NEW HORIZONS
hired to play tailors in Great Expectations. Robbie Coltrane, Helena Bonham Carter, David Irvine and David Walliams. As it was a Dickens film they wanted people who looked Dickensian. We sent headshots of everyone at the company and somehow they chose me and the oldest tailor in the company.” Unsurprisingly, James wants to keep all his customers
happy. “We have a house style but we are flexible with it,” he explains. “I want everyone to look at one of our suits and say that looks amazing because of the fit. If a
“ It’s the basic Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest and I intend for our business to be the fittest”
customer wants a softer shoulder, then we’ll do it. That’s the nature of customer service – we are going to make you what you want. If it’s wrong for the structure of the suit then we’ll tell you we can’t do it. We have got our brand and our reputation to uphold. There’s definitely a boundary but, having said that, our boundaries are that bit more flexible than the more traditional guys. You want your customers to walk away in a suit that looks amazing and makes them feel amazing.” So what of the next 10 years? James is optimistic.
“There’s a lot of potential for us to continue to grow,” he says. “It’s the basic Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest and I intend for our business to be the fittest. We are working on a ready-to-wear collection, which I hope is going to be the backbone of our business, as well as growing our bespoke collection and putting British bespoke back on the map. I hope that, in 2028, Savile Row is stronger than ever, that it has evolved and embraced this need to change.” n
the world doing a merry dance around Savile Row, trading off its name. Savile Row needs to become the focus of menswear again. That means improving its approachability, its ability to attract new customers and form the right type of partnerships. It needs a more modern approach.” One tactic James is keen to utilise is social media, something he feels will unlock a lot of business doors. “Social media is key to what we do,” James says. “My theory on the world is that websites are going to die a death. Social media is more dynamic, with the ability to share fresh content multiple times a day with the added bonus of receiving immediate feedback. The world is totally changing. You used to have word of mouth, then Yellow Pages, then websites were the shop front and now it’s evolving again with social media.” James, clearly enjoying life in the world of tailoring, has no regrets about switching from his old career in finance. “I was a trader for eight years,” he says. “It’s a good job and you can earn plenty of money but there was no excitement, other than having a company credit card. There was nothing creative about it; you’re just moving numbers from one screen to another. That was about as exciting as it got. Now, I love coming to work every day. It’s so varied. A few years ago, I had a phone call from a film studio looking for a couple of tailors for a production they were casting. We were
“Having a shop on Savile Row is a hugely
important part of the business, especially as we expand around the world,” says
James. “It’s been an amazing
learning curve in many respects.”
SAVILE ROW STYLE MAGAZINE
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