PALACE PARTY FOR BRITISH BAND

A band of top British manufacturers will be partying at the palace this summer to mark a 50th anniversary.

This is the British Menswear Guild, an elite body of companies that are responsible for making men’s style items par excellence and who have weathered a half century of working together to promote British quality.

Their collective light has been somewhat hidden under the bushel of supplying top international designers and retailers, but moves are afoot to make the BMG brand itself more appreciated by consumers.

Members include such names as Albert Thurston, Chrysalis, Baracuta, Hilditch & Key, Udeshi and Simon Carter, all well respected but which could benefit from greater promotion. Others, like Aquascutum, Daks and Church’s, already have wide international recognition.

Leading the move to up the Guild’s profile is chairman Oscar Udeshi, a young, independent designer/retailer. Where many of the Guild’s 15 member companies boast long histories, his started life in 1999, then moved into retail in 2005. Now based in smartest Mayfair, situated betwixt the Connaught and Claridges hotels, he brings a fresh eye and abundant confidence to bear on the need to promote the special skills and talents of BMG members.

These are British companies who make the finest knitwear, the best braces, luxury pyjamas, handcrafted shoes, bespoke shirts, classic casuals and contemporary suits and topcoats. Such top designers as Ralph Lauren, Karl Lagerfeld and Calvin Klein, as well as celebrities and royalty, appreciate their quality (some hold Royal Warrants). So Udeshi wants to see wider recognition of their worth through wider recognition of the British Menswear Guild logo.

He hopes the anniversary party in July will mark the start of this process, to be held in the grand setting of Kensington Palace, with the Guild’s patron, the Duke of Kent in attendance. 

“A lot of people still have a love of all things British, especially the Japanese, Americans and Italians,” he said. “But we need to make a conscious effort to educate and attract consumers, who will invest in quality if they believe a product gives value and style. The British Menswear Guild logo can give them that assurance.”

Guild member offering a fully bespoke tailoring service is Alexander Boyd, based in London’s fashionable area of Spitalfields. Clive Phythian is the man who heads up the tailoring department here, who began his tailoring career with Gieves & Hawkes in 1977. This company is the retail expansion from long established shirt makers Rayner & Struges, where the shop’s bespoke shirts are still made. Hand made shoes and other quality accessories also on sale.

Bespoke suits may be ordered at the Udeshi shop in Mayfair, but most customers opt for made-to-measure or ready-to-wear, with alterations if necessary. As chairman of the BMG, Oscar Udeshi puts great store by stocking British lines and with being able to explain to customers the finer points of their quality. He designs much of the merchandise and tries to tread a fine line between traditional and more contemporary styling.
 
Savile Row tailors may have come to accept belts but most still believe that trousers hang better if supported by braces – and the finest come from BMG member Albert Thurston, established in 1820. With a starring role in the film “Wall Street”, as seen worn by Michael Douglas, it is to be wondered whether anyone in the present economic crisis has followed the example set by an earlier Thurston star customer, Sir Ralph Richardson.  At the outbreak of war in 1939, he went straight to his tailor on Savile Row and purchased half a dozen pairs of Thurston braces “in case they might be in short supply”. 

The bespoke shirt making of Hilditch & Key attracts some high profile customers, including Karl Lagerfeld and President Sarkozy. Established in 1899, it is one of the very few shirtmakers in Jermyn Street that does still have a bespoke service – and indeed makes all its lines at its own factory in Scotland, including a collection of nightshirts.

Simon Carter started life making men’s pewter brooches in the mid-1980s and has progressed from there through sunglasses, cuff links and watches to the present-day full collection of men’s clothing. Now, with a flagship store in Covent Garden and outlets in North America and Japan, it is one of the BMG’s younger success stories.

From the top, iconic trench raincoat from Aquascutum; nautical casuals by Henri Lloyd, suit and accessories from Udeshi; classic stripe shirt from Hilditch & Key; and cashmere robe by Derek Rose. All are BMG members. Go to www.britishmenswearguild.com