Pop quiz: What’s better than your London tailor traveling stateside for the first time in over two years? Yep, you guessed it: Said tailor bringing a bespoke shirtmaker, shoemaker and spectacle maker with them.
This is the promise of the London Collective, a new partnership of four British luxury brands who’ve banded together to give stylish American men (including you, of course) the trunk show they’ve always wanted—never more so than after two years of Covid-19 enforced deprivation.
The collective is made up of Edward Sexton, Budd Shirtmakers, Gaziano & Girling and E.B. Meyrowitz, each of which brings a very particular strand of traditional British luxury to bear, with over 300 years of collective experience between them.
Savile Row legend Edward Sexton. Dylan Thomas
Perhaps the best known of the four is Savile Row tailor Edward Sexton. Together with Tommy Nutter, Sexton revolutionized the Row in 1969 with his rebellious, avant-garde house style: square shoulders, sweeping lapels, nipped waists and long, flared jackets that still impress today. With its structured lines, Sexton’s tailoring is the perfect foil to Budd’s elegant English-made shirts, which represent a timeless Jermyn Street style with a comfortable fit and firm, pointed collars. Each and every Budd shirt is lovingly cut on the top floor of the brand’s quaint, mullion-windowed St. James’s shop.
At 15 years old, Gaziano & Girling—a shoemaker known for its striking designs and dexterous, comfortable lasts—is the youngest brand in the collective.. Co-founders Tony Gaziano and Dean Girling are both Northampton shoemaking stalwarts, with healthy stints at all the best names in Goodyear-welted English footwear behind them. Bringing up the rear is E.B. Meyrowitz, a brand that exudes charm from every bespectacled pore. A bespoke eyewear specialist, Meyrowitz is known for hand-making flattering, well-proportioned opticals and sunglasses inspired by yesteryear’s style icons with a modern fit and finish.
A pair of Gaziano & Girling boots. Gaziano & Girling
“We all got talking last year about how we wanted to return from two years of no travel with a bang and reconnect with our US clients in a meaningful way,” explains Sexton’s creative director, Dominic Sebag-Montefiore. “After such a long time unable to visit our American clients, there’s a huge advantage to having a tailor, shirtmaker, shoemaker and spectacle-maker all in the same room together. The trunk show becomes a genuine proposition in wardrobe building, this way.”
“Clients can expect a very collaborative sartorial experience,” says Meyrowitz’s Jamie Davison-Lungley. “It’s a pleasure to join a group of like-minded heritage brands who share the same values, it’s also a fantastic opportunity for us to offer an all-encompassing approach to the world of bespoke.”
E.B. Meyrowitz eyeglasses E.B. Meyrowitz
The Collective will be touring the USA from November 8 to 19, and visiting New York City, Washington D.C., Dallas and Los Angeles in procession. There will be drinks receptions in each city, too, for prospective clients or curious parties to pop along and meet the British delegation in an informal, relaxed setting. Appointments at the various locations are already open and sure to start filling up fast.
“After such a long wait, it’ll just be nice to connect with clients again,” says Budd’s senior cutter, Darren Tiernan, who’ll be representing the brand for the duration of the trunk show. “With most of our long-standing American clients, seeing them is more about friendship than a corporate customer-salesman relationship. We’re just looking forward to seeing people again on a personal level. And to be offering them a truly unique experience, too.”
Full details can be found here. To book an appointment with any of the four brands attending, visit their websites for more information.
