Savile Row is a name synonymous with masculine elegance, time-honoured tradition and discreet luxury. For almost five hundred years, this quiet and civilised street in Mayfair has played host to generations of the most talented artisans, lovingly dressing gentlemen and ladies of taste in some of the finest bespoke clothes the world has ever seen. From Winston Churchill to the Duke of Wellington, and from Fred Astaire to Elton John, the countless list of statesmen and celebrities to have graced the Row goes on.
The Savile Row Bespoke Association was formed in 2004 through an alliance of five like-minded houses – Anderson & Sheppard, Dege & Skinner, Gieves & Hawkes, H. Huntsman & Sons and Henry Poole & Co. – tailors which understood the need for a trade association capable of safeguarding Savile Row’s unique bespoke standards. Today, the SRBA has twenty-two member and associate member houses, who work together to protect and champion this understanding of bespoke tailoring and to promote the ingenious craftsmen that comprise the community of Savile Row. The SRBA sets the standards that define a Savile Row bespoke tailor, and all members of the Association must conform to the above definition of a bespoke suit and much more besides. A Master Cutter must oversee the work of every tailor employed by a member house and all garments must be constructed within a one hundred yard radius of Savile Row. Likewise, every member must offer the customer a choice of at least 2000 cloths and rigorous technical requirements are expected. For example, jacket foreparts must be entirely hand canvassed, buttonholes sewn, sleeves attached and linings felled all by hand.
