SOFTEST TAILORING FROM ENGINEER

Known initially as a designer of extravagant evening wear for women, Roubi l’Roubi has moved steadily to embrace more tailored designs, now making fully bespoke outfits for men and women – and relegating evening dresses to the second division.

“I just like the structure of tailoring,” he explains. And with a  degree in mechanical engineering, he understands structure.

Having mastered the principles of physics for application in analysis, design and manufacturing for his degree, it might seem a doddle to pick up cutting a bespoke pattern but it is unlikely that many others have successfully made the transition.  That he has done so is due in part to early awareness of his mother’s couture clothes and a chance meeting with designer, Joseph.

“I came to London from the Sudan in the 1980s and graduated from Imperial College, London,” he explains. “Then I met Joseph and was offered the chance to learn about the retail business in his South Kensington shop. I became manager there within three months and in a short space of time had become manager of all his stores. And I learnt about clothes.”

It must be said that he exudes a sense of style, a slim, good-looking man, wearing one of his trademark Emir jackets - slim-fitting, edge-to-edge with astrakhan stand collar and cuffs.  This is one of his most popular designs, made in all sorts of fabrics and with a variety of trims.

Having acquired a solid business grounding from Joseph and with ambition for new challenges, he went into partnership with designer Tomasz Starzewski. Then, in 2004, he launched his own label.

Now based in the City, he has built up a clientele that is almost equally divided between men and women.  He cuts everything himself, favours the softest of finish, with enough canvas and lining to ensure a garment retains its shape over some years but with as light and supple a construction as possible.  There is no padding and all linings are silk.

Though many of his designs have a showbiz appeal, he is equally at home with more traditional British styling – to the extent that the venerable Mayfair house of Holland & Holland has chosen to work with him for their new bespoke womenswear collection and some menswear. Here, Roubi is using traditional tweeds and cashmeres to create styles that take their inspiration from country classics but with a touch of contemporary glamour.

In addition to this and his personal customers, his interest in music has lead to him supplying the specialist clothing required by various orchestras and ecclesiastical bodies, notably at St Paul’s Cathedral. And his next project is for an opera.

He represents a new breed of bespoke makers, enthusiastic about the craft of tailoring but determined to provide a softer, more relaxed approach. It is certainly different from the classic Savile Row cut but undoubtedly caters to modern demands for less restrictive menswear. Expect to see more such makers coming along. www.roubi.eu

Examples of Roubi l'Roubi designs for Holland & Holland are pictured at top, the man's coat and lean trousers showing an Edwardian influence, her coat illustrating the soft, fluid construction that he favours, with a glamorous fur-trimmed hood. The evening outfit with ruffled shirt is from his own collection. And above, a checked tweed shooting outfit, for Holland & Holland.