It is both a family story and a story of an international business that covers the past, the present and the future.
Savile Row is a deceptively quiet and discreet London street, running parallel to Bond Street. The street is globally renowned not only as the heart of English bespoke tailoring but also as the number one destination for a hand-made suit anywhere in the world. We’re proud to say that Savile Row’s reputation can be traced back to the current owners’ ancestor, James Poole. In 1806 James Poole, a modest lad from Shropshire, opened a linen drapers shop near Brunswick Square and by the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 he was making military tunics.
In 1822 he opened an emporium at 181 Regent Street and later established headquarters at 4 Old Burlington Street, the street adjoining Savile Row. In 1846, when James Poole died, his son, Henry, inherited the business. His undeniable charisma and a passion for the aristocratic world of equestrian and field sports made him what in today’s parlance would be a ‘celebrity tailor’.
Henry Poole’s reputation grew as he went on to serve the future Emperor Napoleon and Queen Victoria. However, it was King Edward VII who created a social hub around Henry Poole’s Mayfair premises and established him as a leader of fashion. When the aristocracy began flocking, Henry Poole enlarged the store and built a palatial showroom with a new entrance opening onto Savile Row, thus putting Savile Row on the map as the centre for gentlemen’s tailoring forever more.
After Henry Poole’s death in 1876, his cousin Samuel Cundey took over. By then, the firm had served nearly every European crowned head. Poole’s opened branches in Paris, Vienna and Berlin, laying the foundation of the international tailoring business that continues to this day. By the early 1900s, Henry Poole was the largest tailoring establishment of its type in the world, employing 300 tailors and 14 cutters.
In 1961, redevelopment of the area led to the demolition of Henry Poole’s store and so the shop and workrooms were forced to move to a modern site in nearby Cork Street. Henry Poole stayed there for over 20 years until 1982 when it was able to return to its traditional home on ‘the Row’. Coming full circle, Henry Poole moved into a beautiful Victorian building at number 15, where it stands today as a historic presence in the street it established as the crucible for London’s tailoring 200 years ago.
In 1964 Henry Poole & Co was the first Savile Row tailor to enter the Japanese market. We introduced our signature bespoke process to the entire country and designed a complete range of exclusive made-to- measure garments that are sold in luxury department stores across Japan. More recently, we have offered our bespoke tailoring process to China, opening stores in Beijing and Hangjou.
To maintain our reputation as eminent tailors to our growing base of overseas clients, we make regular visits with our Trunk Shows to France, Germany, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Japan and ten major cities in the USA.
Back in London, our customers come to our shop at number 15 Savile Row from around the world – from Europe, the United States, Asia and beyond. Our showroom and cutting room are situated on the ground floor, while our tailoring workshops and Livery Department lie just below ground level. Our customers rely on us to tailor-make everything they need from scratch and to order, from morning and evening dress and bespoke suits to top coats, overcoats, blazers, and sports jackets.
Today you can choose from over 6,000 fabrics. They range from luxury worsted cashmere suitings from mills in Huddersfield, Yorkshire and pure cashmere to rich flannels from the West Country and fine tweeds from the Islands of the Outer Hebrides and the Scottish Borders. The result: you can not only be sure that what we make for you will be cut and sewn to fit you alone—you can be just as sure that no one else will be wearing anything exactly the same.
We also offer a large selection of hand picked accessories, including ties, cufflinks, braces, socks, handkerchiefs, wallets and umbrellas. For more information about our accessories, please visit our online store.
At Henry Poole & Co. we believe in passing on our bespoke tailoring process to the next generation in order to secure our future as one of the world’s most renowned tailors. Our apprenticeship programme is designed to ensure that our exceptionally high standards of cutting and tailoring skills are nurtured and preserved. Our apprentices train at our premises, learning the family secrets that have been passed down seven generations.
Our house style is recognised as one of the most distinctive – and often imitated – on Savile Row. Yet our flexible attitude toward styling means that we will continue adapting to our contemporary clients’ individual needs, changing fashions and an increasing demand for comfort, without ever compromising quality.
We aim to uphold the traditional values that have made Savile Row the gold standard of tailoring while mastering the art of accommodating the changes that our clients want. Ultimately, our aim is to go on providing the timeless elegance for which we are internationally renowned and to give our clients a bespoke suit to last a lifetime.
