Andersen
& Sheppard was founded in 1906 by a Swedish tailor named Per Andersen who
had been initiated and trained in his art by the famous Frederick Scholte of
Dutch origin, who although irrational and impossible to put up with, was the
famous creator of the "London Drap" that the Prince of Wales would
immortalize.
Andersen
& Sheppard was acquired in the late 1970s by multimillionaire Roland
"Tiny" Rowland, who maintained his characteristics and habits of
total and stubborn isolation. in his large establishment (at that time still)
at 30 Savile Row.
When we
talk about isolation, I am not referring to the prestigious list of
international clients from the world of art and cinema and the fame that this
establishment enjoyed and enjoys today, but rather to a great independence of
contacts with the rest of the other establishments on the Row, which
incidentally was the attitude of other great Savile Row establishments. like Huntsman's or Henry Poole.
This young
and good-looking lady (Anda Rowland) is Rowland's daughter and heiress who
passed away in 1998. The Rowland family took 80% of the property, with the rest
belonging to a few senior employees (head and cutters). Anda's mother, Josie,
took over the responsibility for a while, but in 2004 the lease had expired and
an update meant a sharp rise in rent. This led Josie to decide to move out of
Savile Row and move Andersen & Sheppard to nearby Old Burlington Street
(No. 32), which, although smaller (only a third of the original space on the
Row), offered a new opportunity.
Although
Anda has made her own career in the world of fashion and perfumes, in 2004 she
decided to take on the challenge and the legacy, and today, she runs the firm
that she revolutionized in organization and method, with computers and a
website on the Net, while maintaining all the ancestral essence of the
artisanal methods of art.
The
interior with its "clubish" character, "looks more like a
library of a private house in Mayfair and frankly "is really my cup of
tea"...
Anda is the
only woman in Savile Row to run an ancestral house and is highly respected and
active in the Savile Row Bespoke Association.
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