Savile Row: Britain's Silk Road

     This is somewhat of a sequel to a previous post about the components of a perfect suit. Savile Row is arguably one of the most well-known roads in Britain, if not all of Europe. Located in central London, the road is steeped in centuries of tradition and style. Customers from all over the world travel  to visit the bespoke tailors and take advantage of their absolutely uncompromising standards of style.

     As you will see there is a certain amount of competition and rivalry between the tailors, each with their own idiosyncrasies and pedigree. The competition seems friendly though, and it's fantastic to see them all come together for the general interest of the Row. The emergence of a competing business on the Row is not uncommon to them, but the nature of the competing product is. Abercrombie and Fitch could very arguably be the antithesis of the image the bespoke tailors represent and how they envision Savile Row. I think that heritage and history go a long way towards cementing one's credibility in today's world, so I do feel compassion for these small shops in the face of a global corporate giant. While Abercrombie and Fitch may not last on Savile Row, you can be certain bespoke tailoring will live and breathe for years to come.

Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6   Part 7