Richard James (tailor)
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 Design and Brand 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. History The first of the "new establishment" or "new bespoke movement" of Savile Row – the new, more fashion orientated wave of tailors who moved onto the street in the nineties – Richard James is widely credited as having done much to revitalise the reputation and fortunes of what is acknowledged to be the world centre of quality tailoring. Richard James's trademark slim, modern tailoring and bold use of colour have earned it a large celebrity following. Mark Ronson, Daniel Craig, David Beckham, Tinie Tempah, Mo Farah, David Cameron, P Diddy, Jude Law, Tom Cruise, Benicio del Toro, Bryan Ferry, Christian Lacroix, Sir Elton John, Hugh Grant, Manolo Blahnik, Pierce Brosnan, Sir Mick Jagger and Sir Paul McCartney number amongst the company's customers. 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 was initially met with concern by some of the street's established tailors. One early supporter of Richard James, however, was established British couturier Hardy Amies who had opened his business on Savile Row in 1946. "Sir Hardy Amies was marvellous," recalled James. "I well recall his chauffeur-driven car pulling up outside Richard James and Sir Hardy emerging like Lady Bracknell. He'd cast a lugubrious eye over the bright pink and acid green jackets in our window before shaking his head at us in mock disbelief. And then he smiled." Richard James now has two shops on Savile Row, one of which is devoted to bespoke tailoring, and a flagship store in New York. Bespoke suits start at £4,500 inclusive of VAT. The company's ready-to-wear collections are also sold worldwide through stockists such as Harrods, Selfridges, Bloomingdales, Barneys New York and Lane Crawford. 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, but to push the barriers through experimenting with fabrics and making bold use of pattern and, particularly, 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 on a number of high-profile projects with a diverse number of companies and individuals,