The fact that Savile Row has been tailoring clothes for 200 years makes London the original home of menswear. Even the Italian and French labels cannot match such a long history, which is coupled with the British capital's enviable legacy of street style. But in a typically understated manner, the city has not shouted about it - until now. Last weekend, the 2013 menswear season kicked off with a new showcase that was launched by Prince Charles, the patron of the event, called London Collections: Menswear.
A passionate believer in craftsmanship, Prince Charles, impeccably dressed in his double-breasted Anderson & Sheppard suit, is on GQ's best dressed list. 'I am finding it very hard to live with myself after I discovered that somebody has suggested I might even be an icon of fashion. It has taken 64 years,' he said at the party at St James' Palace to inaugurate the event. 'I have gone on in my old way, like a stopped clock: I tell the right time every 25 years.'
Aside from royal patronage, which comes at the height of Queen Elizabeth II's diamond jubilee celebrations, Burberry and Dunhill, along with Americans Tom Ford, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Joseph Abboud and Thom Browne, hosted events. Beijing designer Xander Zhou was invited to present his menswear. GQ editor Dylan Jones, who spearheaded the fashion week, was inundated with support from designers and retailers.
Savile Row threw open its doors to show off its bespoke showrooms and workshops. Spitalfields-based Timothy Everest proved it is possible to order bespoke casualwear, including jeans, for clients who do not need a three-piece suit for work. Singer Elton John turned up to see his favourite tailor, Richard James, make his catwalk debut.
John's partner, David Furnish, is on the British menswear committee along with Ford, dapper rapper Tinie Tempah, actor David Walliams and, of course, designers and retailers. Young designers added an edge to proceedings with Jonathan Saunders, James Long and Katie Eary unveiling collections that illustrate London's diversity from the established to sportswear and the avant garde.
The international menswear market was estimated to be worth ?20 billion (HK$243 billion) last year. It is growing faster than womenswear, which suggests more and more men are getting interested in clothes. And well they might, judging by the cool styling of more recently established Savile Row tailors such as Oliver Spencer, Spencer Hart, Richard James, E. Tautz (formerly Savile Row's Norton & Sons) and former Kilgour designer Clive Darby who is behind Rake.