Shirt Tales and Other Stories Mr Jeremy Hackett

Transcription

1 Shirt Tales and Other Stories

2 Shirt Tales and Other Stories

3 For the second in our series of small books produced in collaboration with some of the best customers of our British section - Thomas Mason and David & John Anderson-, we are featuring a brand which is a particular favourite of mine, since they have always appreciated the colour and innovation of our fabrics. Surprisingly, Hackett made their very first shirt collection with Thomas Mason less than 3 decades ago, but today are globally recognised for their typical British styling interpreted in a contemporary manner. We are very honoured that their co-founder Jeremy Hackett agreed to be interviewed in London by my cousin Silvio, and what resulted, we believe, is frank, quite humorous, yet also at times inspirational. Please join me in enjoying Shirt Tales and Other Stories Jeremy Hackett and the staff of 86 Fabio Albini creative director

4 PHOTO BY JEREMY HACKETT AN INTERVIEW BETWEEN:, Chairman and co-founder of eponymous British menswear brand Hackett., President and in the 5th family generation of leadership of the Albini Group, founded 1876.

5 So, Jeremy Hackett, Mr Classic as you are known in the English Press, could you please tell our readers something about Hackett? Yes it s true they call me Mr Classic and in fact over the years the press have also referred to Hackett in many terms. We were Sloane Rangers, Young Fogies, Yuppies, Lads and more recently we have become known as A Heritage Brand which is rather interesting considering Hackett is barely 29 years old, the brand that is. Really? Only 29 years? Yes, our customers especially are always surprised that Hackett is not 100 years old; they presume that I am a posh boy who inherited the business from my father or grandfather. But nothing could be further from the truth.

6 BENDING THE SCHOOL UNIFORM CODE Even at the age of 7 I was concerned about what I put on I grew up in an ordinary family in Bristol, I am not a designer, nor even a tailor, I am a retailer and a shopkeeper. I should say that Hackett came about through a series of events, a mixture of influences, chance meetings and well one thing led to another. I was a precocious child and I can never remember a time when I wasn t interested in style, and even at the age of seven I was concerned about what I put on, which was usually things sewn or knitted by my mother, which was fairly normal for the austere 1950 s. She sold Burberry raincoats, and my father also worked in the textile business. At school I was a poor student interested only in English, History and Drama, but what I lacked in brain power I made up for in style. We were required to wear a white shirt, red tie and grey flannel trousers, but my shirt had a tab collar, my tie was narrow and knitted, my trousers were tapered and I wore black elastic sided Chelsea Boots. All the boys in my class adopted my look. At 16 I failed all my exams and my headmaster said it was probably best if I left the school, but he told me not to worry as I would get by on my charm and my smile. It s worked so far! My father was less kind If you don t pull your socks up, you will end up working in a shop! he warned me, somewhat prophetically. I soon sensed that if I wanted to make something of myself I would need to move to London, which is what I did. It was the early 1970 s and I worked as a sales assistant on the very hip King s Road Chelsea, where the good money I made allowed me to buy a Mini Cooper with tinted windows, whilst the rest of my money went on clothes. I was always broke, but well dressed, so no change there!

7 And then quite by chance you discovered London s iconic Savile Row? I started going to Portobello Road flea market Yes, and I was immediately struck by its discreet air and low key atmosphere. It was my first experience of sophisticated tailoring and I felt I was entering a private world: a gentleman s club of tailoring. I took a salesman s job at John Michael, opposite the famous tailor Tommy Nutter whose radical ideas were causing a stir among the more traditional tailors. Of course, despite a pay rise I still lived beyond my means: bespoke suits are expensive. So to supplement my income I started going to Portobello Road flea market looking for stuff that I could sell on to my friends at a profit. I would seek out the second-hand clothes of a generation whose sons had discarded the quality classics in preference for the cuttingedge styles of the 1960 s and 1970 s. Early one Friday morning I met Ashley Lloyd-Jennings, when we both wanted to buy the same tweed jacket. We decided to share the cost, and when it had been sold, share the profit. It was the beginning of a long partnership. A private world: a gentleman s club of tailoring

8 A RATHER PROFITABLE WEEKEND HOBBY On a trip to Paris, quite by chance, I met a man selling vintage British clothing, Burberry, Aquascutum, hunting jackets and English accessories. He told me he came to London to buy but if I wanted to buy for him it would be much easier, and that is exactly what we did. It became a rather profitable weekend hobby. At the time houses in Fulham were cheap and we bought two which we renovated, myself slaving in a restaurant at night to finance this. We sold the houses and using the money opened a fine shoe shop in Covent Garden, and then two more, on Old Bond Street and the City. Finally we were retailers! Then disaster struck. We were undercapitalised and after three years of struggling to pay the bills we had to close. The bank even took our flats, so it was all back to square one. We returned to selling second-hand clothes which mostly ended up in Paris, and once again we were successful. It occurred to us why sell in Paris when we could sell the clothes here in London? Finally we were retailers

9 DOING THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF WHAT WAS EXPECTED Ashley and I pooled our resources of 2000 and opened our first clothes shop in Fulham. But this was not to be any ordinary second-hand clothes shop: everything had to be the best quality. Bespoke suits, hunting kit, formal dress, handmade shoes and vintage leather goods were all sourced from the London street markets. The shop didn t even have a name for months and was just known as The one with the funny round window but it did have an atmosphere of aristocratic elegance like a private gentleman s club. Our clothing was immaculately laundered, repaired and presented on wooden hangers hanging from vintage brass rails; I bought ancient tables from my former Savile Row employer when they closed down. The very first day we sold worth of clothes and from then on in it just got better. Tell me something about your customers from those early days. The shop with the funny round window We soon discovered that there was much interest from a younger generation who couldn t afford the very high prices on Savile Row, but who held a great appreciation for the Golden Age of English tailoring.

10 We also sold a lot to film companies for movies such as Chariots of Fire and Out of Africa. One day I bought 5 pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage for 175 and within an hour of them being in the shop sold them to a film company for 3,500 who shipped them over to Hollywood. Then there were the designers who came to our little shop: Valentino, Massimo Osti, Piombo, Albert Goldberg of Façonnable among them. Vintage and recycling in general has become quite popular in the 21st Century. On the contrary, in the early 1980 s secondhand goods were less well considered. Your initial enterprise with Hackett must therefore have seemed very radical. Chariots of Fire Out of Africa Because we were selling Dead Men s Clothes? - for let s face it - that is what they were. And yet we created the concept, the edit, we put Britishness together in a way that appealed. We bought only the very best, whether shoes, suits or shirts. And then we accessorised and generally made it much more elegant than anything that was being offered that time in the average British menswear shop, many of whom had lost their way and not even noticed that what they were offering was boring. Many customers didn t even realise that we weren t selling new clothes and they kept saying Where are your size 44 s? little understanding that it didn t really work like that.

11 PHOTO BY GARDA TANG Who could not be smiling surrounded by all these supermodels? Your beloved Sussex Spaniel, and the first Hackett supermodel, Charley, was also one of your finest secondhand acquisitions? Yes, I found her unwanted in Battersea Dogs Home; I was strongly warned against her since she had been mistreated and came with issues. Sometimes it s hard to explain why we do the things we do. As far as I was concerned, Charley was the business. I borrowed her, took her to Badminton Horse Trials and fell in love. Five years later I bought Browney, from a breeder in Sussex, naturally. You should never work with animals and children, goes the saying, but at Hackett when it comes to shooting our advertising campaigns we regularly work with both. People don t often recognise me, except in Japan for some strange reason. But they do recognise the dogs because they have featured so much in our advertising. Well it helps to pay for the dog food! They are an incredibly rare breed, more endangered than the giant Panda and that s why I agreed to be patron of their society, and why I came to be holding so many of them in the photo. Once a customer phoned to ask me what sort of dog was it in the advertisement and he then went and bought himself a Sussex Spaniel and called it Hackett. I hope I don t bump into him and his dog and he shouts Hackett come here, sit!

12 PHOTO BY GARDA TANG So your shop continued to be successful? Yes it was always very popular, however very soon we realised that there were not enough quality vintage clothes available and I wasn t prepared to buy clothes that were less good just to keep the business going. We had noticed what our customers were demanding and couldn t buy, such as good tweed jackets, corduroy trousers, all cut in classical fashion. I started to visit English mills to buy cloth and took vintage samples to manufacturers asking them to make something similar. Everything was based on tailor made clothes, which was very far removed from the Eighties fashion of the time. The new clothes were all to be labelled Hackett - It was the beginning of the brand. And your customers, did they accept the new products? Charley & Browney Hackett take a break from their modelling assignment Yes, reluctantly at first, but when they realised how much the new products looked like the vintage ones then they became interested. We made the transition from Old to New quite smoothly and then concentrated our efforts on building the new Hackett brand.

13 VENTURING OUT IN SEARCH OF FINE SHIRTINGS So one of those English mills you visited must have been Thomas Mason? Exactly! When we first decided to make our own shirts we looked for the best shirt manufacturer - Jermyn Street Shirtmakers in Gloucester, and asked their recommendation for the best shirting cotton. They advised that we needed to contact David & John Anderson and Thomas Mason in Lancashire who supplied all of their shirting fabrics. They also warned us that we would need to buy 60m per colour way and we were quite shocked as it seemed such a lot. However Jermyn Street Shirtmakers offered to make dressing gowns and boxer shorts and handkerchiefs as well and that was very helpful in using up our 60m. One of the things that I liked about the shirts made by Jermyn Street Shirtmakers were the collars which weren t top fused. This is a much more difficult process, but gives the shirts so much more personality. I always try to buy shirts with non-fused collars, but they are so difficult to find nowadays.

14 I always refer back to our original classic style as a benchmark Another thing that s tremendously important is the collar shape and for Hackett this is a classic cutaway which has been our regular style for years. And the collar must sit quite high to the neck, not low down like so many continental collars. Also there must be exactly 3/8ths inch space at the top for the tie, no more, no less because that is the most elegant and also the most comfortable collar to wear. And the shirt must have a double-cuff for cufflinks. Of course at Hackett we now offer a whole diversity of collars and cuffs, but I always refer back to our original classic style as a benchmark. On the whole, men don t like change, they like to come back and find the same sorts of things that have worked well for them before, with subtle changes that evolve with fashion but never in a radical way.

15 And after that first shocking 60m? My spies at the old Thomas Mason tell me that the first exclusives designs developed with you were in the Zephyr 4489 quality. In fact you were so insistent on having a 2/100s x 2/100s true zephyr that Thomas Mason agreed to develop a new quality especially for you. Moreover since you weren t able to buy the whole 480m warp per colour way at that time, a gentleman s agreement was made for you to buy just 240m and for Thomas Mason to sell the remaining 240m on the open market. I hardly dare mention this fact just in case you ask for royalties because both this new quality Zephyr 4489 and the exact same designs are still in our Silverline stock service programme, and in fact we are still selling the balance of your original 240m nearly 30 years later! The references are F & F Zephir 4489 quality, originally developed by Thomas Mason for Hackett That s right! But you cannot still be selling our 240m, you are joking with me! Now the design certainly - that I can believe, as it s such classic. The first one was the plain Prince of Wales then we added the white over-check and a bit later the coloured over-check as well. It is often considered that The Duke of Windsor, the dandy of British fashion, was the first to wear the Prince of Wales check, when in fact it was his grandfather Edward VII who first wore the now iconic check during the Edwardian period when he was Prince of Wales. This pattern is renowned worldwide and has throughout generations enjoyed a permanent presence in fashion.

16 I am pleased to note that our current Prince of Wales, Prince Charles is often seen supporting this eponymous check, and is even wearing the Z.4489 shirt in Madame Tussaud s waxworks! Actually we are about to do a project with the charity The Prince s Trust (set up by H.R.H. Prince Charles) that s based entirely around the traditional Prince of Wales design in different types of fabric from British suppliers: Flannel from Fox Brothers, Tweed from Lovat Mills, worsted from Huddersfield, for our tailoring and, naturally, for a Prince of Wales shirting we will be coming to Thomas Mason, who else? There will be a donation from each item sold to The Trust to assist its valuable work supporting young people into jobs and training. Historically the Princes of Wales have always been very well dressed and Prince Charles recently said he is always very surprised if anyone calls him a Style Icon but he imagined that since this happens about once every 20 years it probably means that what he likes to wear has come around and into fashion again. It s not true of course: the Prince of Wales is very passionate about clothing and especially about supporting British Industry. Would you consider the Prince of Wales shirting design to be the most synonymous with Hackett, or something else? Maybe also the true gingham checks which you also buy every season? Keep It Simple Yes, the Prince of Wales check, definitely, and also the Gingham. Do you remember that we also developed the small gingham with the over-check as an exclusive with you? I was really quite embarrassed to enquire if Thomas Mason would just make 240 m, but then I must have been a bit persuasive, or perhaps you were just kind, as you did agree to do that.

17 Returning to the story. What happened next? Very soon we opened 4 more shops close to our original. A shirt shop, a tailoring shop, one for formal evening wear, or Black Tie, as it s sometimes known, and finally a gentlemen s barber. Taxi drivers referred to this locality as Hackett Cross since it had by this time become a London landmark. By the late 80 s our business was flourishing with more shops around London, and one in Madrid, others in Paris & Japan. And then we were approached to open a shop in Boston USA, where we felt that we couldn t fail as Americans love English clothing. It was a bad mistake and cost us dearly. In order to survive, we made the decision to sell the business, since the brand name was strong, but the balance sheet was weak. So you were back to square one for the second time in your career? Sloane Street Flagship Store combined all our interests under one roof What is it about the Zephyr qualities that are so very appealing? Is it because the Zephyr constructions are very historical, as seen by the huge numbers of them featuring in our design archives, dating back to 1845? It was a low moment but it meant that the Hackett brand would continue to thrive, and in retrospect it was a sensible decision. It was important to hold onto our vision for the brand and just keep going. And the investment of the Richemont Group in Hackett enabled us in 1992 to open our first flagship shop in Sloane Street, which combined all of our interests under one roof and took the brand to another level. It continues to be our most successful shop attracting customers from all over the world. Balanced checks always got to be balanced, as simplicity and a clean look is synonymous with the Hackett brand. Keep It Simple!

18 PHOTO BY JEREMY HACKETT CONCERNING ALL THINGS GREAT BRITISH I should like to ask you something about the influence the Hackett brand has been in the growing interest in all things British over the last 2 decades in particular. In starting to focus on traditional British clothing in the early 1980 s you were clearly pioneers of this interest, and moving completely against the prevailing and seemingly unstoppable tide for cheaper imports. Yes it s true; we were doing something very different with Hackett, and yet despite the decline in the industry there were still traditional skills to be found. When we first started to make our own clothes, we used to visit these ancient factories, taking this suit, or that coat, or shirt, and then we asked them to reproduce the garments including all the special details. And you know the factories were delighted, because we were asking them to do things that they were really good at, which demanded traditional ways of making things and special attention to detail. Browney Hackett flies the flag for Great Britain

19 We still do what we can do in terms of trying to use British manufacturers and there are some wonderful ones still around. Why, for instance, would we buy our tweeds from anywhere other than Scotland where there are the best ones in the world? Those firms which have survived in Britain, understood that alongside keeping their traditions, they also need to evolve to meet the changing demands of the market. Obviously not all the traditional manufacturers have survived in the UK and when the last British cotton mill closed, a famous Italian mill called Albini bought up all the design archives enabling us to make British style cloth as we had done previously for many years, so thank you Silvio! Yes in 1991 Thomas Mason had existed for 190 years in Lancashire but was suffering very badly in the economic crisis at that time. Our family, shirting weavers in Italy since 1876, realised that we had to step in. We bought Thomas Mason and its associate company David & John Anderson, and their considerable design archives, and saved these historic brands from certain extinction. We immediately knew that we wanted to carry on with the new arrangement Which is when we met you, and we knew immediately that we wanted to carry on with the new arrangement.

20 PHOTO BY JEREMY HACKETT TAPPING MR CLASSIC FOR HIS SARTORIAL ADVICE You are very well known for your sartorial advice and grooming tips delivered in the Independent on Sunday newspaper for many years, under the guise of Mr Classic. One of your key pieces of advice is that whatever else you are wearing it is absolutely imperative to wear an excellent pair of shoes, and the best cotton (always double cuff) shirt. What, for you, Jeremy represents the very best cotton shirt, and how and when do you like to wear it? And what is a truly British shirt, in terms of designs, colours and fabrics? There was a lot more colour in the past, but certainly a regular Bengal stripe. That I believe is very British. Blue end-on-end with coloured highlights, that is typically British and something we always buy from Thomas Mason, even if not as popular in this period. Right now we are selling white and white and white, much more than anything else, maybe you are too?

21 Egyptian Cotton has always been synonymous with quality in England Yes, white is numero uno also for us, not just this season, but every season in fact, that s why we are investing so much care and attention into the research and development of new whites, such as our Giza 87 cotton which we are now growing in Egypt, as we weren t able to find it in any other way. Giza 87 Cotton picking, Albini Group Cotton Field, Egypt Yes, we are starting to sell this quality very well at Hackett (although I have a problem with the name Geezer which over here is a rather un-complimentary word for a man!). But Egyptian Cotton is a name that has a resonance, and has always been synonymous with quality in England. Our customers often ask for it. You should make much more of this Silvio. We are trying, step by step.

22 Tattersal, Oxford & Twills, but only for the weekend Buy only the best. Quality through and through Besides white, cornflower blue is good for us as well, and pink. I am talking about a classic shirt to wear for work of course. For the weekend, flannels, fine flannels, like the Panda quality from Albini which you made for us in the past, and Tattersall, that s very important. Oxford as well, but only for the weekend. Americans wear Oxford all the week, but for a British gentleman that s considered a weekend shirt, along with the twills. In your opinion how can the fabric make a difference to the performance of the shirt, whether two-fold, single-fold, finer yarn counts etc.? Two-fold fabrics for shirts ideally, but not necessarily. If there are other things I like I will buy those as well. But whatever I choose, whether it be fabric or garment or accessory, there must be no compromise on quality. I would always much rather have less, but buy only the very best. Quality through and through with everything and only choosing things that will last and stand the test of time.

23 And what about ways of wearing the shirt in particular, for instance at Hackett you are selling a great number of washeddown shirts, whereas other equally British companies who we supply sell only perfectly pristine shirts? It s a question of the shirts looking more lived in. Many men don t want to look as though they have just bought their new shirt, and also rugged or aged is good, I like that, except for formal shirts and dress wear of course, where they must be perfectly pressed, immaculate. I find myself curiously interested in the wearing (by perfectly well off respectable people) of shirts with worn through collars & cuffs etc. This is really an anathema to a well groomed Italian, but seems it s not at all uncommon in England, even amongst Royalty. Is that something you would do? Only if I was rich! If you are old wealth it is permissible. Old shirts are very comfortable and men have favourites which they don t want to let go of. It was like this with an old blue lambwool sweater that I had that I just couldn t let go of. One day I was wearing it over a navy Bengal stripe shirt and I noticed the stripes showing through at the elbow. I thought it was a nice effect so I had some sweaters made in Scotland for Hackett with deliberately worn through elbows. They didn t sell, nobody understood it at all! It s a question of the shirts looking more lived in

24 Talking about sartorial elegance in general, are there specific rules for a gentleman to follow, or would you say that it is more important for each one to express his own good taste, individuality and sense of style? And what about the famous English eccentricity? Everything has its purpose Eccentricity sits better on older people. On a younger person it can be a little contrived. David Hockney is always very shambolic in appearance but just has a look about him. He throws on a white cap, sometimes has odd socks, but he always looks great. That s natural eccentricity, an extension of himself. Italians and English are very different in this respect, an Italian is more considered, Is this shoulder right?, What about the angle of this collar?. On the contrary the Englishman is not so considered in the finer points of styling. He will usually ask Is it functional? or How long will it last?. Italians, and in fact many countries, Spain, Japan as well look to England for clothing style. They expect it of us and probably also distance lends a degree of enchantment. It s something about the way that we put clothes together, the fact that there are no rules, that it s perfectly acceptable to wear a colourful trouser with a mismatched jacket, and if the items are all of fine quality then often it works.

25 PHOTO BY GARDA TANG There are still pockets of elegance to be found And then most of all there are the occasions : polo, Henley, Derby, Ascot, weddings. This calendar of social occasions, all of which demand a specific dress code, simply doesn t exist in the same way in other countries. Some occasions like National Hunt Racing require tweed, and trilby hats, others like Ascot, tailcoats and top hats, at Henley there are striped blazers and straw boaters, and where but at Goodwood would you dress up to watch motor racing? And there are certain codes for hunting and shooting as well, and all of these things have been handed down for generations. What you need for the City. What you need for the Country. What you need for each occasion. Everything has its purpose, and that s why we have these very different collections at Hackett to reflect the British social calendar. There is a romantic illusion abroad about how the English dress, and sometimes I think that if they were to travel on the tube, or go to some provincial places then they would not find very much that is stylish. But it is true that there are still pockets of elegance to be found, in the St James s area of London, for instance, around Jermyn Street, you will still find it. On Savile Row of course, the home of fine bespoke tailoring, and in the financial areas of the City in particular. There you can still see the tightly furled umbrellas, the occasional bowler hat and a stricter formality of dress. We tried dress down Friday but that has all but gone away again.

26 PUTTING OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS You also sponsor and are associated with many events in the Upper Class Social Calendar from Polo, to Horse Racing, Motor Car Racing, even apparently Camel Polo? Yes, and would you believe also Elephant Polo? In order to further the authenticity of the Hackett brand we felt it important to take part in the sports that we were promoting, which led us to various sponsorships.

27 In the shop one day I was approached by two army officers, who said that their commanding officer had told them that if they wanted to play Polo, then they would have to find sponsorship because the army wasn t going to pay. That was the beginning of a long term relationship with British Army Polo. It was also the launch of the Hackett Polo shirt. I remember one day chatting to Prince William who asked me if I played Polo. No I replied I m left handed. He replied So am I but I learnt to play right handed that shut me up. We also dressed the England Rugby team and in particular Jonny Wilkinson who produced the drop goal which won England the World Cup in Jonny was a huge hit with our customers and again it allowed us to make authentic rugby jerseys. I secretly (well maybe not so secretly) envy you Mr Classic for being a champion and proud sponsor of Aston Martin Racing, and getting to drive their classic sports cars all over the world It sounds terribly hard work! It has its moments Prince William asked if I played polo That shut me up And yet your merchandise is not particularly elitist in terms of pricing. Was it a conscious decision that you still retain the ethos of the founding days of affordable luxury in order that much wider strata of society can buy into the Hackett lifestyle even in a small way?

28 It has its moments Historically we called this Essential British Kit Yes, it s most important to offer value for money to our customers, but this doesn t mean compromising on quality, not ever. Only the best will do. Our aim is to provide professional men of all ages with clothes that are stylish, well made and suitable for all occasions. It is not high fashion but then it is not old fashioned. It is a straightforward way of dressing that is purposeful with touches of wit and mild eccentricity. Historically we called this Essential British Kit.

29 TAILORED TO FIT Clothes you need for the City, clothes you need for the country where would you most rather be Jeremy? my quintessential country home right in the heart of London! Well I have always thought that a combination of the two, City & Country, would be absolutely perfect: London for its vibrancy and convenience, the countryside for its beauty and tranquillity. Shall I let you into a secret Silvio? I believe I have found the answer! I bought the most perfect home, a miniature Georgian cottage completely hidden away down a tiny lane, which I restored from dereliction. I filled the house with many of my treasured acquisitions, including a portrait of Edward VIII- The Duke of Windsor, which used to hang in our store, and also his riding boots for which I paid 3 at Portobello, and when I un-wrapped them found inscribed inside HM the King I do seem to accumulate objects, but I don t like clutter, everything inside is simple but functional, rather like the Hackett brand, and in fact many of our exclusive fabrics used for the upholstery and accessories bring the look together. It s good to mix up different periods, it stops the house from becoming too grand or overbearing. Outside is a traditional country garden with 19th century herringbone brick paths, vines and quercus trees. On a balmy summer evening, sitting out on the terrace under a faded cotton awning, with friends, a few bottles of good wine, and my dog Browney: I really have everything I could wish for.

30 And then I hear the distinct chimes of Big Ben and I am brought back to reality, remembering that my quintessential country home is not in deepest Wiltshire, but right in the heart of London! I still love to rise early and visit the London markets... and just can t seem to kick the habit. Although we have a broader design team now at Hackett to address our globally evolving market, I still like to contribute my ideas, never forgetting the past. It was the poet Edward Fitzgerald, who in 1840 wrote Say as you will, there is not and never was such a country as Old England. How do you see the evolution of the taste in shirts historically? Bespoke means you never have to say No to a customer One thing of particular note is the rapidly growing interest in Made to Measure garments, especially from a customer base of refined young people who are looking for something new. At the moment the full bespoke side is still a relatively small part of our business, but the demand for our personal tailoring where we can change our existing blocks or add special details requested by the customers, is increasing a lot. A whole generation of young guys are coming back into formality, and this demand for bespoke tailoring, whether suits or shirts is another way to express personality, and for Hackett bespoke means that you never have to say no to a customer. I recently had a chalk-stripe suit made for myself and chose to have patch pockets, with one of them, plus the trouser turnups featuring the stripe running in a different direction that would normally have been expected. A small change from the conventional way, but one that made my suit unique that s just one example of bespoke.

31 LONDON S HACKETT CROSS GOES GLOBAL In 2005 we made another move forward, with a team of European investors who had the vision to transform Hackett into a truly global brand. With the support of our new partners, we have begun to embrace a more European Britishness. It was necessary to broaden our horizons and the continuing investment has enabled us to do this. At the present time we are looking towards China where we are planning a major programme of store openings to include a flagship store in Hong Kong. I can t tell you the precise details as it is still top secret, but I can say that we are hugely looking forward to bringing our trademark British personality to the Chinese people. I believe that as a market they really are able to understand and appreciate quality. It s a very exciting time for us. And also something of a balancing act because it s important to acknowledge a wider world, whilst at the same time to take our existing client base with us. Hackett is a classic brand that evolves and moves, but hopefully a step ahead of our customers, not three steps. Looking forward to bringing our trademark British personality to China

32 Raising our hats for the new store in Milan Essentially British That stylish young provincial lad who left school aged 16 has come a very long way since then your eye for quality, the determination to swim against the tide, to take hold of every opportunity and most of all to keep faith with your original ideals through good times and difficult ones is truly inspirational. Thank you Jeremy Hackett, for sharing your stories with us, for continuing to support the best in British style...and did I remember to thank you for the Zephyr? Thank you Silvio, it s been great fun speaking to you, and you will remember to mention the dogs won t you? That s most important!

33 PHOTO BY JEREMY HACKETT Browney Hackett has the last word THANKS TO HACKETT FOR THE USE OF PHOTO IMAGERY AND TO JEREMY FOR HIS ORIGINAL ARTWORK

34 ENG Graphic Design GRITTI MORLACCHI & SCHIRMER Milano