Tom Ford is a modern icon, an American fashion designer who is considered to be one of the world’s greatest couturiers and a leading tastemaker. He founded his eponymous label in New York City in 2005 having previously been the creative director at Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, where he transformed the brand into the global powerhouse it is today. Ford first emerged as a serious design talent whilst at Perry Ellis where he worked alongside his peer, Marc Jacobs. His signature style is overtly modernist, embracing sharp lines and angles, minimalist colour palettes and defined silhouettes, however Ford manages to pay homage to traditional methods and drapes in order to accentuate the figure. This style has won the label a great many admirers, with the brand being a go-to for the best-dressed members of High Society, silver screen stars and titans of industry. Indeed, Ford has regularly been sought out by Hollywood studios to craft bespoke pieces for their wardrobe departments, even dressing Daniel Craig’s James Bond – the manifestation of the British style, the Savile Row suited gentleman. Ford, a customer of Anderson & Sheppard, is an aficionado of the Row and its sartorial legacy. He has carefully studied the tailoring art and the English-style, borrowing heavily from the tradition for his own tailoring service. A full-suite fashion house, the Maison is now split between its beauty and cosmetic offer (owned by Estée Lauder) and the fashion business (under the Zegna group).
Tag Archives: CASUALWEAR
ANDERSON & SHEPPARD
A bastion of British tailoring, Anderson & Sheppard has been one of Savile Row’s pre-eminent houses since it’s establishment in 1906. The firm has been the preferred tailor to many international celebrities throughout its history (names such as Fred Astaire, Charlie Chaplin, Gary Cooper, Noël Coward, Laurence Olivier, Cole Porter, and Rudolph Valentino), in part due to the more relaxed structure championed by Frederick Scholte and Per Anderson, the firm’s founder who trained under Scholte. This style marked the firm as maverick young Turks, a counter to the traditional, heavily structured military style that had long defined the Savile Row suit. Anderson & Sheppard and their contemporaries essentially revolutionised the English-style, with the English cut today being synonymous with the silhouetted and drape espoused by this cadre of tailors. The style would attract a young Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII and latterly, the Duke of Windsor), earning the firm the prestige and honour of being a tailor by appointment to the Court of St James. Many decades later, another Prince of Wales would commission his suits from the house before he too would become King, HM King Charles III. The firm would also become a benchmark reference for the high couture fashion industry, having influenced customers including Tom Ford. No longer on the Row but located off-Row on Burlington Street, today the firm continues the bespoke tradition whilst also supplying a range of ready-to-wear apparel from their nearby haberdashery.
ABERCROMBIE & FITCH
Founded in 1892 as a premium gentleman’s outfitter and sporting goods supplier, Abercrombie & Fitch was a one-time rival to brands like Willis & Geiger and Airey & Wheeler. Their Manhattan store showcased a range of camp and safari wear, tailored sporting apparel, countrywear and equipment, including canoes, tents and guns. The firm was particularly well known as a supplier of fine sporting wristwatches and durable outdoors goods. The firm was also a pioneer in catalog business, dispatching across North America. However, the marque experienced a period of great decline following the Great Crash of 1929 which financially destroyed many of the brand’s most loyal and prominent customers. The Abercrombie name would begin a great resurgence in the 1990s when it was acquired by Limited Brands. The brand would become hugely popular as a lifestyle and casualwear brand as a consequence of a number of controversial marketing and management initiatives. Today, the brand continues as a lifestyle apparel brand, albeit with a heavy nod to it’s sporting and outdoors-oriented past. Vintage pieces, particularly those that pre-date the Limited Brands ownership, are highly sought after by collectors and connoisseurs.
PETER MILLAR
Launched in 2001, Peter Millar set out to offer luxurious and elegant sportswear and casualwear for the well-dressed man. Taking inspiration from the golf courses of old and using those styling cues to create clubhouse appropriate clothing lines, Peter Millar quickly established itself as a go-to label for the sports enthusiast. The North Carolina label uses cottons and fabrics from the region, renowned for their high quality and comfort, to produce sophisticated tailored pieces to elevate golfwear and redefine business casual attire. The brand, now within the prestigious Richemont stable, has expanded to offer a full range of menswear and womenswear from performance apparel to countrywear lines borrowing from the British and American traditions.
LUIGI BORRELLI: FROM MASTER SHIRTMAKER TO LUXURY OUTFITTERS
Luigi Borrelli is a highly reputable menswear store, founded in Naples in 1957. The store was established by renowned Neapolitan shirtmaker, Luigi Borrelli, who sought to continue his family’s trade, having been taught his craft by his mother. His eponymous sartorial outpost became known as a haven for luxurious, handmade and beautifully tailored pieces. Borrelli today has stores across Italy and has recently expanded overseas with its first international branch in Tokyo.
COLHAY’S: A LUXURIOUS MODERN TWIST ON AN ANCIENT KNITWEAR TRADITION
Colhay’s is a luxury knitwear brand that produces some of the world’s finest cashmere and lambswool sweaters. They are known for their high quality materials, craftsmanship, and timeless designs. Their sweaters are handmade in Scotland using traditional methods and are designed to be passed down from generation to generation.
ISSEY MIYAKE: A VISIONARY JAPANESE FASHION HOUSE
Issey Miyake is a high-end Japanese fashion brand, named for the late designer who founded the house in 1970. The designer behind the eponymous label was a known for his innovative and technology-driven clothing designs, a brief which continues to influence the label’s collections today. Miyake was born in Hiroshima in 1938 and lived through the atomic bombing of the city as a child. This experience had a profound impact on him and his work, and he often spoke about the importance of peace and harmony in design and in culture.
MASON’S: LUXURY RESORTWEAR THE ITALIAN WAY
Mason’s is a clothing store located in the heart of the Italian seaside resort town of Forte dei Marmi. The store is owned and operated by the Mason family, who have been in the fashion business for over 50 years. Mason’s Forte dei Marmi carries its own range of casual and tailored pieces both online and in-store. The brand’s stores, in Italy and France also offer a wide selection of men’s and women’s clothing, accessories, and home goods, including from brands such as Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, and Prada.
ASPESI: THE LUXURY DOWN JACKET SPECIALISTS
Aspesi is an Italian minimalist, sophisticated, and timeless fashion brand founded in 1969 by Alberto Aspesi as a shirt manufacturer. In a time when the benchmark in the fashion industry were the Parisian haute couture houses, the Italian prêt-à-porter industry started focusing on materials, wearable elegance, and offering new horizons to explore. The brand evolved accordingly, producing pieces that were not only beautiful but also wearable and functional.
TURNBULL & ASSER: LUXURY SHIRTMAKER BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT
Turnbull & Asser is a British luxury shirtmaker founded in 1885 by John Arthur Turnbull and Ernest Asser. Located at 71 Jermyn Street, London, it is a royal warrant holder and has been the shirtmaker to the King of England since 1980.
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