We would like to introduce you to the new(ish) member of the Stowers Bespoke team at No13 Savile Row. Claire joined us last September as the undercutter to Brian Jeffrey.
Claire studied Costume design at The Arts Institute in Bournemouth, specialising in menswear and upon graduation moved to London to work. After working for ENO, the National Theatre and Classic Cuts among others she had her mind set on Savile Row.
Her first opportunity on the Row came from the Savile Row Academy, whilst the experience was fantastic and certainly on the right street, Claire wanted to be a cutter.
It was then she strolled into the basement of No13 in the late summer of ’09 and met Raymond…and hasn’t looked back since.
I asked Claire why she was so determined to be on Savile Row in particular:
‘Savile Row has the reputation of being the home of mens bespoke tailoring and that’s the reason I was pretty determined to train here, I thought there was little point in investing my time in an apprenticeship anywhere that wasn’t the best. I have been lucky enough to come across a company that really believe in maintaining the quality of hand cut, hand tailored clothes, unfortunately many of the shops on Savile Row these days use the reputation of the road but fail to maintain the quality. I have been able to work on a diverse range of clothing, using a range of techniques, styles and cuts”
There are a few things I’ve found out about Claire whilst chatting to her about this blog post, firstly she loves cake… as I do, and it took a considerable amount of flapjacks for me to persuade her to have her picture taken, secondly when we were talking about people we’d most like to dress, her response made me chuckle…Dolly Parton.. now that is a task or two! The chap she would most like to dress however is Mr Stephen Fry, known for his quirky style I think she would be more than up for the challenge.
Lots of people want to be apprentices, very few make it to be an undercutter. Working for a couple of months on the Row doesn’t make you a Savile Row tailor, it takes years, it is as hard work as any other job, to be good requires serious dedication and discipline..there are chaps on the Row that have been cutting for over half a century and are still learning new things. Claire relishes the opportunity she has learning with Brian and all the stories he has to tell, luckily she has not been sent out for a bucket of steam yet ! We are always up for encouraging people into this trade, and it looks like we’ve been very lucky with Ms Davison.
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