The future of Savile Row - with Anda Rowland of Anderson & Sheppard
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- Опубліковано 26 сер 2024
- Anda Rowland, director of famed Savile Row tailor Anderson & Sheppard, talks to Simon Crompton about how the changes she has seen in the past 20 years, and what the Row needs to prosper in the years ahead.
This talk was held in front of an audience of Permanent Style readers at Mortimer House in London
Thank you Simon, so interesting especially Anda's father's days. I wish them every success for the future. I've just looked through her website,such beautiful clothes. I agree with her to show the clothes on models. What a great asset Anda is to the industry. I wish her every success.
What a wonderful interview. I love how Anda keeps raising the points about the importance of welcoming all people to bespoke and championing young people's tailoring skills. A very engaging interview! Thanks
Tony
very pleased you liked it Tony
Typical mindless talking points. Go back and look at older photos and you will see West Africans, Poles, etc… working as tailors. And the customers have always come from far and wide- India, the US, Africa, etc…
Delightful to catch up with contemporary evolution of Anderson and Sheppard since I first acquired my bespoke suits from them over the course of 35 years. Their attention to detail is absolutely top drawer.
Nice to hear!
This was absolutely brilliant.
Lovely discussion. This is my first introduction to Ms Rowland. Pleasure
Ah, nice to hear.
Excellent discussion. More please!
Thank you
I have admired Savile Row tailors for years. I was in London about a year ago and decided I was going to pull the trigger and commission a suit. As an American I have to admit entering the shops was a little bit intimidating, at least the first time. Because I was on vacation, I wasn't wearing a suit but I put on the best clothes that I had brought with me, which were still vacation casual. The shops are all so historic and so authentically British. I wondered if the sales people would take one look at me and say, "I'm sorry sir, but we obviously have a dress code here and you don't measure up. Leave before we call a Bobby to remove you. Besides, you're obviously an American. Get out." lol
Thankfully, my concerns were completely unjustified. I ended up stopping in a number of shops, including A&S, and the staff in each one could not have been more warm, welcoming and gracious. I ended up narrowing down my choices to the shops that do Trunk Shows in Seattle as it's the closest to my home in Portland plus my son and his family live there so it's a good excuse to make the trip. I've now commissioned not only the suit but a blazer as well.
Ms. Rowland strikes me as an incredibly bright, charismatic and inspiring leader. I'm sure A&S will do well with her at the helm. I'll have to pick up some items at the Haberdashery.
What a fascinating conversation. From someone who has just commissioned a suit for the first time, it is very interesting hearing both your reflections on the industry and tailoring in general.
Great to hear. Hope the suit goes well
I really enjoyed your interview! My wife and I are coming to England next year and since your interview was so down to earth I will certainly stop by Anderson and shepherd! You do an excellent job!
That's lovely to hear, thank you
Tiny Rowland was an intriguing character
I wish I could have been there. Thank you so much for putting this together and sharing. I would have asked her 4 questions. But chief among them (and perhaps you could answer), she has an economics degree with an MBA (albeit in marketing), why doesn't AS buy a building on Savile Row? And I would ask this of all tailors on that street. Your company has been around for 100 years, 125 years, etc. Control costs. Surely as a business trained (and very smart) person, there has got to be a simple answer. I think I would like to buy the whole block and lease it back. Your thoughts?
I can see how that would help a business, certainly, but two major issues. One, it would be incredibly expensive and no tailor I know could afford it. And two, the buildings are all controlled by big estates that own a lot of properties - they are unlikely to want to sell such prime assets. It would be much easier if there were independent landlords, smaller ones, as there are more in Paris and New York
Eddie Hayes has a stake in A&S? Very cool, I see him often as his office is right by mine.
I’d love to hear about the recent presence of a side body on A&S. Obviously people want trimmer suits, but what makes their house style unique these days?
I'd say quite a few things make their style unique, or at least the drape cut generally that is practised by a handful of tailors. If you're not familiar with that then maybe have a look at the A&S section of the Tailor's Style guide on PS - there's a whole breakdown there
@@PermanentStyleLondon my point is that their drape style is so dialed back they aren’t cutting like the used to, rather similar to every other house on the row, less maybe Richard James or huntsman
Kirby Alison has done more than any British organisation or British business heads to Saville row.
Very interesting thanks for doing this. Really living the dream! I went to Anglo Italian when I visited London and got a few pieces. Thanks for the guidance. Wondering, does made to measure have a measure have a bad association? She seemed to refer to mtm negatively.
Compared to bespoke clothing, yes it's a lower quality. MTM can still be very good, but if you're a storied bespoke tailor, doing MTM as well with your label in could be seen as diluting what you do
@@PermanentStyleLondonyeah that makes sense. That landed when she was talking about not being able to put their label on mtm tailoring. An anderson Sheppard grey herringbone spot coat is a grail. Excited to visit next time to London. I spent all time at drakes end Anglo Italian last visit
although it was mentioned in passing, I would be interested in asking how is global warming affecting the types of fabrics used for suits, and how it affects the quality of the garment? I guess it's always been a consideration in warmer areas such as southern italy, france etc, but technically there's been developments also in fabrics, so I wonder how suit making will adapt.
Thank you, an interesting one for another day. Savile Row has long tailored for warmer climates, but they have introduced lighter makes over time.
Hi Simon this video doesn’t show on youtube, I must go through your website to access this video on youtube
Thanks Marco, it's on now
Are you wearing A&S suit Simon?
Yes, one cut for me by John Hitchcock 12 years ago.
The prices are not a "destination" for what 99.9% of the general population.
Not complicated.
I'd wear a suit everyday but living in a costal area I'd just look silly so how can this be addressed?
People face the same challenge everywhere today. If you look on the PS site we talk quite regularly about ways to dress down tailoring
If it helps, I live in a very casual coastal area and I wear suits to nice dinners/restaurants, art openings, performing arts events like symphony/ballet, more formal social events. Typically, my suits are for evening-wear and I do more smart casual items during the day.
All I can say is you’ll likely bring joy to your coastal area by dressing well. Nobody gets a smile on their face seeing a man in crocs
If you wear a business style formally cut suit with shirt and tie then you will stand out as maybe an anachronism. Wear a more casual suit with a t shirt and basketball boots. Try a black suit rather than business associated colours like navy or charcoal. Check the buttoning point on the suit jacket. (How high/ low the top button is placed.) If it's low it will look like the suit is meant to be worn with a shirt and tie. 2 buttons definitely not 3 on your jacket. No gold buttons unless you want to look like a retired admiral.
In summer linen/cotton suits with a t shirt and driving shoes or white trainers won't look out of place in a coastal community. Don't advise pure linen as it will crease massively.
✅ 'Promosm'