This season at No 1 Savile Row the well-suited stuff of legends, Gieves & Hawkes, have attempted to stage a transition that corresponds with the increasingly fashionable preference for dressing “casually” over being dressed up to the nines. This is of course an interesting conundrum for Savile Row forerunners likes Gieves to face and so the sleek menswear eye of creative director Jason Basmajian was certainly tested this time around.
As is to be expected, Gieves delivered a perfectly pieced together series of stunning suits for a variety of occasions when one wants to feel enveloped by the height of sophistication. However, as Bob Dylan once intoned, the times they are a changin’, and Gieves new direction is the expression of this. The complete eradication of ties is case in point.
By no means did this weaken any of the pieces in the collection, instead it may even direct you to focus on the fundamental components of a suit itself and has successfully blessed the brand with a luxe new leisurely feel. For summer at least this is a safe bet that Gieves will continue its reign over Savile Row. The metallic gunmetal grey jacket that closes the collection, sublimely brushed with a palm tree pattern, is a timeless piece of master tailoring and when it comes to tailoring sophistication, Gieves put it all down to confidence imbued by comfort.
by Liam Feltham
Images courtesy of Style.com