What is Bespoke Tailoring?
Bespoke tailoring is creating a garment that is tailored to fit your body. Huntsman has been handcrafting the world’s finest bespoke tailoring for ladies and gentlemen since 1849.
The fit - The feeling - The Craftsmanship
It’s an art form that begins with up to 28 measurements to create a 2D rendering of your body, as a paper pattern. Up to 80 hours of handwork by the most skilled team of cutters and tailors on Savile Row are woven into the soul of every one of our tailored garments. From measuring and drafting your paper pattern, to hand stitching and finishing details, no two bodies are the same, and so no two bespoke suits, shirts, or separates are the same.
No bespoke suit leaves our 11 Savile Row store until you are completely satisfied, which is why we will see you at least three times for your fittings. A bespoke design allows you that extra level of personalisation. Whether it is the luxury of silk printed lining, half an inch on a cuff, or a truly bespoke suit you will want to live in; the quality of our bespoke tailoring speaks for itself when you are still enjoying your garments in 20 years’ time.
Bespoke Tailoring vs Made To Measure
Ready-To-Wear or Made To Measure garments are made to a standard block that doesn’t accommodate for the uniqueness and nuances of individual form. With a bespoke suit, handcrafted just for you, you will notice the difference as soon as you put it on.
Huntsman is dedicated to bespoke tailoring. The made-to-measure services offered by other tailors use a standard-sized base pattern, which is altered to your frame. Some modifications may occur, but you will never truly enjoy that exclusive feeling of wearing a tailored suit. With bespoke tailoring starting from £4200, which is comparable to made-to-measure, you can invest in a bespoke suit that is every bit as unique as you are without compromising on quality.
Choosing The Right Service For You
Huntsman offers several different bespoke services to guarantee the most comprehensive and personal experience for our clients.
Bespoke 1849
Starting at £6500 for a two-piece suit, Bespoke 1849 is the ultimate bespoke experience and has changed very little since our founding in 1849. As a Bespoke 1849 client you will enjoy access to the entirety of Huntsman’s cloth library, seasonal tweed and cashmere exclusives, and qualify as a member of the Huntsman Club, for fittings and private events. In a unique opportunity, you will also meet your tailors- the makers of your bespoke suit to ensure an impeccably tailored fit and an unforgettable experience. The process takes twelve to sixteen weeks.
Huntsman Bespoke
Huntsman Bespoke provides bespoke tailoring for the time-conscious modern gentleman. This service which is currently available within our bespoke menswear offering. A tailored two-piece suit starts from £4,200 and is delivered within sixteen to twenty weeks. You will enjoy the same peerless quality and prestige you would naturally expect of Huntsman, only optimised for a more convenient bespoke experience, available within specific cloth bands. Every measurement and cut of your bespoke suit is made at our esteemed 11 Savile Row premises.
It’s the perfect option if you’re looking to expand your existing bespoke wardrobe, or looking to experience bespoke tailoring for the first time.
Bespoke Ladies
Huntsman has created bespoke women’s clothing for more than 150 years, and in this time has dressed some of the world’s most powerful and influential women. Names synonymous with style and elegance, the likes of Coco Channel, Katherine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Nicole Kidman, are all Huntsman clients.
Magdalena Handwerker is our dedicated Head Cutter, responsible for creating an iconic ladies' house silhouette. Magdalena is a pinnacle of the craft, a jewel in the crown of Huntsman, with a natural eye for interpreting shape and form with style and a commitment to excellence. Huntsman bespoke ladies tailoring starts at £6500 for a two-piece suit.
Bespoke Shirts
Choosing a bespoke shirt guarantees a fit and feel that is as comfortable as a second skin and will be a pleasure to live, work and play in. Creating your bespoke shirt requires only a few additional measures to those you’d expect for a suit or coat, for convenience our team can take your measures in a single fitting. Huntsman bespoke shirts start from £380.
Choosing Huntsman as your Bespoke Shirtmaker guarantees the level of service and quality that we’re renowned for, with the added convenience of keeping it ‘in-house’ saving you time and effort. You can order your entire bespoke wardrobe from the same tailor, with the assurance that you’re receiving the finest craftsmanship in the industry.
But it’s more than just convenience that makes all the difference. When it comes to style, our team knows what works best for your wardrobe. Forget the guesswork and pursue the perfect cotton business shirts whilst you’re picking your pinstripe suiting, or relaxed linens to compliment your summer seersucker trousers.
The Huntsman Bespoke Process
Up to 25 individual measurements and over 80 hours of handwork can go into a single commision. It’s likely your garment will be touched by at least 18 pairs of the most skilled hands on Savile Row.
-
Your experience begins with a conversation. Your dedicated client manager will take the time to understand your needs and desires in a garment. Your answers will help guide his informed choices, as you are introduced to our array of bespoke styles and fabrics. For every occasion and for every outfit there is an ideal cloth. You will then be introduced to one of our Cutters, who, in the comfort of a Huntsman fitting room, will take up to 28 individual measurements and photographs, to assess your posture to accentuate your best features. It is from these measurements your paper pattern will be drafted by hand. Your Cutter will also ask you questions about your personal style choices, your stance, and how you like your clothing to look and feel, and offer advice on what will suit you best. It’s a time to discuss details; perhaps consider the addition of a ticket pocket, or a pleat in your trousers. You’ll see the beauty in bespoke tailoring with every decision you make, in a garment designed just for you.
-
The first time you see your garment, it will be quite unrecognizable. At your first fitting, you will see your garment at Baste stage. With canvasing exposed, this preliminary fitting is to inform your Cutter, more than it is to show a finished suit. Your Cutter will take this opportunity to make subtle adjustments to the fit and hang, before handing the garment back to your tailor. Before you next see your garment again, it will be completely deconstructed, at least once, and reassembled with alterations made, so that it is ready for your next fitting.
-
At your next fitting, the garment will be closer to what you might expect to see in the finished product. You’ll notice how the adjustments and nuances made at the first fitting have transformed the garment and you’ll already be able to tell the difference of a bespoke fit. Depending on the satisfaction of yourself and your tailor there may be the need for more fittings but, generally, we are then able to take your outfit to the finishing stage.
-
As many as 80 hours are dedicated to making your tailored suit. A culmination of these hours of handwork comes to fruition when you see your garment at the final fitting. The garment is now complete, pressed and with buttons added. you can expect to take it away on the final fitting.
-
Our bespoke tailoring services do not simply end at delivery. We will check in with you several weeks later to ensure you are completely satisfied. We can also provide recomendations for further pressings and dry cleaning, as well as help with stain removal or alterations. The quality and longevity of a bespoke suit relies on proper care, paramount to this is proper cleaning and pressing. Because often domestic dry-cleaners do not facilitate bespoke garments, we suggest you always return to us for cleaning and maintenance. An over-zealous dry cleaner can destroy a bespoke garment by not treating it properly.
-
If you have inherited a Huntsman suit or jacket from a loved one, we invite you to bring your cherished items of bespoke clothing for an appraisal with a Huntsman tailor. Together, we can reimagine your garment as a true testament to your bespoke legacy.
Bespoke suits with bespoke service
Because no two bespoke garments are the same, no two bespoke experiences are the same. Our service and aftercare is tailored just to you.
A brief history of Huntsman
For more than 170 years, the great, the good, and the most sartorially discerning individuals have chosen Huntsman for our expertise and personal service. We are home to Savile Row’s most talented craftsmen and women. Commissioning a bespoke garment is more than just a wardrobe choice.
Customers have forged long-lasting relationships with the house, based on treasured items of bespoke clothing and the inimitable Huntsman experience. It is this commitment to service and excellence that has secured our formidable reputation.
Our legacy and values
At Huntsman, we take great pride in our rich heritage. As one of the most respected, enduring and innovative bespoke houses on Savile Row, our extraordinary story serves as a reminder of the integrity, excellence and attention to detail that has defined the Huntsman bespoke suit for generations. Those impeccable standards are just as much a signature of our bespoke tailoring today as they were at our founding over a century ago. We are vangaurds for the traditions of Savile Row, yet proudly contemporary since 1849.
What sets us apart
Huntsman crafts the world’s finest tailored suits, shirts and separates. Bespoke designs with the quality that mean that you will love them for a lifetime. Our tailoring services celebrate the best of human endeavours that money can buy. Over 180 years of bespoke tailoring expertise is lovingly stitched into every garment. For the same cost as a made-to-measure service, you can enjoy a fully bespoke experience from our legendary Savile Row tailoring house.
Huntsman House Style
Every bespoke tailoring house has a signature silhouette that defines them. Often derived from their origins, this ‘house cut’ may be rooted in military, sporting or civilian life, but is a common thread on which their sartorial legacy rests. Huntsman has one of the most iconic, and instantly recognizable house cuts, it is also one of the most complicated to achieve.
The Huntsman Cut
The iconic Huntsman Cut was first devised by Colin Hammick, legendary Huntsman Head Cutter, Creative Director and arbiter of taste in the second half of the 20th century. Taking from our equestrian heritage, his masterstroke was to refine the classic hacking jacket to create a quintessentially British look that was unique to Huntsman.
Hammick elevated the waisted silhouette, high armhole, and longer flared skirt of a hacking jacket by blending the elegance of the single button fasting dinner jacket. The result is an stylish coat with firm shoulders, a naturally structured chest, and clean lines that compliment all figures. Although quintessentially British in conception, this one-button style became an instant favourite of Hollywood’s leading lights, the likes of Gregory Peck, Paul Newman and Frank Sinatra all adopted Huntsman style, and made it an instant success. It was once said that Huntsman clients could recognise one another in passing, just by the cut of their suits.
The Weekend Cut
With the same one-button house style, The Weekend Cut was created by Huntsman Head Cutter and Creative Director Campbell Carey, and boasts the same construction and integrity of a traditional bespoke tailored blazer, only with a fit and feel as comfortable as your favourite cardigan.
The iconic Huntsman Cut is reimagined with a new silhouette for the weekend. This is Huntsman bespoke tailoring, but in a cut that unlocks a whole new wardrobe. Now you can enjoy casual comfort without compromising style or execution.
Meticulous cloth choice and construction details provide several benefits. A softer shoulder line with thinner padding allows the cashmere to drape naturally against your body, whilst retaining its shape. Minimal lining and thinner padding in the sleeves allow for ease of movement and reduce weight. All of which creates a supremely versatile off-duty jacket that is relaxed, comfortable, and unequivocally Huntsman.
A Style That Suits
Huntsman has a long tradition of dressing gentlemen and ladies throughout their lives. We offer expert advice on style, cut and design for an impeccable tailored fit in a style that suits.
Town
Sophisticated two- and three-piece bespoke suits for the office or about town are the backbone of every modern gentleman’s wardrobe. Whether you require a classically elegant navy chalk stripe suit, a staple grey flannel lounge suit, a double-breasted business suit, or something more relaxed for informal dinners, we are perfectly positioned to create tailored suits that compliment your character and exceed all expectations.
Country
Huntsman has a long history of cutting clothes for riding, shooting and country pursuits, as well as casual wear like sports jackets, blazers and weekend trousers. We carry a vast selection of country cloths from cavalry twill to corduroy and tweeds. We can offer bespoke tailoring for the ultimate shooting look; from jackets and vests complete with gun pleats, patch and bellows pockets, through to shooting breeches and matching caps. With the Tweed Experience you can create your own tweed, exclusively with Huntsman.
Formal
Whether a morning suit for Royal Ascot and weddings, dinner jackets for gala events, or white tie for a banquet or ball, our team can advise and cater to all manner of formal wear requests. If you admire the grace of Gregory Peck in a top hat and tails, or the cool elegance of Paul Newman in black tie, look no further, Huntsman was tailor of choice to both. Head Cutters Campbell Carey and Dario Carnera thrive on the technical intricacies of producing traditional close-fitting body coats for morning suits and tailcoats and are strong advocates for the beauty and tradition of tartan trews.
Seasonal
The beauty of a truly great bespoke suit is that it can fulfill any purpose you may have in mind when it has been designed and constructed in the right way, with the right cloth. Thanks to the unrivalled expertise of our team, we can create bespoke clothing suited to any climate or region of the world, whether it be a wedding in Marrakech during the height of summer, or an autumnal business trip to New York. Our team makes regular bespoke Trunk Show visits around the world, and with them, the knowledge of the finest cloths for every climate, carefully curated for your work, travel and leisure requirements.
Conceptual
The beauty of bespoke tailoring can be whatever you can imagine. Alongside classic suits and jackets, we have created a legacy as tailor of choice to designers and artisans and welcome the avant-garde and even outrageous bespoke commissions! The likes of tie-dyed boiler suits for a weekend at Burning Man, Magritte silk printed tuxedos and tweed ski suits have all been masterfully created by our experienced team of tailors. If you’re looking for something a little unusual, or truly unique to you, our team welcomes your ideas. For clients wishing to make a particular statement, our bespoke tailoring guarantees a memorable event.
We are fortunate to have a great tradition of dressing the stars of stage and screen – a tradition we are proud to maintain today. From Rudolph Valentino and Marlene Dietrich to Hugh Bonneville and Nicole Kidman, we are uniquely placed to create luxurious bespoke clothing for the red carpet, film or television