Bespoke ─ The Men's Style of Savile Row

A fully illustrated history of bespoke tailoring—the custom-made men’s clothing that made a small London street a globally known brand to generations of sartorial connoisseurs. Savile Row is renowned for fine custom tailoring—"bespoke" in its own parlance. The term originated when cloth for a suit was said to "be spoken for" by customers who have included generations of stylish and tasteful men, from rakes to royals. Bespoke is the epitome of male sartorial style, exquisite quality, and craftsmanship, and has been worn by a veritable who’s who of famous and important men: Winston Churchill, Cary Grant, Russell Crowe, David Beckham, and countless world leaders. Bespoke charts Savile Row’s contribution to fashion and culture chronologically and features twenty-six profiles of today’s master tailors from historic firms such as Gieves & Hawkes and Henry Poole to more recent ones like Nutters and Ozwald Boateng, who was the first Savile Row tailor to stage a catwalk show in Paris.

James Sherwood writes for the Financial Times and the International Herald Tribune. He curated The London Cut, an exhibition shown at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence and the British embassies in Paris and Tokyo. Tom Ford, former creative director of Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent, opened his eponymous fashion house in 2006. He directed his first feature film, A Single Man, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2009.