London's Savile Row has been the home of some of the world’s best, or at least best known, tailors for more than 200 years. And for most of the first 199 of those years, anything that smacked of marketing was frowned upon. Times change, and an association of Savile Row firms has sponsored the first book to cover the Row in more than two decades.
The London Cut, edited by James Sherwood, borrows its title from the name given to Frederick Scholte's drape cut in the 1930's. It uses conversations with the tailors and an excellent selection of images past and present to paint a picture of today's Savile Row in a series of essays about individual firms.
Since more than a few of those firms have websites, some readers are likely to be familiar with the histories of established names such as Poole, H. Huntsman and Anderson & Sheppard. The book's value added is that it extends coverage to two dozen less known tailoring houses ranging from the well established Welsh & Jeffries to moderns like Spencer Hart and Ozwald Boateng, and gives space to half a dozen accessory firms and several of the cloth houses and mills as well.
That said, I was probably happiest with the 59 page section of photos, many in color, of famous clients.
Since more than a few of those firms have websites, some readers are likely to be familiar with the histories of established names such as Poole, H. Huntsman and Anderson & Sheppard. The book's value added is that it extends coverage to two dozen less known tailoring houses ranging from the well established Welsh & Jeffries to moderns like Spencer Hart and Ozwald Boateng, and gives space to half a dozen accessory firms and several of the cloth houses and mills as well.
That said, I was probably happiest with the 59 page section of photos, many in color, of famous clients.
The London Cut is currently available from Amazon UK and is scheduled be released in the United States on January 29, 2008.
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1 comment:
I recently bought this book and I agree it's good, although it should be noted it is put out by the Savile Row Bespoke organization and is a bit ra-ra. What I found most interesting was how Savile Row firms have been bought and sold over the years as owners retire or fail in business. I also found interesting that the famous Scholte died rich but without his firm and clients.
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