How a Savile Row Suit is Really Made: The Rest Is History goes to Anderson & Sheppard / Savile Row bespoke suit sales surged in 2024

Savile Row bespoke suit sales surged in 2024

 

Savile Row tailors sold more bespoke suits this year than any time since the Covid-19 pandemic, as people are returning to the office or attending more formal parties, say retailers on the famous London street.

 

By David Harris

22 October 2024

https://www.drapersonline.com/news/savile-row-bespoke-suit-sales-surged-in-2024

 

Savile Row suffered during Covid and the years that followed, as people worked from home, but Richard Anderson - an independent tailor at 13 Savile Row - said orders for bespoke suits were up by 12% on last year.

 

His theory is that as more people are heading back into the office, they are investing in tailored work attire. As such, his turnover from bespoke suits, which can retail at over £7,000, reached more than £1.5m last year, and 2024 was looking even better.

 

When he spoke to Drapers in September, he had sold 216 bespoke suits, compared to 202 in the same period in 2023. Women’s suits are up from 19 to 28, and made-to-measure from 55 to 63.

 

"What we are seeing is a significant increase in people wanting to get more suits across all three levels – ready-to-wear, made-to-measure and bespoke," said Anderson.

 

"Ready-to-wear dinner suit sales are unbelievable. I think that’s down to not many evening events for a couple of years [due to the national lockdowns] and now people are packing them in. The point is that people were not dressing up as much, but now they are."

 

He said people are continuing to wear business suits in different ways, with cotton and linen suits a popular choice for office workers. While informality is also playing a role, with Savile Row suits increasingly worn with T-shirts or without ties, he said.

 

"[However,] we are still selling traditional fabrics. We specialise in 18oz cloths and we have a certain type of clientele that wants them, especially Americans from the east coast - places like Chicago, where it can get very cold - and the beauty of these heavy suits is that they last for ever," he said.

 

"I think formal is smarter, nicer. But you have to be alive to what is going on."

 

At Huntsman & Sons - at 11 Savile Row - bespoke suits make up 84% of total turnover. Sales were up 35% in revenue terms, compared to 2019. While ready-to-wear increased by 25%.

 

“We have already matched 2023’s figures for bespoke, with three months still to go,” managing director Taj Phull told Drapers.

 

He agrees times are changing but says most of his customers still come to him for formal suits.

 

“Around 60% of our business is bespoke two-piece suits [retailing at £6,700] in navy blue, so that always seems to remain solid. There are some changes – people seem to be wearing a lot of Seersucker (a thin puckered stripe or chequered design) at the moment – but when customers come to Savile Row, they are often looking for a formal suit.”

 

It is not just suits that are in demand, said Phull, with ties also proving popular. By September, Huntsman had seen tie sales of £50,000, compared to £56,000 for the full year in 2019.

 

“[The last] three months are the biggest tie purchasing period – for gifting – so I would expect us to easily pass the £75,000 spent on ties last year," he said.

 

At Anderson & Sheppard - which is just off Savile Row, at 32 Old Burlington Street - owner Anda Rowland said she has noticed a rise in both younger customers and older people who want more traditional products.

 

“You can’t categorise our customers easily. They come from all sorts of backgrounds," she said.

 

"Some buy suits every five years or so, some might order just one as something they have promised themselves for years, some might order 15 a year. All of them are different."

 

The average retail price for a two-piece bespoke suit at Anderson & Sheppard is £6,500, although some can cost more than that.

 

“The price does go up if anybody wants cashmere or vicuna or something like that, but the idea that Savile Row suits go much above – you hear people talking about £10,000 and more - is a bit exaggerated," said Rowland.

 

"Something like 80% of the bespoke suits we sell are around £6,500 – we try not to increase it too much unless we really have to.”

 

However, with the increased demand, one challenge for bespoke garment sellers is having enough skilled craftspeople, said Huntsman's Phull.

 

“Apprentices take years to train so we have to make sure that we have enough to meet future growth. At the moment we have eight on the go, including cutters, coat makers and trouser makers."