Anderson & Sheppard is a bespoke tailor on Savile Row, London, established in the Row itself in 1906. In 2005, its bespoke tailoring shop moved to Old Burlington Street and has remained there since. It also sells ready-made menswear from its old school style 'haberdashery' shop premises in nearby Clifford Street, as well as online. [1]
Since 2004, it has been owned by Anda Rowland, who inherited it from her father, Roland "Tiny" Rowland. The head cutter is John Hitchcock. [2]
Former devotees have included Fred Astaire, Gary Cooper, Noël Coward, and Bryan Ferry. Anderson & Sheppard kept Prince Charles in double breasted suits for years. In 2004, Tom Ford became a customer of the firm, commissioning suits that would later appear in a W magazine photo shoot. Notable female clients have included Fran Lebowitz and Marlene Dietrich. [3]
A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century.
Savile Row is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society at 1 Savile Row, where significant British explorations to Africa and the South Pole were planned; and more recently, the Apple office of the Beatles at 3 Savile Row, where the band's impromptu final live performance was held on the roof of the building.
Jermyn Street is a one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London, England. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for gentlemen's-clothing retailers in the West End.
Bespoke tailoring or custom tailoring is clothing made to an individual buyer's specifications by a tailor. Bespoke garments are completely unique and created without the use of a pre-existing pattern, while made to measure uses a standard-sized pattern altered to fit the customer.
Gieves & Hawkes is a bespoke men's tailor and menswear retailer located at 1 Savile Row in London, England. The business was founded in 1771. It was acquired in 2012 by the Hong Kong conglomerate Trinity Ltd., which was in turn purchased by Shandong Ruyi in 2017. After Trinity was subject to a winding-up petition for debt in September 2021, Gieves & Hawkes was acquired in November 2022 by Frasers Group, owner of Sports Direct.
Ozwald Boateng, OBE is an English fashion designer, best known for his trademark twist on classic tailoring and bespoke styles.
Norton & Sons is a Savile Row bespoke tailor founded in 1821 by Walter Grant Norton. The firm is located on the east side of the street, at No. 16. It was purchased by Scottish designer Patrick Grant in 2005.
Moss Bros Group is a limited company set up in 1851 by Moses Moss in Covent Garden, London, UK. One of the UK's top menswear shops, specialising in dress wear for formal occasions, Moss Bros has over 150 shops throughout the United Kingdom. It was, until 2020, listed on the London Stock Exchange as a constituent of the FTSE Fledgling Index, before being delisted.
H. Huntsman & Sons is a high-end fashion house and tailor located at No. 11 Savile Row, London. It is known for its English bespoke menswear tailoring, cashmere ready-to-wear collections, and leather accessories.
Fox Brothers & Co is a clothmaker based in Wellington, Somerset, England. The company is one of the few working cloth mills still producing cloth entirely in England since 1772, although the present company was incorporated in 1996.
Timothy Charles Peto Everest is a Welsh tailor and fashion designer. He moved to London in his early twenties to work with the Savile Row tailor Tommy Nutter. He then became one of the leaders of the New Bespoke Movement, which brought designer attitudes to the traditional skills of Savile Row tailoring.
Cad and the Dandy is an independent tailoring company based in London, England with premises on Savile Row, in the City and New York City, that sells bespoke suits.
Mark Powell is an independent British fashion designer known for his detailed biro drawings.
Richard James is a bespoke Savile Row tailors and contemporary menswear company. It was founded in 1992 by designer Richard James, a graduate of Brighton College of Art and a former buyer for the London boutique Browns, and his business partner Sean Dixon. The Design and Brand Director is Toby Lamb, a graduate of Central Saint Martins. Richard James has won both the British Fashion Council's Menswear Designer of the Year and Bespoke Designer of the Year awards.
Savile Row tailoring is men and women's bespoke tailoring that takes place on Savile Row and neighbouring streets in Mayfair, Central London. In 1846, Henry Poole, credited as being the "Founder of Savile Row", opened an entrance to his tailoring premises at No. 32 Savile Row. 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 has been termed the "golden mile of tailoring", where customers have included Charles III, Winston Churchill, Lord Nelson, Napoleon III, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Laurence Olivier and Duke Ellington.
Stephen Williams is an English tailor and fashion designer the establisher of his brand, Terence Trout, tailoring house Bespoke HQ. He previously worked with Giorgio Armani, Calvin Klein and DKNY, and he ran the Paul Costelloe Menswear line.
Dege & Skinner is a bespoke gentleman's tailor and shirt-maker located at 10 Savile Row, London. Founded in 1865, they are one of the oldest, continually operated bespoke tailoring companies in the world. They have the Row's first and only permanent on-site, bespoke shirt service.
The word bespoke has evolved from a verb meaning 'to speak for something', to its contemporary usage as an adjective. Originally, the adjective bespoke described tailor-made suits and shoes. Later, it described anything commissioned to a particular specification. In contemporary usage, bespoke has become a general marketing and branding concept implying exclusivity and limited runs.
The Hong Kong tailors are a well-known attraction in Hong Kong. Hong Kong is still home to several bespoke tailors, who have stitched suits for foreign politicians like Bill Clinton, George W Bush, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and Bob Hawke and celebrities like King Charles, Kevin Spacey, Boris Becker, David Bowie, Richard Gere and Michael Jackson.
Dress2kill Ltd is a tailoring business formed in 1999 by James Hibbert and Shirley Biggs. It sells bespoke suits from its two shops in London and Hampshire, and ships worldwide from its online store. The company had a turnover of £2.15m in 2014.