It’s hard to keep Savile Row out of the news these days. First it is creating a headline-making sartorial kite mark to distinguish its high-end suits from those of lower-grade impersonators. Then it embarks on a form of mass-market outreach borrowed from other global names. After Karl Lagerfeld and Jimmy Choo for H&M, and Giles Deacon for New Look comes ... Timothy Everest for Marks and Spencer and Richard James for Austin Reed.

Richard James for Austin Reed

The move, not surprisingly, is causing some controversy. One minute Savile Row is fighting for untouchable supremacy and a physical emblem of superlative quality; the next it is setting up camp in the inherently democratic high street. Can such a seemingly illogical evolution really ever work?

“It’s not a good thing,” says Sunhil Chopra, general manager of Apsley Tailors. “Long term, it’s a potential threat to the tradition of bespoke. And while there are some tailors who feel the need to reposition their company as a ‘designer’ name, there remains a core of customers who want a tailor just to be a tailor, and discreet with it.”

Savile Row tailor Richard James disagrees. September saw the launch of “Cut”, his collaborative tailoring venture with Austin Reed, with high-quality suits retailing for around £500. For Savile Row such deals offer the opportunity to work on a larger scale than usual, and to reach out to a much larger audience.

“Maybe a customer at Austin Reed will go on to buy a Richard James suit,” says Sean Dixon, managing director at Richard James. “Even if it’s only one suit, for a wedding for example, that is all good business of the kind we welcome.”

For Austin Reed, the collaboration “brings credibility”, says Ros Giles, the group’s brand director. “It’s brand extension in the sense that it allows a high street name, such as Austin Reed, to develop a premium line and to pull in a different customer, and to move from classic into more fashion-aware suiting.” Giles predicts it could threaten mid-market designer labels, such as Hugo Boss and Paul Smith, since the Cut collection will appeal to aspirational customers.

But Tony Lutwyche of Lutwyche Bespoke, which launched its first ready-to-wear collection to the US market last February and is considering a UK launch, is not convinced. “By its very nature what Savile Row offers is very different from the high street, and does not come at an affordable price,” Lutwyche says. “From an image standpoint there is certainly some danger in having your name attached to a high street suit. The financial recompense is clearly tempting but many Savile Row names are big enough in their own right to reach out with their own ready-to-wear, thus retaining control.”

Timothy Everest for Marks and Spencer

Timothy Everest, who has had a long-term relationship with Marks and Spencer and will design “Sartorial”, the high street retailer’s most upmarket tailoring line this autumn, sees the Row/Street link as an opportunity to democratise quality tailoring.

“The high street is now more interesting than many collections,” Everest says. “As the idea of ‘high street luxury’ takes hold, it’s an increasingly rewarding place to work.”

But for one bespoke tailor, the results of a collaboration with Marks and Spencer were not as fruitful as he had hoped. Mark Powell, whose link-up with the high street retailer was offered last autumn/winter, notes that he “enjoyed the credibility that came with being associated with a household name, but the return, financially and in terms of profile, wasn’t as great as I’d imagined it would be.”

However, that doesn’t worry Sean Dixon at Richard James. In the end, he says, it all comes down to quality. “The product needs to be a good suit regardless of what name is on it,” Dixon says – and regardless of where it’s sold.

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Details

www.richardjames.co.uk
www.timothyeverest.co.uk
www.apsleytailors.com
www.austinreed.co.uk
www.lutwyche.co.uk
www.marksandspencer.com
www.markpowellbespoke.co.uk