Richard James is a bespoke Savile Row tailors and contemporary menswear company. It was founded in 1992 by designer Richard James, a graduate of Brighton College of Art and a former buyer for the London boutique Browns, and his business partner Sean Dixon. The Creative Director is Toby Lamb, a graduate of Central Saint Martins. Richard James has won both the British Fashion Council's Menswear Designer of the Year and Bespoke Designer of the Year awards.
Contents
History
The first of the "new establishment" or "new bespoke movement" of Savile Row - the more fashion-oriented wave of tailors who moved onto the street in the nineties - Richard James is credited by The Standard as having done much to revitalise its reputation and fortunes as a centre of quality, handcrafted tailoring.
Clients have included Mark Ronson, David Beckham, Sir Elton John, Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Paul McCartney, Stormzy and Prince William.
Richard James is a founding member of the Savile Row Bespoke Association, the trade organisation that represents bespoke tailoring on Savile Row, but Richard James' fashion-led approach, marketing techniques and introduction of Saturday opening to Savile Row were initially met with concern by some of the street's established tailors. One early supporter of Richard James, however, was British couturier Hardy Amies , who opened his own business on Savile Row in 1946.
Richard James now has two shops on Savile Row, one of which is home to its bespoke and made-to-measure tailoring, and a flagship store in New York. The company's ready-to-wear collections are also sold worldwide through stockists such as Harrods and Selfridges.
House style
Richard James's tailoring has always centred on what has become known in the style press as its 'modern classic' style: one or two-button single-breasted suits with slightly longer, more waisted jackets, incorporating deep side vents and a slightly higher armhole to give a slim, definitive silhouette.
The overall design philosophy is to produce classic clothing while experimenting with fabrics and making bold use of pattern and colour. The British fashion writer and academic Colin McDowell has described James as being 'the best colourist working in menswear in London today'.
Collaborations
Throughout its history, Richard James has collaborated with a number of brands and individuals, including SpongeBob SquarePants, Elton John, Spencer Tunick, Condor Cycles, Umbro, Tretorn and Mango.
Timeline
1992
The first Richard James shop opens at 37a Savile Row.
Richard James's arrival is noticed by Nick Sullivan in British Esquire magazine: "There is an odd atmosphere these days in Savile Row. Nothing tangible, you understand. But from time to time, people stop to peer with uncertainty, with incomprehension, even with vague horror through the plate glass window of No. 37a. There's a new boy on The Row and he's causing quite a stir."
1995
The Sunday Telegraph reveals that Queen Elizabeth II's cousin David Linley is measured for his Richard James suits astride his motorcycle. Richard James moves to new, 2,000 square feet premises at 31 Savile Row.
1996
Richard James's 'suicide' cinema advertisement, which shows a Richard James attired man throwing himself off the top of a building, is banned.
1996
Richard James is awarded the Evening Standard's Eros Award as Retailer of the Year. Richard James is profiled in a cover feature on British design and style in the Cool Britannia edition of Vanity Fair.
1998'
Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro wear Richard James camouflage suits on the cover of George.
2000
Richard James moves to 29 Savile Row, the largest premises on the street, which becomes its flagship shop, design studio and showroom.
2001
Richard James receives the British Fashion Council's Menswear Designer of the Year award, as well as Menswear Designer of the Year at GQ's Men of the Year Awards. The company also supplies all of the suits worn by its customer Hugh Grant in Bridget Jones's Diary.