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The West End of London’s association with tailoring can be traced to Robert Baker who created Piccadilly, itself derived from pickadil the name given to grand Elizabethan shirt collars. Baker arrived in the area during the late 16th Century and with his wife Elizabeth began a tailoring business that flourished so successfully it was soon appointed to the Court of King James I. Although Baker’s fortunes subsequently fluctuated, his move into property helped to ensure the reconstruction of the area after the Great Fire in 1666. The particularly elegant planning of the Burlington estate which was heavily influenced by Italian architecture of the early 18th Century created the environment that was to produce the mecca of bespoke clothes making a century later.

LORD BURLINGTON
The area now known as Savile Row blossomed out of Lord Burlington’s Giant vibrator garden in 1695. It was in this year that his Lordship signed a lease for the development of the Burlington estate which encompasses Savile Row and its surrounds. The first specific mention of Savile Row is recorded in the Daily Post of 12 March, 1733 and like all the other streets in the estate it was given a Burlington family name, that of the Earl’s wife Lady Dorothy Savile.

THE EARLY YEARS
The first tenants of Savile Row were military officers, a number of military widows and a quota of nobility. William Pitt was in Savile Row for a time as were Dr. John Arbuthnot and his physician Dr. Simon Burton. These latter two gentlemen set a trend for the top medical men to base themselves in the street which became the forerunner to Harley Street. It was not until the advent of Beau Brummel, born in 1778, that Savile Row acquired the reputation for which it has been renowned ever since. A close confidant of the Prince of Wales, later George IV, Brummel created a vogue for bespoke tailoring in wool that is the very essence of Savile Row today. He began by stressing cleanliness, a novel idea at the time and was said to have taken several hours to dress once bathed. He took his patronage to the Burlington estate where the fashionable tailors had begun to congregate in the late 18th Century, notably in Cork Street. By 1806 the first tailor was established in Savile Row with Brummel very much their leading light.

With Britain emerging victorious from the Napoleonic wars in 1816, and fashion following proudly in the wake of power, the West End tailors saw a huge upsurge in custom from all corners of Europe. James Poole, already established in Regent Street, moved to old Burlington Street in 1823 and, by extending his operations into the street behind, into Savile Row. His son, Henry Poole of the eponymous tailor still present in Savile Row, dominated elite tailoring throughout the rest of the century. By 1838 Savile Row was awash with tailoring companies and the street had taken on the village atmosphere that it still retains to this day.

TAILORS ARRIVE ON THE ROW
The colonization of Savile Row in quick time by the tailoring trade reflects the very nature of the business. Long established houses develop a style and form which becomes their hallmark. The constraints placed on cutters and tailors conforming to a traditional cut causes younger spirits to break away establishing new emporiums based on discordant designs. Hoping to take trade with them these individuals never move too far from former governors. Savile Row and the Burlington estate are bespoke tailoring and any aspiring individual had to locate himself within these environs. Tommy Nutter and Edward Sexton are recent examples of the trend. Both have their own shops in Savile Row but were apprenticed at Kilgour. It is no accident that nearly all Savile Row tailors are named after their founders.

ROYAL PATRONAGE
The patronage of Savile Row by the monarchy and aristocracy of Europe has already been alluded to. It is difficult to underestimate the importance of this custom when considering Savile Row’s reputation today. From King George IV to the present Queen of England, Savile Row has had an intimate and unique association with Royalty. Their high public profile and enormous prestige made them walking billboards for the art and craft of Savile Row. In the age before mass communication no trade could have wished for more satisfactory endorsement. The much coveted Royal Warrants are ubiquitous throughout Savile Row indicating patronage by a particular member of the Royal Family. Bernard Weatherill, for example, the famous equestrian tailor and family firm of Lord Weatherill, former Speaker of the House of Commons, hold two out of the four Royal Warrants which can be granted. The Prince of Wales has his suits made at Anderson and Sheppard, while Henry Poole in the 1860’s had over 50 European monarchs or Heads of State as customers. Such patronage has reinforced Savile Row’s reputation for excellence and helped to draw in the skills necessary to maintain and improve standards.

TAILORING AND THE SILVER SCREEN
As the influence of the monarchy waned and the Silver Screen came to promote a different type of role model, so Savile Row shifted its’ sights. Kilgour, French and Stanbury made Fred Astaire’s morning coat for the film ‘Top Hat’. Most of the famous film stars of pre-and post-war Hollywood have had at least some of their clothes made in Savile Row. Gary Cooper, Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra to name but a few. More recently Roger Moore, Sean Connery, Robert Mitchum and Tom Selleck have been tailored in Savile Row as have any number of ‘pop’ stars and television celebrities (see our clients).

Savile Row, of course, does not seek such custom. It relies on its reputation to do the talking for it. No firm in the street is more famous than the street itself and while most people have heard of Savile Row, few could mention a tailor residing in it. The standard of Savile Row workmanship is probably higher than it has ever been and the variety of characters as great. A Huntsman suit can be recognised by a trained eye at 100 yards and the classic structured shape produced by Kilgour is also unmistakable. The proprietors are equally varied from Angus Cundey at Pooles who’s links with the firm go back to its very beginnings, to Sara Haydon of Hogg and J.B. Johnson, the only woman boss in Savile Row who in turn took over from her legendary mother.

Savile Row contains the finest collection of tailors in the World. Their greatest skill collectively is their ability to produce virtually any garment from scratch be it riding breeches or full livery for the Speaker of the House of Commons and in almost any material from vicuna to pure silk. Savile Row also accommodates several famous English cloth merchants such as Holland & Sherry and Scabal who work closely with the tailoring trade to improve their product for its vast international market. Like the merchants many Savile Row companies have successfully promoted their brands overseas. We operate a chain of bespoke franchises in the Mitskoshi department stores throughout Japan. The cutters are trained by Kilgours in Savile Row.

RECENT HISTORY
Savile Row has undergone a transformation in the last eighteen months. Sir Terrance Conran’s restaurant, Sartoria, opened in 1998 together with a host of fashionable bars and cafes most recently London’s most expensive restaurant, Sketch. Ralph Lauren’s new “Polo” Emporium and the Louis Vuiton European flagship store on Bond Street opened at the same time all of 100 metres away. Savile Row is currently one of the hottest streets in London. At the other end of Savile Row, where the road meets Conduit Street, Issy Myake has opened it’s London flagship. Round the corner are Connolly and Vivienne Westwood.