savile Row declined to just 19 in 2006. Some tailors had expressed concern in 2005 that an increase in commercial development in the area could lead to the death of the business locally, as tailors — many of whom traditionally manufacture their suits on the premises, in basement studios — could be priced out of the local property
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
market. The Savile Row Bespoke Association was created to address these problems, and to encourage training, organise events and other initiatives.
There is frustration among many remaining that even some established British brands use the 'Savile Row' designation on imported clothes.
But despite these problems the Row continues to be a mecca for men around the world who want the very best of tailoring and it also continues to attract new recruits. Some of these may be 'old' recruits, in that they have had long experience in Savile Row before starting their own businesses (see Tailors, below), while others are younger newcomers attracted by its elegance and craftsmanship.
Chester Barrie
Chester Barrie located at №32 Savile Row, was established in 1935 by expatriate English tailor Simon Ackerman, who wanted a British brand and tailioring for his New York based clothing business. Locating its factory in CreweCrewe
Crewe is a railway town within the unitary authority area of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census the urban area had a population of 67,683...
from 1939, close to the Port of Liverpool
Port of Liverpool
The Port of Liverpool is the name for the enclosed 7.5 mile dock system that runs from Brunswick Dock in Liverpool to Seaforth Dock, Seaforth, on the east side of the River Mersey and the Birkenhead Docks between Birkenhead and Wallasey on the west side of the river...
and its cloth supplier in Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
, it introduced semi-bespoke and ready-to-wear
Ready-to-wear
Ready-to-wear or prêt-à-porter is the term for factory-made clothing, sold in finished condition, in standardized sizes, as distinct from made to measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a particular person's frame. Off-the-peg is sometimes used for items which are not clothing.Ready-to-wear has...
tailoring to the row. Sold to Austin Reed in 1980, it went into receivership in 2002, which split the factory from the retail operation. Now owned by Prominent Europe, famous clients have included Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
and Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
, while both Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...
and Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
wore Chester Barrie in their films.
Chittleborough & Morgan
Chittleborough & Morgan is a bespoke tailors firm located at №12 Savile Row. Joseph Morgan and Roy Chittlebrough started working together at Nutters Of Savile Row with Edward SextonEdward Sexton
Edward Sexton is a British Savile Row tailor, fashion designer and manufacturing consultant. Sexton has been called a key player in the history of Savile Row.-Early life:...
. In 1981 Roy and Joseph parted company with Sexton, and formed Chittlebrough and Morgan. They produce only bespoke clothing with no ready to wear or made to measure.
Davies and Son
Davies and Son is an independent tailor at №38 Savile Row. The firm was established by George Davies in 1803 on Hanover Street, moving onto Savile Row in 1986. Davies and Sons made the original uniforms for Sir Robert Peel's police force. Other customers include: Calvin KleinCalvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Douglas Fairbanks Jr, Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
, and U.S. President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
.
Dege & Skinner
Dege & Skinner , established in 1865 and known for its expertise in military as well as civilian clothing, it remains a family-run business. Located at 10 Savile Row, the firm was founded as J. Dege & Sons, and became a joint venture between the two families when William Skinner Jnr joined the firm in 1916. After the Skinner family took full ownership, the business was renamed Dege & Skinner, reopened by customer Colin MontgomerieColin Montgomerie
Colin Stuart Montgomerie, OBE is a Scottish professional golfer, often referred to by one of his nicknames 'Monty'. He has had one of the finest careers in European Tour history, having won a record eight Order of Merit titles, including a streak of seven consecutively from 1993 to 1999, and 31...
. The company is by royal appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, His Majesty the Sultan of Oman
Sultan of Oman
-List of Imams :-Nabhan Dynasty :-Ya'ariba Dynasty :-Banu Ghafir Dynasty :-Ya'ariba Dynasty :-Al Said Dynasty :-See also:...
and His Majesty the King of Bahrain
King of Bahrain
The King of Bahrain is the monarch and head of state of Bahrain. Between 1783 and 1971, the Bahraini monarch held the title of Hakim, and, from 1971 until 2002, the title of Emir...
.
Gieves & Hawkes
Gieves & Hawkes (ˈ) is a traditional British gentleman's bespokeBespoke
Bespoke is a term employed in a variety of applications to mean an item custom-made to the buyer's specification...
tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
located at №1 Savile Row. The business dates from the late 19th century, and was formed by the merger of two separate businesses, Gieves (founded 1785) and Hawkes (founded 1771).
Starting out with roots from two suppliers who focused on the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, it was the first Savile Row tailor to provide ready-to-wear clothes. There are various Gieves & Hawkes shops and concessions around the UK and in several other countries. It holds a number of Royal Warrant
Royal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
s, presently covering all three British Royal Warrants (HM Queen Elizabeth II, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, and HRH The Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
).
In the March 2006 report, 'Bespoke Tailoring in London’s West End', by the City of Westminster
City of Westminster
The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary...
(Department of Planning and City Development), it was recorded that between 6,000 to 7,000 suits were made in and around the Savile Row area annually, at the time of the report; with Gieves and Hawkes making about 700 of those suits. It was also recorded that 20% of Gieves and Hawkes business at number 1 Savile Row was from the bespoke operation.
H. Huntsman & Sons
Henry Huntsman established this firm at №11, in 1849, and received a royal warrant in 1865 from the Prince of Wales. Since the 1950s, they have been known for a silhouette based on a riding coat and featuring firm shoulders and a nipped, sculpted waist. Huntsman have a reputation for having the most expensive starting price for a two-piece suit on Savile Row; suits start at well over £3,000 (US$5,000) tax included In Tom WolfeTom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
's novel The Bonfire of the Vanities
The Bonfire of the Vanities
The Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1987 novel by Tom Wolfe. The story is a drama about ambition, racism, social class, politics, and greed in 1980s New York City and centers on four main characters: WASP bond trader Sherman McCoy, Jewish assistant district attorney Larry Kramer, British expatriate...
, the narrator refers to flamboyantly rich Sherman McCoy's jacket, he observes "Huntsman, Savile Row, London. Cost a god-damned fortune."
Hardy Amies
Hardy Amies Ltd is a fashion houseFashion House
Fashion House is an American telenovela that aired at 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT Monday through Saturday on MyNetworkTV stations. The series premiered on September 5, 2006 and concluded on December 5, 2006...
at №14 Savile Row, founded by English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
dressmaker
Dressmaker
A dressmaker is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Also called a mantua-maker or a modiste.-Notable dressmakers:*Cristobal Balenciaga*Charles Frederick Worth...
Sir Edwin Hardy Amies
Hardy Amies
Hardy Amies, Ltd. is a British-based fashion house specialising in modern luxury menswear.-Sir Edwin Hardy Amies:Sir Edwin Hardy Amies, KCVO , was a British fashion designer, best known for his official title as dressmaker for Queen Elizabeth II, from her accession to the throne until his...
(17 July 1909 - 5 March 2003) in 1946. Having been managing designer for Lachasse in 1934, and having designed clothes for the British Board of Trade under the government Utility Scheme, Amies bought the bombed out shell of №14 in 1946.
Amies was one of the first European designers to venture into the ready-to-wear market when he teamed up with Hepworths in 1959 to design a range of menswear. In 1961, Amies staged the first men's ready-to-wear catwalk shows, at the Ritz Hotel in London. The Hardy Amies name is still licensed globally, particularly in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Amies also undertook design for in-house work wear, which developed from designing special clothes for groups such as the Oxford University Boat Club
Oxford University Boat Club
The Oxford University Boat Club is the rowing club of the University of Oxford, England, located on the River Thames at Oxford. The club was founded in the early 19th century....
and London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
. Amies also designed costumes for films, including 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey (film)
2001: A Space Odyssey is a 1968 epic science fiction film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, and co-written by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke, partially inspired by Clarke's short story The Sentinel...
.
Amies is best known to the British public for his work for HM Queen Elizabeth II. The association began in 1950, when Amies made several outfits for the then Princess Elizabeth's royal tour to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Although the couture side of the Hardy Amies business was traditionally less financially successful, the award of a Royal Warrant
Royal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
as official dressmaker in 1955 gave his house a degree of respectability and resultant publicity. One of his best known creations is the gown he designed in 1977 for Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee portrait which, he said, was "immortalised on a thousand biscuit tins." Knighted in 1989, Amies held the warrant until 1990, when he gave it up so that younger designers could create for the Queen.
In May 1973, Amies sold the business to Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
, who had themselves purchased Hepworths which distributed the Hardy Amies line. Amies purchased the business back in 1981. In May 2001, Amies sold his business to the Luxury Brands Group. He retired at the end of the year, when Moroccan
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
-born designer Jacques Azagury became head of couture. In November 2008, after going bankrupt, the Hardy Amies brand was acquired by Fung Capital, the private investment arm of Victor and William Fung, who together control the Li & Fung group. The current collection is overseen by creative director Claire Malcolm.
Henry Poole & Co
Henry Poole & Co is a gentleman's bespoke tailor located at №15 Savile Row. The acknowledged 'Founders of Savile Row' and creators of the dinner suit, the company has remained a family-run business since their establishment in 1806. They opened first in Brunswick SquareBrunswick Square
Brunswick Square is a public garden in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is overlooked by the School of Pharmacy and the Foundling Museum to the north and the Brunswick Centre to the west...
, in 1806, originally specialising in military tailoring, with particular merit at the time of the Battle of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
. Their business moved to Savile Row in 1846, following the death of founder James Poole.
In 1982, MD Angus Cundey brought the firm back to Savile Row (No. 15), after being in exile on Cork Street since 1961; Poole were forced to move to Cork Street, because the lease at number 32 expired and the unlisted building was demolished.
Kilgour
Located at №8 Savile Row. Founded in 1882 as T & F French in PiccadillyPiccadilly
Piccadilly is a major street in central London, running from Hyde Park Corner in the west to Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is completely within the city of Westminster. The street is part of the A4 road, London's second most important western artery. St...
, in 1923 it merged with existing Savile Row tailor A.H. Kilgour to form Kilgour & French. In 1925, Fred and Louis Stanbury joined the firm, and in 1937 the business changed its name to Kilgour, French and Stanbury. Reverting to the name Kilgour in 2003, it was bought by JMH Lifestyle in 2008.
Norton & Sons
Norton & Sons is a gentleman's bespokeBespoke
Bespoke is a term employed in a variety of applications to mean an item custom-made to the buyer's specification...
tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
located at №16 Savile Row. Established in the city of London in 1821 the firm moved to Savile Row in the middle of the 19th century. In the 1960s Norton's incorporated the other Savile Row firm of J. Hoare & E. Tautz. The firm were tailors to Sir Hardy Amies.
Nutters of Savile Row
Established at № 35a Savile Row, Nutters of Savile Row, is a Savile Row tailors which was opened on Valentine's DayValentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
1969 by Tommy Nutter
Tommy Nutter
Tommy Nutter , was a British tailor, famous for reinventing the Savile Row suit in the 1960s.Born in Barmouth, Merioneth, he was raised in Edgware, Middlesex, where his father owned a local High Street Cafe. After the family moved to Kilburn, Nutter and his brother David attended Willesden...
and Edward Sexton
Edward Sexton
Edward Sexton is a British Savile Row tailor, fashion designer and manufacturing consultant. Sexton has been called a key player in the history of Savile Row.-Early life:...
who had worked together with at Donaldson, Williamson & Ward. Financially backed by Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
and the MD of the Beatles Apple Corps Peter Brown
Peter Brown (music industry)
Peter Brown is an American-based English businessman. He currently resides in New York City.-The Beatles:Brown was a personal assistant to Brian Epstein and The Beatles during the 1960s. He was a confidant to the Epstein family, and bore some resemblance to Brian in his looks and manner...
. Nutters was the first shop on Savile Row to pioneer 'open windows' and had bold displays created by the then unknown Simon Doonan
Simon Doonan
Simon Doonan is the Creative Ambassador-at-Large of the New York City-based clothing store, Barneys.-Biography:Doonan hails from the English town of Reading. He got his first retail job as a summer job working at Heelas, a department store in Reading that belonged to the John Lewis Partnership...
; as such, the shop modernised the perception of Savile Row. Nutters of Savile Row dressed the entire social spectrum from the Duke of Bedford
Robin Russell, 14th Duke of Bedford
Henry Robin Ian Russell, 14th Duke of Bedford, DL was a British peer. He became better known to the public than most of his ancestors by appearing in three series of the reality television programme Country House, made by Tiger Aspect Productions for BBC Two, which in turn inspired Monarch of the...
and Lord Montagu
Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu
Edward John Barrington Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu is a British Conservative politician well known in Britain for founding the National Motor Museum, as well as for a pivotal cause célèbre in British gay history, his 1954 conviction and imprisonment for homosexual sex, a...
, to San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown
Willie Brown (politician)
Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served over 30 years in the California State Assembly, spending 15 years as its Speaker, and afterward served as the 41st mayor of San Francisco, the first African American to do so...
, to Mick
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Bianca Jagger
Bianca Jagger
Bianca Jagger is a Nicaraguan-born social and human rights advocate and a former actress and model...
, and The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. Nutter's designs included Bianca Jagger's wedding suit, the costumes for the 1989 Batman film
Batman (1989 film)
Batman is a 1989 superhero film based on the DC Comics character of the same name, directed by Tim Burton. The film stars Michael Keaton in the title role, as well as Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl and Jack Palance...
including those worn by Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...
, and three of the suits worn by The Beatles on the front cover of Abbey Road. Nutter left the business in 1976 and went to work at Kilgour, leaving Edward Sexton to continue running the business. Nutter died from complications arising from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
on 17 August 1992, while Sexton works in Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
under his own name.
Ozwald Boateng
Located at №30 Savile Row, bespoke tailor Ozwald BoatengOzwald Boateng
Ozwald Boateng OBE is a British-born fashion designer of Ghanaian descent, known for his trade mark twist style on classic British tailoring. Inspired by his father's suits, Boateng opened his first shop on Savile Row at the age of 23.-Biography:...
OBE was an initial pioneer of the new bespoke movement
New bespoke movement
The New bespoke movement is a term describing a modern development within British bespoke tailoring. Originating in the early 1990s, those tailors associated with the movement were attempting to revitalise the traditional styling of Savile Row.-History:...
, who sees himself as both tailor and a designer, so coining the term 'bespoke couturier'. There is also a ready-to-wear outlet on Vigo Street. Born in Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
in the late 1960s and brought up in north London, Boateng started tailoring at age 16, selling his mother's designs on Portobello Road
Portobello Road
Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London, England. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello Road Market, one of London's...
; by twenty three he had set himself up full-time in business. He began making bespoke suits in 1990, and is credited with introducing Savile Row tailoring to a new generation. The first tailor to stage a catwalk show in Paris, Boateng's many clients include Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
, Jamie Foxx
Jamie Foxx
Eric Marlon Bishop , professionally known as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, singer-songwriter, stand-up comedian, and talk radio host. As an actor, his work in the film Ray earned him the Academy Award and BAFTA Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a...
, Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
, Dhani Jones
Dhani Jones
Dhani Makalani Jones is a former American football linebacker who played for eleven seasons in the National Football League. He played college football for the Michigan Wolverines, earning All-Big Ten honors for three straight seasons. He was selected by the New York Giants in the sixth round of...
, Russell Crowe
Russell Crowe
Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a...
, Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
, and Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
. He was appointed creative director of Givenchy
Givenchy
Givenchy is a French brand of clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics with Parfums Givenchy.The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de Givenchy and is a member of Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter...
menswear in 2003.
Richard James
Established at №29 Savile Row in 1992 as a joint-venture by tailors Richard James and Sean Dixon, the company is a founder member of the Savile Row Bespoke Association.Stowers Bespoke
Located at № 13 Savile Row, Stowers Bespoke is the latest addition to Savile Row tailoring. Established in 2006 by Ray Stowers, former head of bespoke at Gieves & Hawkes for 25 years, Stowers Bespoke was created to reverse the trend in the modern market to mass produce garments in the far east, with all ready to wear suits, accessories and made to measure suits in England. Originally working from 13 Old Burlington Street, in the spring of 2007 Stowers Bespoke was the lead brand when Liberty launched their formal wear room making Liberty & Co. the only department store to offer in-house bespoke tailoring. In September 2008 Stowers Bespoke purchased an established tailors James Levett, and is in the process of making their shop at 13 Savile Row the Stowers Bespoke flagship store.Steed Bespoke Tailors
Established in January 1995 and located at № 12 Savile Row (where they rent premises) by Edwin DeBoise, whose father and brother are both tailors, and Thomas Mahon (now of English Cut). DeBoise trained at the London College of FashionLondon College of Fashion
London College of Fashion is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London, offering undergraduate, postgraduate, short courses and business-training in fashion, make-up, beauty-therapy and lifestyle industries...
, and then worked under the legendary cutter Edward Sexton
Edward Sexton
Edward Sexton is a British Savile Row tailor, fashion designer and manufacturing consultant. Sexton has been called a key player in the history of Savile Row.-Early life:...
followed by seven years at Anderson & Sheppard, before founding Steed. January 2002 was Steed's eighth year in business, which saw an amicable split with Mahon. In September 2008, Edwin's eldest son Matthew DeBoise joined the company and is currently learning the trade under his father, along with assisting the day to day running of the company.
Other tailors on Savile Row
- Alexandre - owned by British Menswear Brands. (№39)
- Ede and RavenscroftEde and RavenscroftEde & Ravenscroft are the oldest tailors in London, established in 1689. They have three London premises, on Gracechurch Street, Chancery Lane and Burlington Gardens, very close to the famous Savile Row...
- Gary Anderson (№34/35)
- Maurice SedwellMaurice SedwellEstablished on Fleet Street in 1938. Maurice Sedwell moved the premises to 9 Savile Row in 1963. In 1988 Maurice Sedwell was purchased from the retiring Maurice Sedwell by Andrew Ramroop, a long standing employee. The business thrived in the 1980s and 1990s with a client list littered with Lords,...
(№19) - Richard Anderson (№13)
- Spencer Hart (№36)
- Welsh and Jefferies (№20)
Tailors who see customers in other shops on Savile Row
Many tailors shops and cloth merchants allow other tailors to see clients in their premises, so that tailors with small businesses can see clients in the West End and so the suits can be described as "Savile Row suits". These include:- Adam Waite (№9)
- Anthony Sinclair (№12)
- Cad and the DandyCad and the DandyCad and the Dandy is an independent tailoring firm based in London, UK with premises in the City and on Savile Row. It manufactures bespoke suits from English and Italian fabrics, using traditional tailoring methods and its suits are significantly more affordable than those from the more...
(№12) - Comelie London (№12)
- Huality Bespoke Tailoring (№9/10)
- Henry Herbert (№9)
- Jasper Littman (№9)
- Karl Matthews (№12)
- King & Allen (№9/10)
- Matthew Farnes (№12)
- Nick Tentis (№38)
- Steven Hitchcock (№13)
- Thomas Mahon (№12)
Anderson & Sheppard
Anderson & Sheppard were founded in 1906 at 30 Savile Row. They were defined by mentor and cutter Frederick Scholte, developing a house style which became known as the "London cut". A high small armhole with a generous upper sleeve permits the jacket to remain close to the neck while freeing the arm to move with comfort. Customers have included Fred AstaireFred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
, Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
, Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, Cecil Beaton
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, CBE was an English fashion and portrait photographer, diarist, painter, interior designer and an Academy Award-winning stage and costume designer for films and the theatre...
, Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and film director. He has appeared in such films as The English Patient, In Bruges, The Constant Gardener, Strange Days, The Duchess and Schindler's List....
, Manolo Blahnik
Manolo Blahnik
Manuel "Manolo" Blahnik Rodríguez CBE, , is a Spanish fashion designer and founder of the self-named, high-end shoe brand.-Biography:Born to a Czech father and a Spanish mother and born and raised in the Canary Islands , Blahnik graduated from the University of Geneva in 1965 and studied art in Paris...
and Prince Charles. In 2004, Tom Ford
Tom Ford
Thomas Carlyle "Tom" Ford is an American fashion designer and film director. He gained international fame for his turnaround of the Gucci fashion house and the creation of the Tom Ford label before directing the Oscar-nominated film A Single Man.-Early life :Tom Ford was born August 27, 1961 in...
became a customer of the firm, commissioning suits that would later appear in a 10 page ‘W’ magazine photo shoot. A founding member of the Savile Row Bespoke Association, Anderson & Sheppard moved off Savile Row to 32 Old Burlington Street in March 2005.
Meyer & Mortimer
Established by Austrian tailor Jonathan Meyer at 36 Conduit Street in the late 18th century. In parallel, In EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
the Mortimer family established a military outfitters. Meyer's company supplied both the Prince Regent
Prince Regent
A prince regent is a prince who rules a monarchy as regent instead of a monarch, e.g., due to the Sovereign's incapacity or absence ....
and his fashion mentor, Beau Brummell
Beau Brummell
Beau Brummell, born as George Bryan Brummell , was the arbiter of men's fashion in Regency England and a friend of the Prince Regent, the future King George IV...
, as early as 1800. When the Prince became King George IV he awarded the company a royal warrant
Royal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
which, through Queen Victoria and monarchs since, it still holds today from Queen Elizabeth II. After Meyer pioneered modern trouser design in the 19th century, he formed a new company with Mortimer in Edinburgh, called the Royal Clan Tartan Warehouse. A founding member of the Savile Row Bespoke Association, after being bombed out of its premises during World War 2, the company relocated to its current location at 6 Sackville Street.
Savile Row Bespoke Association
Founded in 2004, the aim of the Savile Row Bespoke Association is to protect and to develop the art of bespokeBespoke
Bespoke is a term employed in a variety of applications to mean an item custom-made to the buyer's specification...
tailoring as practised in the Row and the surrounding streets. This cluster of excellence has made a contribution to London and the British image which has been formally recognised by the City of Westminster in a recent study.
Mark Henderson, Deputy Chairman of Gieves & Hawkes
Gieves & Hawkes
Gieves & Hawkes are a bespoke gentleman's tailor located at №1 Savile Row, London.Founded in 1771 and owned by Hong Kong conglomerate USI Holdings Limited, they are one of the oldest continual bespoke tailoring companies in the world....
is the chairman of SRB, which is based at No. 1 Savile Row, the premises of Gieves & Hawkes.
The member tailors are: Anderson & Sheppard, Dege & Skinner, Gieves & Hawkes, Hardy Amies, Henry Poole & Co, H.Huntsman & Sons, Meyer and Mortimer, Chittleborough & Morgan, Norton & Sons and Richard James. Each member tailor is required to put at least 50 hours of hand labour into each two-piece suit.
The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' Apple Corps
Apple Corps
Apple Corps Ltd. is a multi-armed multimedia corporation founded in January 1968 by the members of The Beatles to replace their earlier company and to form a conglomerate. Its name is a pun. Its chief division is Apple Records, which was launched in the same year...
were at 3 Savile Row; The Beatles, Badfinger
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
, Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin
Mary Hopkin , credited on some recordings as Mary Visconti, is a Welsh folk singer best known for her 1968 UK number one single "Those Were The Days". She was one of the first musicians to sign to The Beatles' Apple label....
and others recorded in the Apple Studios in the basement. The Beatles' final live performance was on the roof, on 30 January 1969. The "Rooftop Concert" concludes the documentary film Let It Be
Let It Be (film)
Let It Be is a 1970 documentary film about The Beatles rehearsing and recording songs for the album Let It Be in January 1969. The film features an unannounced rooftop concert by the group, their last performance in public...
.
Popular culture
- №7 Savile Row was the London address of Phileas FoggPhileas FoggPhileas Fogg is the main fictional character in the 1873 Jules Verne novel Around the World in Eighty Days.Fogg attempts to circumnavigate the late Victorian world in eighty days, or less, for a wager of £20,000 with members of London's Reform Club. He takes the wager and leaves with Passepartout,...
, protagonist of Jules VerneJules VerneJules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
's classic adventure novel Around the World in 80 Days. - In JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, one word for suit is "sebiro" (背広), purportedly a corruption of "Savile Row." - Saville Row appears in the MonopolyMonopoly (game)Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
Here and Now edition, a mis-spelling of the correct name. - Savile Row is featured as venue in the music video game Rock BandRock BandRock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
. - Savile Row is mentioned in The KinksThe KinksThe Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
' song, "End of the Season". - Savile Row suits are mentioned in The Monochrome SetThe Monochrome SetThe Monochrome Set are an English post-punk band originally formed in 1978 from the remnants of a college group called The B-Sides...
's song "Jet Set Junta". - Savile Row is mentioned in the song "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" in the hit musical AnnieAnnie (musical)Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...
. - In the cult film Withnail and IWithnail and IWithnail and I is a British black comedy made in 1986 by HandMade Films. It was written and directed by Bruce Robinson and is based on his life in London in the late 1960s. The main plot follows two unemployed young actors, Withnail and “I” who live in a squalid flat in Camden in 1969 while...
, Withnail claims his suit was cut by "Hawkes of Savile Row". - In the song "American BoyAmerican Boy"American Boy" is the second single from the album Shine by British R&B singer Estelle and features American rapper Kanye West. The song is her first international single...
" by EstelleEstelle (musician)Estelle Fanta Swaray commonly known as Estelle, and formerly as Est'elle, is an English R&B singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer.-Early Life:Estelle was born 18 January 1980 in Hammersmith, London, England...
with Kanye WestKanye WestKanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
, the line "Dressed smart like a London bloke / Before he speaks his suit bespoke" refers to bespokeBespokeBespoke is a term employed in a variety of applications to mean an item custom-made to the buyer's specification...
tailoring common to Savile Row. - The StreetsThe StreetsThe Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The...
mention Savile Row in the song "The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living". "Go into Maurice Sedwell as Savile Row / I want a pin-stripe suit that no man owns". - In the cult film SextetteSextetteSextette is a 1978 Crown International Pictures comedy/musical motion picture that starred Mae West. Other actors in the cast included Timothy Dalton, Dom DeLuise, Tony Curtis, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, George Hamilton, Alice Cooper and Walter Pidgeon....
, the fashion designer portrayed by Keith MoonKeith MoonKeith John Moon was an English musician, best known for being the drummer of the English rock group The Who. He gained acclaim for his exuberant and innovative drumming style, and notoriety for his eccentric and often self-destructive behaviour, earning him the nickname "Moon the Loon". Moon...
mentions his client's husband's suit being from the north side of Savile Row. - Savile Row is mentioned in the James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film Dr. NoDr. No (film)Dr. No is a 1962 spy film, starring Sean Connery; it is the first James Bond film. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R...
. The suits that Sean ConnerySean ConnerySir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
actually wears in the film were made by Anthony Sinclair, in nearby Conduit Street. - In the film The Tailor of PanamaThe Tailor of PanamaThe Tailor of Panama is a 2001 American film based on the 1996 spy novel of the same name by John le Carré, which was inspired by Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana...
, Savile Row is the former location of the "Pendel & Braithwaite" tailor shop. - In the 24th episode of the sixth season of Married with Children (The England Show I) Al and Bud Bundy visit Poole & Co. tailors on Savile Row.
- In episode #7 of the second season of Gossip GirlGossip GirlGossip Girl is an American young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar and published by Little, Brown and Company, a subsidiary of the Hachette Group. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged teenagers at the Constance Billard School for Girls, an elite...
a bartender refers to one of Chuck BassChuck BassCharles Bartholomew "Chuck" Bass is a fictional character in the Gossip Girl series of teen novels and the television series of the same name. He is portrayed by English actor Ed Westwick. Although he is a secondary, antagonistic character in the original book series, in the television series Chuck...
suits as a Savile Row.