Bespoke tailors on London’s Savile Row fight to stay relevant as work from home and climate change make suits outdated
- Record-breaking temperatures and increasingly relaxed dress codes mean fewer suits are being sold than before. Tailors in London’s hub of bespoke must adapt
- Suit makers are opting for lighter cloths, increasing their online presence and producing ready-to-wear lines. Some are even enlisting the help of robots
When the governor of the Bank of England stood up to address 300 City bigwigs last month at the Mansion House Dinner – the most prestigious annual dinner in London’s historic financial district – there was a striking difference from previous years: no one was wearing black tie.
The historic relaxation of one of London’s stuffiest dress codes was a relief to many attendees after temperatures struck a record-breaking 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) earlier in the day.
But heatwaves and increasingly casual fashion habits pose a headache to one of the English capital’s best-known industries on the other side of town: the tailors of Savile Row.
Savile Row has faced a tough time after stores closed during Covid-19 following several years of rising rents, but the latest threats in its 200 years of history are perhaps more subtle and pervasive.
“The boundaries are blurred now” between the office and the outside world, said Nick Paget, senior editor at WGSN, a retail trends forecaster. “The very traditional pinstriped suit starts to feel like an anachronism.”