IT’S TIME TO CELEBRATE BRITISH ARTISANS
Home-grown craftmanship makes our menswear great, says Stephen Doig
W hatever your views about triggering Article 50 this week, it seems pertinent to look at the importance of the craft industry in Britain and how it plays out in what we wear.
When it comes to handcrafted skill in creating clothes, accessories and everything inbetween, Britain has always excelled. As someone who’s watched three generations of a family handcrafting knits in the rolling Scottish countryside of Morayshire, destined for the catwalks of Chanel, Burberry and Louis Vuitton, it’s evident that even in this digital age, there are some things a machine just can’t do.
British handcrafting has always been at the crux of the traditional ‘‘gentlemanly’’ wardrobe, whether it’s shoes crafted on Jermyn Street or a suit cut to an exacting standard in the tailoring work rooms beneath Savile Row. And despite controversy on the Row around brands that outsource their suit-making and question marks over provenance, it’s heartening to note that pockets of handcraft are thriving in men’s style.
Historical shirting outfitter Turnbull & Asser – such a favourite of Winston Churchill’s that it created his wartime “Siren Suit” – boasts two outposts in which its handsome ties and crisp shirts are made. The former, in Waterloo, London, operates by having one craftsman hand make each tie from start to finish. The latter, in Gloucestershire, has a 100-strong team of skilled seamtresses and pattern cutters who have worked there for generations. The shirts fit beautifully and come in the finest cottons.
Handcraft is thriving in the most unlikely of locations; a particularly soulless environment in east London is home to the the Drake’s factory, where legions of skilled specialists hand sew its fine array of ties, scarves and pocket squares. In an industrial stretch of Walthamstow, Margaret Howell’s shirting factory creates shirts where the patterns are cut and fabrics sewn by hand, while Dunhill’s leather pieces are also made nearby, the factory heaving with plump rolls of leather and artisans’ tools used for painting and engraving. Some staff have been there for over 30 years, and it takes a minimum of 16 hours to create the simplest bag.
It’s encouraging that, away from sartorial institutions, even relatively new names in the industry put emphasis on British manufacturing and the artisanal element.
Jewel and accessories maker Alice Walsh bases her Alice Made This in south London, and works with UK Aerospace engineers and military armoury outfitters in creating her pieces.
Similarly, the likes of Gaziano & Girling footwear, founded 11 years ago by two friends who had worked for revered shoemakers, are resolute in their support of the Northampton shoemaking heritage, basing the company’s factory there. Which makes for a more personal kind of experience than anything the high street can offer.