THERE'S NO SEWBIZ LIKE SHOWBIZ

Showbiz has long played an important part on Savile Row. Hollywood’s finest practically kept the place going in the 1940s, and successive generations of film stars, music legends and other celebrities of the show business world have continued to beat a path to the tailoring mecca once they hit the big time.

From Clark Gable and Gregory Peck (for younger readers, see their inimitable style by Googling) through to Mick Jagger, David Beckham and a fresh crop of pop and thespian stars, an appreciation of Savile Row’s talent has developed along with the wherewithal to indulge in it.

But where womenswear designers and couturiers parade celebrity clients as evidence of their success, Savile Row has always maintained a discreet silence about its current famous customers. Until now…

The traditional confidentiality of the Row is being broken down because many of today’s celebrities want the publicity. They are happy to have photographs and accreditation of their tailor in the popular press. And some tailors are developing this potential for promotion.

It falls to one of the newer houses to lead the way. Stowers Bespoke, launched last year, was formed by three tailors with long experience at top houses on the Row. Ray Stowers heads up the triumvirate, an astute ball of energy, who in a short space of time has garnered more press attention than a Savile Row tailor has had for a long time.

Prior to forming this company, the threesome had a site within Libertys store, and he acknowledges that this presence has proved beneficial.

“People who wouldn’t walk along Savile Row saw us there,” he explains. “They may have been buying ready-two-wear Italian suits in Bond Street for £2,500 and seeing our prices realised they could have the real thing, a fully bespoke suit, for just a little more.”

This has resulted in showbiz folk seeking out Stowers Bespoke in Savile Row. And he is at pains to point out the he doesn’t go looking for celebrity customers. “We want proper customers,” he said, “on a commercial basis.”

His latest showbiz coup is to make clothes for the just-released film “44inch Chest”, starring Ray Winstone, above. Stowers made clothes for  most of the cast, which had to be in character and period.

“We had to go out to the studio and it was really interesting to see how the actors turned into their characters once we were discussing the styling requirements. These are 1970s people and Ray Winstone knew what was required for his central role, a slightly out of fashion figure. John Hurt, who plays Old Man Peanut (above with Ian McShane), needed suits that looked old and a bit big for him. It was quite a challenge.”

A couple of other films are now on the agenda and other projects that will take Stowers onto a wider stage are in the pipeline – one of them aided by the company's presence at the recent press evening at the Mayfair Hotel, which savilerow-style helped stage.

Here, Ray Stowers attracted attention from young journalists unaware that some of their showbiz heroes came to ‘fuddy-duddy’ Savile Row for their clothes.

Another who is attracting showbiz figures who are only too happy for him to promote the fact is Tom Baker of Sir Tom Baker.

This tall, maverick figure, based in Soho, has established a reputation for creating properly tailored but unusual styles – the shiny suit for David Hasselhof that recently attracted press coverage one example.

His website gives a flavour of his own flair for entertainment, which is backed up by the rock-n-roll ambience of his shop. And by word of mouth he has built up a reputation among the showbiz fraternity for making classically tailored styles that yet provide some showbiz razzle dazzle.

Ant and Dec, Graham Norton and Craig Revel-Horwood, one of the judges on Strictly Come Dancing, are customers, as are Noel Fielding of the Mighty Boosh and Keith Flint of The Prodigy. In addition to bespoke outfits, they might pick up a suitably eyecatching hat, a bright slim tie or, the latest addition, 1960s-style boots from quality shoemaker Jeffrey West.

Above, Tom Baker with customer Robert Plant, lead singer of Led Zeppelin, and left another customer, Rhys Ifans, Welsh actor, in a typically Baker, lean, chalk stripe suit.

David Beckham, at top, has tried a number of Savile Row tailors, here wearing a Tom Ford bespoke

Mark Powell is another Soho-based tailor who has long had a loyal showbiz following. Singers George Michael, Billy Bragg and Bryan Ferry are just three that have appreciated his particular brand of sumptuous, vintage styling with impeccable tailoring.

He too has made clothes for a number of films, notably Absolute Beginners and Gangster No 1. A velvet coat worn by actor Daniel Radcliffe (of Harry Potter fame) drew much press attention and another actor, Martin Freeman, known from The Office) has favoured some sharp Powell suits. Stars George Clooney and Harrison Ford have had Powell suits, as well as John Hannah, right.

Longer established houses are by no means out of the showbiz spotlight. Huntsman has probably made clothes for more famous film stars and actors than any other house on the Row, including the 30s heartthrob Rudolph Valentino, 40s hard man Humphrey Bogart and Ronald Reagan, film actor before he became President of the USA, as well as Clark Gable, top, known as the King of Hollywood in his heyday.

Showbiz stars continue to make for Huntsman to have Huntsman make for them, but this company remains true to the Row’s traditional confidentiality code where present customers are concerned. “We just prefer to be discreet about our customers,” said Poppy Smith, marketing factotum, with a smile, but pointed to their role call of famous past customers, including Clark Gable at top, whose intimate details remain in their records.

Given that some may have bow legs, others  rather more at the rear than at the front, it is understandable that showbiz icons might prefer their tailor to remain unknown. And it is a testament to the skill of bespoke tailoring that these defaults may never be evident to an adoring public.