http://www.wwd.com/menswear-news/reinventing-savile-row-3337193#/article/menswear-news/reinventing-savile-row-3337193?page=1
Mixed messages to me. But they're still lashing out. Maybe, they need some direction; a Ghengis Khan to lead them: the United Tribe of Savile Row. No worries: Comps is in there; all togged-out in his shooting suit and shooter, no doubt, at the ready (let's hope that he holds it the right way round). The first salvos should be at Abercombie and Fitch - and take it from there. Boom! Boom!
NJS - you are the historian - was 1992 really the first time anyone on the row sold RTW?
It seems like Savile Row does need some changes, but i think it needs to return to the row before Mod's came in. I believe that the Row wants to be like Abercrombie and Fitch, Zara ETC.
Ughh. I get sick of these advertisements/articles. Every time you read about Savile Row you hear the same stuff. We have been hearing it for nearly 2 decades. In many ways I think the talk about Savile row changing and competing with designer brands, repeated over and over, just shows how unready they are to compete and how weak their position is.
The commercial property rents on the Row cannot be conducive to small, niche and dying markets such as bespoke tailoring. Actually, quite a sad article, but it's a reality, they must become international brands to survive.
Over here in the Netherlands, it's all made to measure or rtw. This is the last bastion of classic English tailoring in the Hague, and even they only do MTM, the rest just flog overpriced RL and Italianesque tat:
http://www.fgvandenheuvel.com/index.htm
Im currently looking into making up a dress uniform for an air force major. I am quite interested in projects like this.