Savile Row tailoring is primarily men's bespoke tailoring that takes place on Savile Row and neighbouring streets in Mayfair, Central London. Historically, it catered almost exclusively to male clients, with bespoke tailoring for women emerging only in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. While a few Savile Row houses now offer bespoke tailoring for women, the street's reputation was established through menswear.
Although Savile Row is frequently used as a shorthand for British bespoke tailoring as a whole, the Row's tradition is more precisely understood as one branch of London's tailoring heritage — the West End style, centred on Mayfair. A distinct parallel tradition also developed in the City of London,Matthew Alford – “London’s Tailoring Traditions: Cultural Geography and Dress” Fashion Theory, Vol. 17, No. 3 (2013) serving the financial community of the Square Mile through tailors such as MacAngus and Wainwrighthttps://macangus-wainwright.com/blog/what-is-city-tailoring-anyway and Alexander Boyd.https://www.permanentstyle.com/2012/11/alexander-boyd-london-city-tailor.html Norton & Sons, for example, was established in 1821 explicitly as tailors to the gentlemen of the City of London, operating from Lombard Street before relocating to Savile Row in the 1860s.
In 1846, Henry Poole, credited as being the "Founder of Savile Row", opened an entrance to his tailoring premises at No. 32 Savile Row. The term bespoke is understood to have originated in Savile Row when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by individual customers. The short street has been termed the "golden mile of tailoring", where customers have included Charles III, Winston Churchill, Lord Nelson, Napoleon III, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Laurence Olivier and Duke Ellington.
In 1969, Nutters of Savile Row modernised the style and approach of the traditional tailors – a modernisation that continued in the 1990s with the arrival of designers including: Richard James, Ozwald Boateng and Timothy Everest. This evolution has continued into the 21st century. Alexandra Wood, who established her business on Savile Row in 2008, has been described in coverage by The Times as part of a broader shift towards a more contemporary approach to bespoke menswear. With increasing rents, the number of tailoring businesses on Savile Row had declined to 19 by 2006. There were also criticisms from Giorgio Armani of falling behind the times. However, since the mid-2000s Savile Row has been enjoying a resurgence. A local online directory in October 2014 listed 44 tailoring and clothing businesses on or near Savile Row.
History
While the first tailors moved onto Savile Row as early as 1806, the origins of its tailoring history can be traced back to the beginning of the 17th century. The story begins with a tailor called Robert Baker (RB), originally from Staplegrove in Somerset, who bought up land to the north west of Charing Cross with money made from the sale of Piccadills, a type of large broad collar. Working from "a poore little shop in ye Strand" RB and his wife Elizabeth started a business that pitched their trade to the rich, among which was Lady Cope. Quoting from a contemporary source: "By ye means of ye Ladie Cope, whose Taylor hee was, [RB] fell into a way of makinge Pickadillys ... for most of the Nobilitie and Gentrie". RB soon had "three score men att worke" and with the opening of a shopping arcade the New Exchange by King James I next door in 1609, business prospered. Indeed, so much so that by 1613, "poore Countrey Taylor" RB had bought land for £50 (2023 value £10,206), which was then open country, and built himself a comfortable new home near where the Lyric Theatre now stands on Shaftesbury Avenue.
Soon, RB's new residence gained the nickname "Pickadilly Hall" and with other properties being developed by him on that land, the nearest roadway also acquired the name "Pickadilly", which became modern-day Piccadilly. With his next property development, RB bought 22 acres of land nearby, including Golden Square, where many cloth merchants used to reside, and several streets in Soho where subcontracting tailors are traditionally based. The plot of land where Savile Row was eventually developed was originally called Ten Acre Close and "was created by the sale on 29 June 1622 of three adjacent parcels of ground, then all in St. Martin's in the Fields, to William Maddox, citizen and merchant tailor of London, by Richard Wilson of King's Lynn, gentleman." Ten acre close was part of 35 acres of undeveloped land bought by Maddox for £1,450 (2023 value £285,666), which now covers East Mayfair. This estate was handed down through Maddox's heirs for many generations, until it was passed to the Reverend George Pollen in 1764. As a result of this, the Pollen Estate still exists to this day, part-owned by Norway's Oil Fund since August 2014.
Tailoring has been associated with the Savile Row the area since the 19th century, when Beau Brummell, who epitomised the well-dressed man, patronised the tailors congregated on the Burlington Estate, notably around Cork Street, upon which John Levick in 1790 at No. 9 was among the first. As of 1806 there was still not a tailor on Savile Row itself, but businesses such as Davies & Son; Adeney & Boutroy; John Levick; Stultz, Meyer, Burghart and Davidson were colonising surrounding streets, including Clifford Street, Cork Street, Conduit Street, Sackville Street and Hanover Street. It is believed that the first tailors to actually work on the Row were Henry Poole and Company in 1846, when they turned the back entrance of their workshops at No. 32 Savile Row into the main entrance to their shop.
As the areas reputation grew there were more tailoring firms and tailors. Tailoring was known as a “sweated trade” that is with poor pay and conditions. Whilst the cutters were generally employed staff, the making tailors were self-employed, so-called journeymen, as they would seek work from firm to firm. The journeymen were paid for completed work against a “Time Log”. This was a schedule of time to complete tasks and with an hourly rate gave the price earned. There was a continuous tension from the tailors to increase the time or the rate to increase pay. There were many disputes, but in 1867 there was a major strike with some 2,500 tailors on strike affecting around 90 firms in Mayfair.
The tailors trade unions became more organised and in 1891 The Master Tailors established the Association of London Master Tailors (ALMT) to better coordinate their efforts to manage dispute resolution (The Savile Row Bespoke Association of the day, see below). The first President was Harry Hill (Hill Brothers) who would be succeeded by Howard Cundey (Henry Poole) in 1906 and William Cooling Lawrence (Cooling, Lawrence & Sons) in 1921 to 1937. William Cooling Lawrence would also chair the Joint Conciliation Board between the Masters and Tailors Trade Unions on pay and conditions from 1891 to 1937. Relations would improve with a fairer Time Log in 1891 and the ALMT would have to manage other crises over the decades including the impacts of the First World War and economic slumps. In 1912 the ALMT listed 169 member firms of Savile Row rating with a combined capacity for 1,500 sittings.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ Tailor & Cutter 29 March 1906 p66, 30 March 1916 p18
Working conditions were also problematic. Workshops in general were poor in terms of the working space and arrangements for personal hygiene. “Sittings” were provided for the tailors but they were literally just that, a space on the floor to work and ironing on boards resting on the knees. In 1903 Cooling, Lawrence and Sons completed rebuilding and extending their premises at 47 Maddox Street. They provided a modern working environment and ended the practice of “sittings” on the floor at the firm, providing raised work boards for all tailors. Other firms would also adopt the change shortly after including Henry Poole, Hill Bros, Meyer and Mortimer and Sandons.https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ Tailor & Cutter 1 June 1911 p417 retrieved 27 April 2023, 6 May 1909 p391, retrieved 30 April 2023
The Savile Row Bespoke Association (SRBA) was founded in 2004 to protect and to develop bespoke tailoring as practised in Savile Row and the surrounding streets. Founder members include: Anderson & Sheppard, Dege & Skinner, Gieves & Hawkes and Henry Poole. The member-tailors are required to put at least 50 hours of hand labour into each two-piece suit. According to the 2019 report by the SRBA there were 19 tailoring houses with 400 tailors employed and an estimated annual revenue of £40 million. After the challenging times of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales of bespoke suits increased significantly in 2024.
In November 2016, Savile Row became a Special Policy Area within the City of Westminster. This gave Savile Row special planning status to safeguard its character: "Development in the Savile Row Special Policy Area will complement and enhance its role as an international centre of excellence for bespoke tailoring." (For more information, see the section below).
19th century
Henry Poole and Co
Henry Poole & Co are the acknowledged "Founders of Savile Row" and creators of the dinner jacket, called a tuxedo in America. The company has remained a family-run business since their establishment in 1806. They opened first in Brunswick Square, in 1806, originally specialising in military tailoring, especially at the time of the Battle of Waterloo. Their business moved to 36–39 Savile Row in 1846, following the death of founder James Poole. They moved to Cork Street in 1961 with the demolition of their Savile Row property, but managing director Angus Cundey brought the firm back to Savile Row (No. 15) in 1982. Angus died in 2024 and the company is now run by his son, Simon Cundey, the seventh-generation family member.
Gieves and Hawkes
Gieves & Hawkes is a traditional British gentleman's bespoke tailor located at No. 1 Savile Row. The business dates from the late 19th century, and was formed by the merger of two separate businesses, 'Gieves' (founded 1785) and 'Hawkes' (founded 1771). Starting out with roots from two suppliers who tailored for the British Army and Royal Navy, it was the first Savile Row tailor to provide ready-to-wear clothes. There are various Gieves & Hawkes shops and concessions around the UK and in several other countries. It holds a number of Royal Warrants of Appointment, which cover all three British Royal Warrants (Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and Charles, Prince of Wales). However, its current status is in doubt after Trinity, a subsidiary of Ruyi Group, was subject to a winding-up petition for debt in September 2021 and its subsequent purchase by Mike Ashley's Frasers Group.
Dege and Skinner
Dege & Skinner (pronounced ) is known for military as well as civilian clothing. It remains a family-run business and celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2015. Located at No. 10 Savile Row, the firm was founded as J. Dege & Sons, and became a joint venture between the two families when William Skinner Jr. joined the firm in 1916. After the Skinner family took full ownership, the business was renamed Dege & Skinner, and was reopened by customer Colin Montgomerie. The company is by royal appointment to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, His Majesty the Sultan of Oman and His Majesty the King of Bahrain. TRH William, Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex can be seen wearing Blues & Royals uniforms made by the company in the National Portrait Gallery.
Tailors Dege & Skinner made two frock coat uniforms worn by Prince Harry and Prince William at the Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in May 2018. As well as the two uniforms, four outfits for the page boys were also created, challenging the tailors because of the boys' size. Eight weeks' notice was given with very strict secrecy involved.