Savile Row
Savile Row
Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has also accommodated the headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society at 1 Savile Row, where British explorations to Africa and the South Pole were planned; and more recently, the headquarters of the Beatles' Apple Corps business at 3 Savile Row, on whose roof the band gave its final live performance.
Savile Row
Originally named Savile Street, it was built between 1731 and 1735 as part of the development of the Burlington Estate. It was designed under the influence of Burlington's interpretation of Palladian architecture, known as "Burlingtonian". Henry Flitcroft, under the supervision of Daniel Garrett, appears to have been the main architect – though 1 and 22–23 Savile Row were designed by William Kent. Initially, the street was occupied mainly by military officers and their wives; later William Pitt the Younger and Irish-born playwright and MP Richard Brinsley Sheridan were residents.
Savile Row
Tailors started doing business in the area in the late 18th century; first in Cork Street, about 1790, then by 1803 in Savile Row itself. In 1846, Henry Poole, later credited as the creator of the dinner jacket, opened an entrance to Savile Row from his tailoring premises in Old Burlington Street. Founded in 1849 by Henry Huntsman, H. Huntsman & Sons moved to No. 11 Savile Row with the ending of the war in 1919. During the First World War, Huntsman's was a tailor to the military, producing dress uniforms for British officers. In 1969, Nutters of Savile Row modernised the style and approach of traditional Savile Row tailoring; a modernisation that continued into the 1990s with the "New Bespoke Movement", involving the designers Richard James), Ozwald Boateng, and Timothy Everest. The term "bespoke" as applied to fine tailoring is understood to have originated in Savile Row, and came to mean a suit cut and made by hand.
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