« under african skies..... | Main | part two... »
February 6, 2008
tailors on the telly...
(the lair)
My alma mater, Savile Row is the star of the small screen at the moment. On Monday the first of a three-part series about that little street in London was shown on BBC. We've been waiting for this for some time, as I believe it's taken a good year to make.
Of course all in the trade were excited about it airing, no one more than me. But after I watched the first episode, I'm sad to say I felt a little flat. There was a lot of interesting things said, certainly, and a nice glimpse into what we do, but I personally thought it was a little negative. The music and tone of the programme seemed a little funerial.
Raising awareness of the Row can never be a bad thing, of course. Though many of the tailors I've spoken to since chuckled how amusing it was that the global fashion house, Abercombie & Fitch who opened their flagship store on the Row last year, enjoyed the lion's share of the free BBC coverage.
For me it was funny how, like I've said before, because we're quite a nomadic bunch, ever since filming stopped, some of those people featured have moved on to different companies. Nothing unusual there. It's one of the things that gives the Row its charm.
I admired the positive outlook of Angus Cundey of Pooles regarding their new workrooms, down in the cheaper basements [All the hedge fund companies moving into the neighborhood are after the top floors, with lots of sunlight]. As any tailor worth their salt will say, if you have the skill and a clean, well-lit room, that's really all you need. In many ways a prestigious address only turns out to be a distraction. I've seen it happen before, many times. Patrick Grant from Norton's had the right idea, completely unphased by his new, global neighbour, measuring the top man of Abercrombie & Fitch on the programme. His attitude seemed to say, if we stay good, we'll be successful, and good luck to the big boys.
(what it's really all about)
I also hope that the remaining two parts will not only be centered around the members of the Savile Row Association. The latter is a nice idea, and there are some great houses in the club. Some of their owners are truly splendid people, who have given their whole lives to the good of the trade- Mr. Skinner of Dege & Skinner and Mr Cundey spring immediately to mind. But I've been told it's an organization that stipulates you have to be on the actual Row, or within a hundred yards of it to be a member.
I do find this odd, and not just because I'm settled up in Cumbria. I know that one of the houses, Anthony J. Hewitt Limited, one of the best in the trade, has had its membership formerly questioned because it's one hundred and ten yards away from Savile Row- a mere 10 yards past the limit.
This is astonishing, as I know Mr. Mr Hewitt and Ravi Tailor personally, who between them have worked on Savile Row for over eighty years!
Their new home in 11 St. George Street, is one of the best examples of a real, classic, West End tailors. I presume I have to call it "West End" from now on. Apparently it's no longer "Savile Row", correct? Even though Ravi, Mr Hewitt and the other tailors based in the shop have God Knows how much experience between them. They have proper cutting rooms upstairs and wealth of experienced tailors making down below. To me, apart from the fact that they're no longer within the arbitrary perimeter [They're technically within 100 yards as the crow flies, but about 10 yards outside it via foot, by my reckoning] what more could anyone expect from a traditional "Savile Row" tailors? The shop is simply beautiful, and for all the right reasons. But the club doesn't seem to agree with me.
The term "Savile Row" has always been commonly used since the earliest days to describe the community of the best suit makers in the world, who congregated around Mayfair [Because, frankly, back in the old days, that's where all the well-heeled customers actually lived]. As with any random bit of history, the community of tailors ended up being named collectively, "Savile Row". They could have just as easily named it something else, and not a single thread on a single suit made in the last 200 years in that neighbourhood would have been any worse for it.
My other issue is that I don't understand why you have to pay somewhere between £1000 -£1500 a year for membership. Especially with "prohibitively high rents" being a major theme of the BBC programme.
Surely, wouldn't it be easier to invite all the tailors to get their heads together and use their different talents, not just the ones within this arbitrary perimeter? Good ideas and changes could be used to the long-term benefit of every company and individual. This of course should be free of charge, I'm sure with high rents and other costs there's more useful ways to spend £1500. I'm also sure all concerned would be happy to chip in to the cost of the real essentials of the good decision making i.e. the refreshments and nibbles.
I know I'm the heretic tailor for deciding to live and work here in Cumbria, and can understand why somebody like me would not be invited to join their club. I can certainly see why they're so attached to their premises. From a business standpoint I am lucky that my customers care more about the quality of my suits, and the tradition they inherited, rather than how their money is contributing to the coffers of an already-rich Mayfair landlord.
(nice glen check to match up)
This November I will have had 25 years in this business and I must say I've loved every minute of it. Let's hope the next couple of BBC episodes makes it more obvious why I say that. The first episode was called "Love Thy Neighbour", after all. :)
Savile Row will survive into the next generation, not because of "Brand Savile Row", but because we find enough young people over the long haul, tailor and customer alike, to carry on the traditions properly. Whether this happens on the Row, 110 yards from the Row, or yes, perhaps even in Cumbria, it's the skill and the love that matters. That's why we do it. If we just wanted to be on Savile Row for the money, we would have gone into property development.
[You can watch th programme on the BBC website here, for the next few days.]
Posted by tom at February 6, 2008 11:05 AM