With major international luxury menswear brands shifting towards casual / lifestyle and technology driven fabrics which do no longer necessitate ironing, where does tailoring stand?
The industry has certainly seen a shift towards gentlemen taking a more casual approach to dressing and general lifestyle. Nowadays most tailors on Savile Row stock seasonal ready-to-wear collections and offer made-to-measure services, you would not have seen collections as such from Savile Row tailors back in the day. The introduction of ready-to-wear on ‘The Row’ is a stepping stone into bespoke. We regularly see the return of customers who started out purchasing ready-to- wear and then come back for a bespoke piece. It’s an opportunity to introduce Savile Row tailoring to the younger customer.
I wouldn’t say this shift has threatened the existence of bespoke suits, if anything it has helped increase gentlemen’s appreciation for the quality of bespoke. For us at Richard Anderson, we understand that ready-to-wear and made to measure are always going to exist and we need to embrace that, our biggest desire when we set up shop was to combine tradition with innovative creativity and we’ll always stay true to that. It’s up to us as experts to ensure that the quality of the cut looks great, the making as well and the service that we give our clients in the absolute best; it’s what sets us apart.
As long as cutters and makers maintain the quality of style and make, the industry will remain in good shape. The amount of talented of young people coming in to the trade is extremely encouraging for the future.
We have also introduced denim into our range – although we are tailors, we understand that trends change and with the increased combination of a sports jacket and jeans, we saw an opportunity for gentlemen to have perfectly tailored jeans along with a jacket.
What are the key competitive advantages of a Savile Row tailor nowadays? What are consumers expecting?
Savile Row tailors and the suits they produce are some of the best and well recognised in the world. The Row’s fame derives from a period of roughly 300 years – from the Restoration to World War II – when British style dominated men’s clothing. Tailors will always provide a unique experience from when you first arrive in the shop to when you leave, one which will totally differ from buying a suit off the peg in a Highstreet store. The biggest advantage that Savile Row offers to gentlemen is having a suit that is completely fitted to you.
Part of my job as being a cutter is to improve the body. Make anyone look a little bit taller and slimmer, disguise any concerns they have – you have to take it all in to consideration. When I’m taking my series of measurements, the measurements don’t tell you everything. They won’t tell me how the customer stands, how they sit and it’s my job to adjust to these and create a suit that accommodates each person’s different movements and style. Many people come to us for bespoke, because ready-to-wear suits often don’t look good on them. It’s my responsibility to share my expertise with the client to ensure they are more than happy with the final product and the journey they’ve had to get there.
The finished product is our number one priority, as it is for any tailor. We pride ourselves on the experience we offer customers along the way, each experience will differ client to client, and I strongly believe that is what consumers are expecting of the row.
How has the profile of your customer changed in the past 3 to 5 years?
Traditionally Savile Row serviced the ‘older’ man, however when we opened in 2001, it was our mission to make Savile Row more ‘friendly’ for the younger generations too. Definitely over the past 5 years we have noticed a difference in customer, they tend to be younger and a bit more daring than they have been in the past. They want to explore cloths, colour and cuts.
We have such a wonderful array of customers at Richard Anderson, we have been lucky enough to dress some incredible talent, businessmen and those who have a general appreciation for tailoring and want to invest in a suit for themselves.
Decades ago Savile Row was like an exclusive membership club. What has changed and can it go back
Savile Row was a very different place a few decades ago to what it is today. I wanted to take some of the flare and newness that appealed to a younger generation and marry it with the tradition and quality of the older tailors.
I felt tailors of ‘The Row’ were missing the opportunity to service gentlemen of a wider demographic for the sake of tradition. Having spent all those years working for Huntsman, a very traditional tailoring company, where the clientele was of aristocracy, CEOs of companies and predominantly 60 years of age, I decided I wanted to make tailoring less intimidating for gentlemen of my own age and younger.
My dream was to give life back to ‘The Row’ and 2001 presented the opportunity to open the first bespoke tailor on Savile Row in 50 years, it was the perfect time for us to immerse ourselves with some of the most traditional tailors and offer a point of difference, taking the age-old craft of bespoke tailoring forward. When we opened the doors, Brian and I wanted to create an atmosphere that was less intimidating and more welcoming to appeal to a younger audience; customers of my own age group.
Ready-to-wear and made-to-measure have definitely influenced the tailoring industry. Nowadays most tailors on Savile Row stock seasonal ready-to-wear collections and offer made-to-measure services, you would not have seen collections as such from Savile Row tailors back in the day. There are less tailors and more design led shops along The Row than when I first began my career.
Berluti, Zegna, Ralph Lauren, Tod’s and Gucci have integrated dining concepts (Cafes or lounges) in their stores, some in their men’s section of the store. What is your take on that?
I think for these larger designer brands it is a very well thought out move and a good business decision. These ventures into the gourmet market will boost their investments and profiles. With consumer shopping habits changing from in store purchasing and moving more towards online purchasing, opening up a restaurant of café is a tool that can be used to engage customers into the store which previously might not have happened in the past. It creates a more social, comfortable and relaxed environment.
Although Savile Row has evolved over the years, I feel introducing a café / dining experiences within the tailors would drastically change what sets us apart. Savile Row is about the product and unique experience offered to clients. It’s the most iconic tailoring hub in the world and although we want to make it less intimidating for existing and potential clients, we also want to maintain the private and personal experience offered.
Are there any similarities between haute couture with a team of the respective house flying around the world to take measures and do fittings for the very high-profile customers?
Although we are based on Savile Row, our name and tailoring have a global reach. We have a strong network of clients worldwide. Since our inception, we continue to travel the world offering the finest cloths and fabrics to our bespoke customers from the U.S.A, Japan, Hong Kong and across Europe.
We travel to the U.S.A three times a year, as well as regular dates to Japan, Hong Kong and Europe. We’re also considering yearly trips to Shanghai! It excites us to provide old and new clients all over the world the chance to be fitted for a British suit in their own country. It’s an important part of the service provided by Richard Anderson Ltd. It enables the tailors to build relationships with their clients, understand their needs and, most importantly, work more swiftly than they would be able to if the client had to visit Savile Row for each fitting. To us measuring clients for a bespoke garment is not just about physique. A face to face fitting allows the team to study the way a client stands, moves and also understand each of their personal preferences, making for the perfectly fitted suit or jacket.
How has the internet and social media changed (if in any way) your communications strategy?
The internet and social media has drastically changed the way people all over the world interact and communicate, including ourselves. How we target our audience has changed significantly over the past few years. Social media networks allow us the opportunity to share opinions with a far wider audience. Which really works in our favour in terms of introducing our product and the traditional Savile Row style to a much wider demographic globally.
The continued expansion in menswear tailoring can largely be attributed to social media’s role in growing visibility around men’s style. Social media is instant; it allows anyone to showcase the entirety of its culture, in the tailoring world it allows us to show everything from the design process, to cutting a bespoke suit, to client fittings to the finished product.
It allows us to tell a story to an existing audience but help us to engage with a new one. Not to mention that social media has a global reach – we have a large client base outside of the UK so it’s important for us to be able to be in constant contact with our customers and to keep them updated with new fabrics, cloths etc.
What is your view on influencers) i.e. high-profile personalities wearing your suits, not bloggers.
Similar to above, I think that when influencers wear your product you expand your potential audience dramatically and they often share audiences which in turn will benefit us.
It is a good tool for any brand, an influencer can make product more accessible to a consumer which it might not have done before and therefore engages them with your brand and could potentially equate to a sale.
Richard Anderson, Savile Row
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