About Timothy Everest MBE
Two decades ago, Timothy Everest had a hunch. “It was the early 90s, and everyone had gone through the whole “designer” and “brand” thing,” he says. “I felt like I could introduce a new generation to the joys of handmade clothing – investment pieces that stood out and were built to last.”
His hunch proved right. Twenty years later, Everest presides over a tailoring business with clients ranging from art dealers to hedge fund managers to rock stars, who appreciate his winning combination of bespoke classicism and quirky individualism. “I see us as quintessentially British, in that we're attuned to tradition, but at the same time there's a willingness to play with that tradition,” he says. “A Timothy Everest garment is always cut like a dream, but there's also something extra, and sometimes unexpected, going on – all those hand-finished details that make all the difference.”
Everest's dedication to his craft was recognised by Her Majesty the Queen in 2010, when he was awarded the MBE for services to tailoring. His apprenticeship with Tommy Nutter (the legendary iconoclastic tailor to the Beatles and Rolling Stones in the 60s and 70s) left him equivocal about the stuffiness of Savile Row, but passionate about its peerless standards of craftsmanship. “Our customers are very appreciative of the fact that we take the time to establish a relationship with them, and create something that's for them and them alone,” he says. “They're people who've gone beyond the dictates of high fashion and want a modern, invigorated, and not-too-reverent take on contemporary tailoring. And they push our boundaries as often as we push theirs.”
Visitors to Everest's bespoke atelier, a lovingly-restored Georgian house in Spitalfields (once owned by Bloomsbury artist Mark Gertler) range from government ministers, to Hollywood luminaries and sporting heroes such as Tom Cruise and David Beckham, to the artists and City toilers who live and work on his doorstep.
Everest's infectious enthusiasm for his art, and his magpie sensibility, have inspired a broad and diverse range of creative collaborations over the years. He has created costumes for movies including Atonement, Mission Impossible, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. He has dressed celebrities for the Oscars, designed the British Olympic team uniforms for the 2000 Games in Sydney, and styled Mick Jagger for his performance at the Grammy Awards in 2011.
He worked with Daks as Group Creative Director from 2000-2003, and was responsible for the global restructuring of the classic British company. For the past decade, he has acted as Creative Consultant to another British institution, overseeing the Autograph, Sartorial, and Luxury tailoring collections for Marks & Spencer. “Autograph by Timothy Everest” ad campaigns have been fronted by Bryan Ferry and Take That; Everest also collaborated with M&S in designing the England football team's off-field uniforms for the 2008 European Championships and the 2010 World Cup.
Everest mixes mainstream and outre with ease, as his current raft of projects illustrates. As well as limited edition clothing ranges with British cycling label Rapha and luxury Korean label Cambridge Members, he has designed the uniforms for Armin Storm, official watchmakers to the Virgin Racing team, and for the staff of superstar chef Marcus Wareing's new restaurant the Gilbert Scott, in the refurbished St Pancras Hotel. He also has an ongoing role as Creative Contributor and Style Arbiter for the luxe gent's style bible The Rake. In late 2011, he launched a clothing collection with Brooks, esteemed makers of leather saddles and accessories. Above all, his bespoke business remains buoyant. “It's a really exciting time,” he says. “Dress codes are less polarised these days, and one of the areas we're looking to develop is the bespoke casual one, where we bring bespoke techniques to bear on a range of traditionally less formal garments, like peacoats and cycling jackets. I think it all shows that tailoring has a continuing relevance for people. There's really nothing more rewarding than the whole bespoke process, for our customers or for us.”