A TAILOR'S FRIENDLY LANDLORD

Friendly landlords may be as rare as hens teeth but that is what David Wilkinson aims to be for the tailors he has collected within his property just around the corner from Savile Row.

In an elegant old building over six floors in St George Street, he has brought together a variety of tailoring and fashion talents to create the community that he envisaged five years ago.

Then, he had taken over the running of the family firm, L.G. Wilkinson, upon the death of his father Dennis Wilkinson. Whilst not being a tailor himself, tailoring is in his blood as the 7th generation in a family of tailors, and he was determined to continue the business and to make the premises a tailoring hub once more.

That he has succeeded in his five year plan is evident in the tenants now occupying all floors. L.G. Wilkinson remains on the ground floor, sharing facilities with Denman & Goddard and Anthony Hewitt. In the basement is a team of independent tailors whose skills are used by other Savile Row companies, as well as those within the building.

On the first floor is the husband and wife bespoke team of Byrne & Burge. Operating out of the second and fourth floors is the business headed by Tim Dally, encompassing the famous Aquascutum brand. And on the third floor is Whitcomb & Shaftesbury, covering bespoke and ready-to-wear clothing. In addition, this is the London base for Thomas Mahon.

“It’s a collective,” Wilkinson says, beaming. “Some may cooperate with other tenants, using the services of those in the basement, for example. Others keep fairly autonomous. But anyone coming in here can know that there are kindred spirits who may help, that services may be shared and that they have security.  They won’t be kicked out at the end of their lease, certainly not in my lifetime – and possibly beyond.”

He likes to see himself as something of a conductor presiding over this community, a musical metaphor that would have pleased his father, who was passionate about music -  as is he. His main work is in mergers and acquisitions, and he spends a lot of time in Germany, but clearly the London tailoring hub takes up a lot of his time.

At top, the elegant front of the St George Street premises; above, classic L.G. Wilkinson sports jacket; below, David Wilkinson.

“I am not a charity,” he emphasises. “But I aim to charge reasonable rents and to make a home for everyone. I always wanted to have an alterations team on the premises, which we now have in the basement. I would like to add a woollen merchant to the mix. There is the opportunity for others to join us. I want this to become known as a real centre of tailoring.”

He has already had plans drawn up for an extension to the building and has other plans in the pipeline. One is for more licencing agreements overseas, both for the L.G. Wilkinson name and for John Morgan & Co, which is also part of the company. An Australian arrangement has been established this year for John Morgan, whereby the cutting and tailoring is performed at St George St, the fittings by the Australian partner in Melbourne or Sydney.

Looking farther ahead, he wants to put training facilities in place, to  ensure the future of the trade for when the present generation of skilled tailors has gone.

"When the extension is complete, we will have more space. I hope more small tailors will come to join us."