Our cutters are as highly prized as top surgeons but we believe only the best is good enough for our clients. Most of our cutters and tailors have been with us for many years.
Angus Cundey MBE joined Henry Poole & Co in 1959 after completing a cutting course at The Tailor and Cutter Academy, London. He witnessed the disgraceful demolition of the premises and moved with the firm to Cork Street before returning to Savile Row at number 15 in 1982.
Angus has served as President of the Federation of Merchant Tailors, President of the World Federation of Master Tailors and President of the Tailors Benevolent Institute and Master Tailors Benevolent Association. In 1955 he served as an apprentice coat maker at Maison Lanvin in Paris before joining the Royal Air Force, where he served between 1956 and 1957.
Simon Cundey, 7th generation of Henry Poole & Co, was born in 1968 and attended Oxted School in Surrey. In 1985, he went to London College of Fashion to take a course in cutting and tailoring. Two years later, he worked in Chester Barrie’s factory in Crewe on clothing and production and then at Taylor and Lodge Mill, Huddersfield on weaving, design and finishing.
In 1988, he became a staff member at Henry Poole & Co and, in 1994, he was appointed Henry Poole’s Chief Marketing Officer for the USA market. He began travelling to Japan and the USA (East and West coasts) five times a year. In 2012, he was appointed Managing Director of Henry Poole & Co.
Elected to the Livery, Merchant Taylors’ Company in 2001, Simon became Appeal Chairman with the Master Tailors’ Benevolent Association four years later.
Alex Cooke, co-managing director and cutter, was drawn to clothing at an early age. Growing up in a Yorkshire region known for its premium woollen mills, he believes he owes his Mother for dragging him to her friend, Rita Britton’s boutique, Pollyanna. Soon enchanted by fashion, at just 11, Alex could recognise a Jean Muir shoulder.
After flirting with documentary photography, Alex studied for four years at London College of Fashion where he became fascinated with how a complex design could be realised first in paper and then construction.
Finding the incredible silhouettes in Savile Row shop windows aspirational, Alex secured an apprenticeship with some of the trade’s best cutters. Some 20 years later, he travels the globe and works with incredible personalities.
Alex feels fortunate that some of the world’s most esteemed designers choose Henry Poole, considering it a huge compliment that these pioneers will look to him for inspiration.
Responsible for upholding Henry Poole’s reputation for consummate standards in ceremonial dress and for maintaining the company’s Royal Warrant as Livery Tailor to Her Majesty The Queen, Keith’s expertise in civil, livery and military dress uniform is exemplary.
Keith has become a recognised talent in his field, thanks to his exacting standards and an unwavering care for both his work and his clients.
Keith was born in 1973 and began his tailoring apprenticeship at the age of sixteen. He learned all aspects of cutting and tailoring before going on to focus on what would become his area of responsibility at Henry Poole.
A bespoke Cutter based in our Savile Row showroom, Tom Pendry is responsible for the company’s trunk show commitments in the EU and The Far East. He also oversees production for a varied domestic client base in the Henry Poole workshops.
Introduced to the craft through a vocational course, he learned to sew and thereafter completed a traditional apprenticeship as a Pattern Cutter under Alan Alexander, who served with us for over 37 years.
Born in Sussex, Tom’s academic career gravitated towards arts and crafts and particularly music. It was Tom’s interest in the creative and engineering facets of bespoke tailoring that attracted him to enter the trade and retrain.
Since then, he has worked on various significant projects, including the development of two hybrid adidas sneaker designs in 2017. He now trains another generation of tailors, maintaining and perpetuating more than two centuries of the company’s rich tailoring heritage.
Consultant, Philip Parker is today based in London. Though, his role as a Cutter saw him travel extensively throughout Europe, the USA and The Far East.
Having spent many years in the bespoke industry, Philip brings a profusion of experience and expertise to his work.
Remarkable accomplishments under his belt include chairing the Savile Row Bespoke training committee, which has seen great success in securing the next generation of young artisans. And he has helped encourage young apprentices, through his position as a Liveryman of the Merchant Taylors’ Company, too.
Philip’s simple values – to always do one’s best and help others – have been evident throughout his very well-established career and continue to be to this day.
He was born in Romford, and having underachieved at school, Philip believes his parents breathed a sigh of relief on his announcement of wanting to be a tailor.
Originally from Ayrshire on the West Coast of Scotland, Daniel made the move to London in August 2012 to start his Bachelor of the Arts Degree in Bespoke Tailoring, which he successfully completed, graduating with honours in 2015.
During this time, he also gained experience in technical and production pattern cutting and manufacturing, at various companies including some within the Arcadia Group.
Daniel joined Henry Poole & Co shortly after graduating and, as the saying goes, the rest is history. Training, and working closely, with Managing Director Alex Cooke, Daniel is now a permanent fixture on the East Coast trip. He plans to serve Henry Poole & Co clients – existing and new – for many years to come.
Having spent several years training under the exacting technical eye of Tom Pendry, Charlie has since taken over responsibility for most of Henry Poole’s European trunk shows, alongside cutting and fitting suits for clients on Savile Row.
His first attempt at tailoring came in his childhood, when he took a pair of scissors to one of his father’s suits to try and make it fit him. The suit was destroyed but an interest in the bespoke craft was born.
After completing a diploma in bespoke tailoring at Newham College and gaining valuable experience at a couple of smaller firms, Charlie’s big break came at the founders of Savile Row, where he has been chalking and cutting cloth ever since.
Joe joined the company in November 2018, and trained under the tutelage of Managing Director, Alex Cooke.
After leaving school Joe took time out to travel, and upon his return found his love for tailoring through watching the film ‘Catch Me If You Can’. Determined to re-create Di Caprio’s suit, Joe enrolled at Newham College to learn the fundamentals of tailoring.
After a spell in military tailoring, Joe took extra classes at the London Academy of Bespoke where his love for traditional tailoring was reignited. Joe now sees customers in our London showroom as well as our New York trunk shows.
