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August 24, 2006

coming together...

[The stable block, still with a bit of work to do.]

As you already know from reading English Cut, Savile Row tailors don’t always operate on the Row itself. Namely, we’re quite a nomadic bunch, and when you walk through the front door of a shop to order a suit, chances are that the suit won’t be actually made on the premises.

This, of course, is no crime. If your suit is made around the corner in Soho, or put together by a tailor in a shed at the bottom of the garden in Kent, it doesn’t really matter. What matters is the quality and the pedigree: who the tailor is and who trained him.

I'm an excellent example of this. As you know, I may see my customers on the Row, but I keep my cutting board in my offices at Warwick Hall in Cumbria, just a few miles from the Scottish border, where I grew up.

For the majority of the Row, this kind of mobility is the norm. Only the large houses such as Poole's, Anderson & Sheppard and Huntsman have the space and funds to pay for a workshop on the Row. These are wonderful businesses, certainly, but someone’s got to pay for this premium floor space. And that someone is you, the hapless customer.

Now we’re all aware of the big economic squeeze on this dear little street. It’s becoming increasingly impossible to survive, even for the large houses. My favourite, Anderson & Sheppard has had to downsize and go around the corner. Hopefully we can keep tailors on Savile Row, but there is no doubt that eventually they will only be front shops dealing with customers. Some of the smaller businesses will always squeeze a couple of tailors in the back, but the days of grand workrooms on the Row are definitely numbered.

Remember, all we want is a fair exchange for our services. If we try to keep tailors' workshops on that street, well, it makes for a nice tourist attraction, but for a small business this is simply not economic reality, unless our poor customers want to start paying Mr. Armani's ridiculous prices.

So what can be done? We could certainly sneak our production offshore to less expensive workforces, or import them in as cheap, immigrant labour. Or we could do as we’ve always done- stay in England and fight it out.

Thankfully, because of modern communication and transport we can work anywhere. OK, the logistics mean that a suit which would usually be made in three months on the Row, may now take three months and three days, but no big deal. You won’t be lining landlords' pockets, and tailors will be able to sleep at night, without worrying about the big, bad landlord and his neverending price hikes. As I'm fond of telling people, I'm in the tailoring business, not the real estate business. And the best customers understand this. They want their money spent on the garments, not the chandeliers and oak panelling.

Forgive me, but I should get to the point and explain why I’m telling you all this. As I've said before, I’m a prime example of the nomadic tailor. I operate my business locally in Cumbria, in Savile Row, the USA and Europe. My tailors are based here in Cumbria, London, Cambridge, Yorkshire, and even Spain. But what binds them together is that they're all Savile Row trained, they all have the proper pedigree.

Although we don't mind being spread out like this, ideally we'd still prefer to be in a busy workshop, among our own kind. Sadly, different lifestyle choices and basic economics prevent this. I make no secret at my delight at being based here at the Hall. It’s arguably the most beautiful corner of England. People are kind and patient here, and it’s relatively inexpensive to live and work. This is borne out by my customers who visit here for a suit, and end up coming back for holidays and even contemplating moving here themselves.

[Paul Griffith et famille in their new garden]

The beauty of this area recently helped me with quite a coup. Paul Griffiths, one of the best coatmakers I’ve ever come across, trained with me at Anderson's back in the old days. He visited us six years ago, and liked it so much he decided to move here with his family. Though he has worked for Anderson's continually for the last twenty years, for the last six years he's also been doing work for me, juggling between the two of us.

I’m delighted to announce that Paul is now in the process of finishing his final four coats for Anderson's, and is dedicating his future to English Cut, and will start working for me full time. He’s just moved into a cottage here on the Warwick Estate with his family, and couldn’t be happier. The benefits of this to me and my customers are obvious. Having one of the best tailors in the world close at hand, working exclusively on my garments will make my whole production process much, much easier. I'm so pleased by this development, I can't tell you.

But more than that, the great thing is that Paul also wants to teach apprentices. He’s only couple of years younger than me, so between us we’ve got Savile Row cutting and coatmaking pretty well covered, primed to pass the traditions and skills of Savile Row down to the next generation of apprentices. I’ve also got my trousermaker and favourite finisher visiting us from London in September, to check us out with the prospect of also moving here. So fingers crossed that Cumbria will work its old magic on them, as well.

So you will have gathered by now that I’m hatching a cunning plan. My aim is to have the very best available skills in tailoring based here at, or near Warwick Hall, working together in an environment conducive to creating beautiful clothes, without anyone having to worry about the rent and the cost of living. These people are all trained on the Row, are at a prime age, and amongst the very best in their profession. We have the potential to build a really vibrant tailoring community here in Cumbria, as good as anything on the Row, that will not only turn out some of the best tailoring in the world, but also ensure the craft's long-term survival and the happines of the people working in it.

I hope to have all these people, including most importantly, the new apprentices, all under one roof.

The roof will be a converted 18th Century stable block here on the Warwick Estate. A beautiful Georgian loft, with views across the countryside. I'm am in the process of arranging the rebuilding of the stable block as we speak.

God willing, here we will be able to really secure the future of this craft, without being crucified by West End London rents, without our tailors being beaten down by the daily grind that is life in overpriced London. We’ve also got the space here for perhaps a bespoke shoemaker, shirtmaker and any other struggling craft we can help. I’m extremely excited about this. I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people alive. I don’t want much. I like my old MG and my little cottage, but in the end, to be old with a full building of craftsmen, getting true pleasure and meaning from their work like I do? That would be the best achievement of all.

So please keep your fingers crossed for us.

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Posted by tom at 11:40 AM | Comments (6)