Is “Bespoke” Tailoring Dead?
19-12-2013
All suits are not born equal yet the word bespoke might lead to this conclusion. London’s flock of travelling tailors, flying in from Hong Kong and everywhere in between, sell machine-sewn made-to-measure suits under the name ‘bespoke’ and whilst a seasoned Savile Row regular will know the difference, the modern consumer does not.
For Savile Row to survive, thrive and entice a new generation of customers, we must educate them and not rely on the old adage that the cloth has “be’spoken” for – the origin of the term bespoke. The word bespoke used to stand for a handmade suit made from a unique pattern by highly skilled craftsmen. But words evolve and change their meaning. Everything one buys now is bespoke – whether a kitchen, a car or a picture frame.
Whilst Savile Row is going through a resurgence in the worlds’ consciousness, thanks to a renewed interest in formal clothing, due in part to programmes such as Downtown Abbey and a raft of other period dramas. For this to be sustained a new way of educating the customer on the difference between methods of making needs to be sought. A handmade suit takes upwards of 50 hours where as its machine made equivalent takes minutes. The nature of the garment being handmade enables a more defined shape, better comfort and greater longevity than when done by machine. The level of skill needed to produce a bespoke suit far outstrips it’s made to measure rival – yet this cheaper, more inferior product is all too often masqueraded as Bespoke.
Whilst attempts have been made to create a Savile Row collective, in the form of the Savile Row Bespoke Association, names such as Welsh & Jefferies and Kent, Haste & Lachter continue to be omitted, yet both hold Royal Warrants for tailoring. With a street divided on what it does and who does it, a continued confusion ensues for the consumer as to exactly what he or she is buying. Worse still, it continuous to erode the distinction between authentic Savile Row tailors and the numerous made to measures tailors selling their wares under the banner of bespoke.
If Savile Row were to omit the word bespoke and simply refer to their suits as “Savile Row”, this would clarify the difference for the customer as well as creating a distinction between a truly bespoke garment and the made to measure tailors trading under the bespoke illusion, for they are not on Savile Row nor heeding to the guidelines on how a bespoke suit should be made. The battle has long been lost over the word ‘bespoke’ as language continues to evolve. It is high time that Savile Row learnt to stay ahead of the game by adapting and evolving too.
