EDWARD SEXTON
Bespoke tailor
Having dressed the likes of everyone from Mick Jagger to Mark Ronson, and mentored Stella Mccartney, veteran tailor Sexton is a Savile Row luminary. Now 75, he maintains the creative energy and vigour of a man half his age. He continues to run his bespoke tailoring business at 26 Beauchamp Place, Knightsbridge - “Anything in life must have a good balance and a good foundation. Tailoring is no exception. When measuring a client, it’s my responsibility to determine the balance of the garment for that given figure. The way the internals are made is crucial; everything has to be exactly spot on. I have to pinpoint the prominence of the chest and the balance of the shoulder line. I need to see how much flare I want to put into the garment. It’s my job to make everything look perfectly equal. It’s what I call ‘sartorial sculpture’. I can make a short man taller or a stout man look 20lb lighter. Of course, while you can’t rush an artist, we also have to meet clients’ deadlines and it’s important that we never let our standards slip. My father once said to me: ‘Be your own master and learn a trade. When you’ve got a trade in your hands, you can pick up your tools and walk.’ It was the best piece of advice that he ever gave me.”