A FAMILY AFFAIR


For Dege & Skinner to survive as a name, we have to adapt, says managing director William Skinner. Daniel Evans reports


FOR A STREET WITH MORE THAN ITS FAIR SHARE OF HISTORY, the incumbents at No. 10 Savile Row could be accused of being on the greedy side when it comes to assessing their allotted slice. Founded in 1865 by a German immigrant who arrived in England 10 years earlier and still in family ownership more than 150 years later, Dege & Skinner can consider themselves as major players in any chronicle of the Row. The firm’s current managing director, William Skinner, is delighted


to have such an impressive past but is also realistic enough to know that the future can’t be taken for granted. “Being 153 years old is a great accolade. We have a huge heritage to draw on and a huge history,” William tells me when we meet in his office. “But we need to keep up with the times. We need to make sure we are relevant to today and tomorrow’s customer and that will be the challenge over the next five to 10 years. With the advent of the internet, people expect things today – to have everything immediately. I hope we can maintain our presence on Savile Row but it’s not a foregone conclusion. For Dege & Skinner to survive as a name, we have to adapt.” William is certainly the heartbeat of this buzzing firm. “I love the


William Skinner at his offices on Savile Row. “I love the job. It can be rewarding in terms of the people you meet and get to make clothes for but the business is the important thing – the people who work for it.”


job,” he says. “The travelling, the challenges. It can be rewarding in terms of the people you meet and get to make clothes for but the business is the important thing – the people who work for it. I happen to have my name above the door but I don’t say people work for me, we work together. We all have a common goal. If the business doesn’t succeed, we are all out of a job.”


SAVILE ROW STYLE MAGAZINE 21


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