Savile Row suits ‘deserve same protection as Cornish cream’

SAVILE ROW suits should be given the same protected status as Melton Mowbray pork pies and Cornish clotted cream, MPS have been told.

Luxury bosses are urging the Government to widen the Protected Geographical Indication regime to not only cover food and drink, but also craft products including Staffordshire pottery and Savile Row tailoring.

The regime awards certain food and drink items that hail from a specific place legal protection against imitation and misuse. Any person is able to make and sell these items as long as they follow the product’s specification and are verified to do so. Items that enjoy protected status include Dundee cakes, Sussex wine, Melton Mowbray pork pies and Cornish clotted cream.

‘If we don’t put protections around these highly skilled craftsmen, then we risk losing those skills’

The designation can be seen as a marker of quality and can be a useful promotional tool. Walpole, the lobby group for Britain’s luxury sector, is now calling for the category to be widened to also include hand-made crafts.

However, there are fears that British craftspeople are at a disadvantage to theit counterparts in the EU, which has granted protected status to certain nonfood and drink products. This includes Limoges porcelain in France, which was awarded the status in 2017.

Helen Brocklebank, Walpole’s chief executive, said: “This is a massive opportunity. Why are we making ourselves less competitive?”

The proposals come amid concerns that the UK is failing to protect jobs for skilled craftspeople.

Ms Brocklebank said: “If we don’t put protections around these incredible regional clusters of highly skilled craftsmen that are unique to our country, then we could risk losing those skills over the next 10 or 15 years.”