MADE IN BRITAIN... designers value craftsmanship and good, old-fashioned British attention to detail

It may be cheaper to produce in China but when it comes to high fashion, who wants cheap? Manufacturing is coming home
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Lucy Hunter Johnston14 September 2012

TIM LITTLE, GRENSON: ‘I think the character of an English shoe is in line with the character of the English people: robust and well-made, but rugged and quirky.'

'The shoes that sell the best internationally are our quintessentially English designs, such as the wingtip brogue — George Clooney has a pair, and James Corden wears them, too. We’ve been making women’s versions of our classics since 2011.

Men like the idea of investing in something of real quality, a thing they can hold on to for a long time. This is even more important during a recession, and the long-lasting quality that comes from being made in England is enormously popular at the moment. In the past we’ve talked about moving our manufacturing away from Northampton, but if I was to move the factory to London, not a single person who makes our shoes would come, too. It’s the people who make the factory what it is; they are true craftsmen with years of experience. You can’t afford to lose them and you can’t recreate them, so we’re in Northamptonshire for good. After all, it’s the home of men’s shoemaking in the UK. When I started Tim Little in 1997 there were 12 factories within two miles of each other here; now there are ten, including Grenson’s, which I have been running since 2005, and have owned since 2010.

I try to spend three days a week in the factory. It is very time-consuming because the people work very closely so you do get issues and I’m usually the one called in to solve them. But the guys in the factory have had their skills passed down over generations. One man who retired last year had worked for Grenson for 50 years, and his father, grandfather and great-grandfather had all worked for us before him.’

GILES DEACON

‘Although my ready-to-wear collection is made in Italy, I’m proud that every couture piece is made to measure in London. We don’t produce a couture collection as such, since every item is created on a made-to-order basis with private clients, so the pieces aren’t commercially produced.

To create pieces to the highest couture standard, we have to make every bit of them in house. We moved to The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane three years ago and it makes a fantastic studio because it has amazing windows, and when you’re working on a special piece, getting the right light is crucial.

One item can take more than three months of work: it’s very labour intensive and requires specialist skills. We have to produce in London because that’s where I am, and over the past five or six years I’ve brought together an extremely talented couture team, all with very specific talents — we have specialists in pattern-making, embroidery and so on. Each bit of construction is handled by a different person, all working together to make a single beautiful, bespoke piece. About three people work on each piece, but it can be more and there are sometimes up to 15 people in the studio at once.

I create special one-off pieces for people such as Kylie and Gwyneth Paltrow to wear at glamorous premieres, but also for normal women. Everyone likes knowing that they are getting things made especially for them — you’re not going to see anyone else wearing it — and they appreciate the quality of the work, the fact that it is made by hand and that they can pass it down to the next generation.

British fashion is in a fantastic place. I love the diversity of everybody’s collections, from mine to Jonathan Saunders’ to Mary Katrantzou’s. Everybody making their clothes in Britain has their own distinct look and feel. It keeps it fresh, which is why everyone is now looking to London for fashion.’

PATRICK GRANT

‘I have always manufactured in Britain. From the minute I relaunched E. Tautz in 2009, I made a decision that I wanted to make as much as I possibly could here, and with the exception of some handkerchiefs four seasons ago, I have. The reason is simply that the British manufacturers we use are the best; without question, there are no better clothmakers, knitwear manufacturers or shirtmakers than ours, anywhere in the world.

We source silk from Stephen Walters & Sons and Vanners Silk Weavers, both factories in Sudbury in Suffolk and the two finest silk Jacquard weavers around. They have a legacy of manufacturing that stretches back hundreds of years, meaning they have a knowledge base that can’t be replicated. Anyone in any country can go and buy a machine and knit jumpers or weave silk, but without their know-how you’re not going to make anything as good. You just can’t catch up with these people. The rest of the world asks, ‘Can we make it faster and cheaper?’ but the British factories we use ask, ‘How can we make it better?’ and that’s the difference.

British people don’t appreciate how great their manufacturing is, unlike people in Japan or Korea, or even Italy and France. We overlook it because we’ve been fed this story that Italian manufacturing is amazing for so long that it’s deeply ingrained in our psyche. The difference is that while the Italians are very good at telling you how good things are, we’re very good at making things but terribly British about not saying how great they are.

Perceptions are changing now, thankfully, and the world is coming back to Britain. People appreciate the quiet confidence in the quality we produce. It attracts a really diverse mix of customers, from the fashion crowd, such as Jonathan Saunders, David Gandy and Christopher Kane, to architects and captains of industry.

It may be more costly, but at E. Tautz we made the decision that we would rather offer something that was the best possible quality and suffer the consequences of it being more expensive, than base our business on price and worry about the quality later.’

PIERS ATKINSON

‘My mum Hilary is a brilliant milliner. She had a hat on the cover of Vogue in 1964 and worked for the opera houses in London. I helped her, growing up in Norfolk, but I never thought I could make them as well as Mum. So I started doing lots of other fashion-related things: I worked for Zandra Rhodes as her PA, and then in fashion PR.

Five years ago, I started making hats at my kitchen table in Dalston. Never in a million years did I think I would be in my own studio with 11 people working to make my designs. We’ve been in Hackney for a year now, the area is a creative hub: Phoebe English, Fred Butler, JW Anderson and Hermione De Paula are all around the corner. It makes life a lot easier because I can run over to ask about designs or for a stylist’s number.

Because a lot of our hats are quite eccentric I couldn’t simply give them to a factory to make — they wouldn’t know how. Traditionally the home of millinery in Britain is Luton, so that’s where we get most of our materials from, but sadly they are stopping production on a lot of items now, such as really fine straw. If we’re offering something as a collection piece, then we’re not going to be able to reproduce them; there may be only enough material to make four hats.

My hats are a bit of fun with a lot of drama; they are party hats, hats to show off in. All the women I meet who enjoy wearing hats are glamorous, confident, intelligent and witty, and my customer inspires me as much as designing itself: how is she going to wear this hat? At the moment my big feathered creations are inspired by Anna Dello Russo — we have a true muse-designer relationship; she particularly likes my leopard glitter cherry hat. I’ve also made hats for Lady Gaga and Rihanna, and the Princesses of York wore my hats for the Jubilee celebrations.’

JULIEN MACDONALD

‘I dress a selection of the richest and most beautiful women in the world, the real triple-A list. There were so many famous people walking through the door of my old Notting Hill atelier that there always used to be paparazzi outside. I moved to this lavish townhouse just off Savile Row two years ago (I’m the only designer here making women’s clothes) and all my clients have followed, but the wealth around here is so incredible that it’s nothing to see a Bentley arrive and Madonna or Gwyneth Paltrow get out; it’s the norm.

I’ve dressed Beyoncé, Elle Macpherson, Florence Welch: not just one kind of woman, a complete variety. Even Cher. They all love to come here and meet the people who have actually made a particular item for them. They get to know them by name, so they can say, ‘Jackie is doing the beading on my dress, and Philip will finish it off.’ It makes it all so personal. It’s almost a fairy tale, especially for somebody from China or Russia where these crafts don’t exist in the same way. Seven people work with me full-time in the atelier, but on a big project such as a bespoke wedding dress it can be more than 20.

I use UK textile manufacturers and everybody associated with making my clothes is British. We are an atelier in the most prestigious area of London, known for its quality craftsmanship; no one makes clothes like they do on Savile Row, and I bring some glamour and sparkle to this very traditional part of London. I’m reinventing it for a younger customer and attracting an international market. When someone sees clothing made in Britain, they see the tradition of the monarchy and the great values that Britain stands for as a nation. It makes them proud to wear it.’ ES

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