Duncan Quinn, the London-born, New York-based menswear designer whose Savile Row-with-a-twist togs are favored by the likes of Sean Combs, Entourage star Adrien Grenier, LeBron James and alt-rockers Green Day, has come out with a new collection of killer looks for fall. Quinn's inspiration for the season "comes from a misspent youth and perennial love for the gentleman, the rogue and the gentleman rogue," the designer notes, citing as influences Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair and Peter O'Toole in How to Steal a Million. Suits are made from the finest fabrics, in chalkstripes, sharkskin, mohair and cashmere, woven in England to Quinn's specifications in understated colors like black, charcoal and gunmetal. Above is a bespoke gunmetal wool and mohair suit with a ticket pocket ($5,000), worn with a pink cotton herringbone french cuff shirt, "gangster chic" motif silk tie, fleur-de-lys enamel and sterling silver cufflinks and a bespoke wool and cashmere overcoat, photographed outside Robert de Niro's Greenwich Hotel.

London-born, New York-based menswear designer Duncan Quinn has come out with a shirt designed specifically for the ultimate gentleman's sport, croquet. Quinn, whose rakish take on Savile Row-style tailoring has won fans like Sean Combs, Entourage star Adrien Grenier, LeBron James and alt-rockers Green Day, was recently featured in The Classicist's Best of Men's Style special. The croquet shirts are made of beautiful 100% piqué cotton and come in a variety of arresting colors with contrasting details and Quinn's signature fleur-de-lys emblem embroidered on the chest. Priced at $105, they are now available at Quinn's stores in New York, Dallas and Los Angeles, as well as via his website; special versions will also be on offer at his forthcoming Limited Editions pop-up shop in Miami's design district, featuring its own indoor croquet pitch.

[via JustLuxe]

Later this month UK-based Laurence King will publish 100 Years of Menswear by Cally Blackman, a killer compendium of images and commentary covering the evolution and revolution in men's style over the last century. Rare photography and illustrations "reveal the elegant tailoring of Savile Row and tough khaki and denim of the uniform and workplace giving way to an exuberant array of styles and colors as the century progresses." 347 illustrations range from artists, explorers and rock stars to Hollywood style icons. The impact of designers like Pierre Cardin, Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren is contrasted with the street fashion of the 1960s, punk rock and the clubbing scene. Blackman explores sartorial subjects such as the importance of the suit and it's numerous revivals, and the impact menswear has had on the female wardrobe, the influence of the the media and the gay community on style. The cover (above) features an image of David Bowie looking dandyish in 1974.

For your reading and viewing pleasure we present the first in a series looking back at highlights from the first year of The Classicist, the weekly column devoted to timeless style, enduring elegance, and true, built-to-last luxury as opposed to mere extravagance. For our first installment we present the best of Men's Style, from Savile Row to Italy and New York and back again, with suits, jackets, cashmere, shoes, accessories and everything in between. These are not the sort of things that ever really go out of fashion, so if you haven't already added to your wardrobe with some of these staples it's not too late.



1. Anderson & Sheppard of Savile Row

Savile Row stalwart Anderson & Sheppard, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, is steeped in tradition, to say the least. Yet while other old-fashioned bastions of upper-class masculine British taste have been sold off or hideously modernized, A&S has managed to adapt and survive. The firm not only outfitted the great Fred Astaire - perhaps the best dressed man the modern world has ever known - but also Rudolph Valentino, Charlie Chaplin, authors Evelyn Waugh and Somerset Maugham, Gary Cooper, Noel Coward, Sir Laurence Olivier, Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Duke Ellington.



2. David Chu Bespoke

In New York City, David Chu, founder of the Nautica brand, operates an ultra-chic Bespoke shop at his gorgeous Townhouse in Gramercy Park. "The bespoke experience is about understated elegance," Chu told The Classicist. David Chu Bespoke "blends the best of Savile Row and Neapolitan tailoring, marrying craftsmanship with modernity." Garments are hand-cut and stitched by a master tailor based in Naples. A gentleman can order anything he requires to be custom made, from suits, overcoats, tuxedos, and sport jackets to trousers, shoes, scarves, and 12-fold ties.



3. Dunhill's Timeless Classics

In times of economic uncertainty luxury consumers looks to timeless classics they know will hold their value and last for years as opposed to flash-in-the-pan trends and glitzy impulse buys. We think that London-based men's clothier and luxury goods firm Dunhill, which dates back to the 1890s, is well situated to weather the storm in similar style thanks to their espousal of these same values. That's a very good thing as the company recently opened two new flagship stores, in New York City and London. The 7,000-sq.-ft. NYC store (above), on the corner of Madison and 55th, replaces the old shop at 711 Fifth Avenue.



4. Duncan Quinn - The Coolest

Quinn , who makes some of the world's coolest suits, isn't exactly a tailor, though "designer" doesn't really capture it either. So how would he put it? "I simply have a strong view and an aesthetic to go with that view," he told The Classicist, "which encompasses the cars, wine, sailboats, cocktails and croquet." Sounds good to us. The dashing London-born former lawyer makes Savile Row-style clothes "constructed to celebrate days of glory and nights of excess." He opened his first shop in New York in 2003, and along the way he's attracted quite a following of well-dressed fellows, "gentleman rogues" who ascribe to the Quinn aesthetic.



5. Loro Piana Luxe

Italian luxury label Loro Piana makes the most comfortable, classic, stylish and subtly luxurious clothes we've ever had the pleasure of putting on. World-famous for their cashmere, the 200-year-old company, which began as a textile merchant, has also branched out into other areas (including accessories and women's clothing) in more recent years with equal success. Loro Piana's motto has it that true luxury is "knowing, not showing," i.e. dressing for yourself, not to impress others. It's "an inner satisfaction that comes from an aesthetic, intellectual, tactile pleasure, stemming from tradition, research and genuine quality." What could be better than that?



Continued after the jump.

Holland & Sherry, the world famous fabric weaver and cloth merchant founded in Scotland in 1836, is offering an extremely limited edition range of bespoke suits cut from the world's most luxurious and expensive cloth. The firm, which has premises on Savile Row, has woven the world's first 100 per cent worsted spun Vicuna fabric, the most expensive in the world at over $4,000 per yard. The material (above) comes from the wool of the elusive wild Vicuna, a relative of the llama that lives high in the Andes mountains of Peru and Bolivia.

The Vicuna can only be shorn every three years and yields an extremely small amount of fine wool. It took Holland & Sherry five years to gather enough of the exclusive yarn, and another year and a half to develop the unique cloth, which is much finer than cashmere. There is only enough of the precious fabric to make 18 suits, each of which will cost about $50,000. Customers will have only three colors to choose from – black, midnight and natural. The King of Morocco is among the first to place an order for one of the gorgeous garments.

Duncan Quinn , who makes some of the world's coolest suits, isn't exactly a tailor, though "designer" doesn't really capture it either. So how would he put it? "I simply have a strong view and an aesthetic to go with that view," he tells The Classicist, "which encompasses the cars, wine, sailboats, cocktails and croquet." Sounds good to us. The dashing London-born former lawyer makes Savile Row-style clothes "constructed to celebrate days of glory and nights of excess." He opened his first shop in New York in 2003, followed by another in Hollywood and recently a new outpost in Dallas. Along the way he's attracted quite a following of well-dressed fellows, "gentleman rogues" who ascribe to the Quinn aesthetic.

Quinn's suits for spring / summer 2009 are slim, fitted and "slightly rakish", many with a particularly fine blue herringbone pattern. Above (and in the gallery), in a shot modeled on a classic photo of Michael Caine, is a stunning midnight blue three piece herringbone super 130's wool and cashmere number. It's worn here with a white cotton french cuff shirt, a red silk tie bearing Quinn's signature fleur-de-lys motif, black and silver 12-star cufflinks, and a vintage Breitling Chronomat watch, a nod to the stylish traditions Quinn holds dear.

Last month we wrote about the timeless appeal of classic men's tailoring as epitomized by Savile Row, especially during times of economic uncertainty. There's no need to travel all the way to London however to indulge in custom-tailoring of the highest quality and style that transcends trends and fads, if you know where to look. In New York City, David Chu, founder of the Nautica brand who has since gone on to revitalize luggage maker Tumi, operates an ultra-chic Bespoke shop at his gorgeous Townhouse in Gramercy Park.

The Bespoke shop (above) is located in the penthouse of the Townhouse, which is home to Chu's design studio and other businesses. Ebonized and limestone floors, marble fixtures and a collection of contemporary artwork and Chinese antiquities create an elegant, polished and modern atmosphere. French doors open out from the shop onto a landscaped roof deck with captivating city and park views. "The bespoke experience is about understated elegance," Chu tells Luxist. "It's more for yourself. You put it on, it feels great, and that's the most important thing."

David Chu Bespoke "blends the best of Savile Row and Neapolitan tailoring, marrying craftsmanship with modernity." Garments are hand-cut and stitched by a master tailor based in Naples. A gentleman can order anything he requires to be custom made, from suits, overcoats, tuxedos, and sport jackets to trousers, shoes, scarves, and 12-fold ties. The emphasis is on classic, luxurious fabrics such as super 150's wool, worsted spun cashmere and vicuna sourced from the world's best mills.

In times of economic uncertainty luxury consumers looks to timeless classics they know will hold their value and last for years as opposed to flash-in-the-pan trends and glitzy impulse buys. Witness the sudden increase in Rolex sales as Iceland's financial markets tanked, or the way the traditional tailors of Savile Row are weathering the crisis, which we wrote about in this space last week. In fact, the very basis of this column as you may recall is timeless style, enduring elegance, and true, built-to-last luxury as opposed to mere extravagance.

We think that London-based men's clothier and luxury goods firm Dunhill, which dates back to the 1890s, is well situated to weather the storm in similar style thanks to their espousal of these same values. That's a very good thing as the company recently opened two new flagship stores, in New York City and London. The 7,000-sq.-ft. NYC store (above), on the corner of Madison and 55th, replaces the old shop at 711 Fifth Avenue.

It carries the full range of Dunhill's luxe merchandise, including menswear, leathergoods, accessories, writing instruments, watches, gifts and games. The lower level houses Dunhill's custom-made menswear and leathergoods offerings, as well as a display of one-of-a-kind pieces from the firm's illustrious history such as Truman Capote's Dunhill tuxedo worn at his famed Black & White Ball in 1966, and original sketches of a Dunhill bespoke suit made for Frank Sinatra.

The seemingly endless gloomy news about the economy got us thinking about the financial crisis' effect on Savile Row, the home of luxury bespoke tailoring. As my colleague Deirdre Woolard reported last month, Hardy Amies, which opened on Savile Row in 1946, is facing bankruptcy. Of course, Amies' ambitious expansion plans are partly to blame. We asked Anda Rowland, owner of Anderson & Sheppard, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, what the outlook is for the Row's traditional tailoring firms.

"We are still getting new customers and many enquiries, but it has to be said that London is not really in the mood to spend and people are traveling [to London] less," Rowland tells Luxist. "Luckily, despite the turn away from 'bling' spending, there has been a renewed interest in goods that have an underlying value, which is perceived as more solid and easier to understand and to explain to the customer. There is a shift from the 'Because I'm worth it' attitude towards one questioning 'Was it worth it?'"

Rowland notes that this "will be hard for the mass-luxury goods and the over-hyped but extremely lucrative 'it-bag' industry, but good for individual, high-craft items made by skilled hands," such as Savile Row suits. "We also have ethical trends in our favor as everyone faces up to the enormous piles of barely worn 'fast fashion' garments in landfill sites all over Europe at a time when many are losing the roofs over their heads." Due to this, Rowland says, "We have not seen a reduction in sales or customer figures from last year," merely "a recent slowing of momentum."



Asked about the influx of money from emerging markets, "Speaking for Anderson & Sheppard, we have not seen a growth in customers from Russia or from the UAE," she replies. "We have had more press interest, but it has not filtered through to visits yet. China and India are growing markets [for us] due, perhaps, to a historical familiarity with the history and tradition of Savile Row." As for the future, "I have heard from the other tailors that they believe that their trips abroad will be more and more important over the next couple of years," Rowland says. "They feel that customers will be traveling far less and that overseas service will help them to keep the workshops busy and running efficiently."

Summing up, Rowland, who inherited the business a few years back from her father, is optimistic. "As a relative newcomer to this industry where most houses are at least 100 years old, I am reassured by the reaction of most tailors who say that their firms have seen it all several times before," she tells us. "I can imagine that for many of the big designer brands that are much younger, it is harder to be as quietly confident as we are on Savile Row."

There's quite a row on Savile Row over the UK Advertising Standards Authority's brand new ruling that suits which are not entirely handmade may now be sold as "bespoke." It has horrified some Savile Row stalwarts who've long fought to protect their trade from such encroachments; late last year tailor's guild the Savile Row Bespoke Association (SRBA) trademarked the term "Savile Row Bespoke" to prevent parvenus from taking unfair advantage. According to the SRBA's guidelines, to qualify as bespoke a suit must be crafted from a choice of at least 2,000 fabrics and its construction requires at least 50 hours of hand-stitching.

However, SRBA board member Anda Rowland, owner of storied 100-year-old Row house Anderson & Sheppard, tells Luxist she is taking the philosophical view. While lamenting the ruling's implied lack of respect for Britain's tailoring trade, to her way of thinking a fellow who would be content with a faux-Row suit merely made-to-measure was "never a true bespoke customer in the first place" she tells us, while any connoisseur "will ultimately be able to spot the difference between true bespoke tailoring and incorrectly labeled imitations." In the meantime, made-to-measure garments, no matter what they're sold as, can continue to serve their proper purpose: "providing a bridge from ready-to-wear to bespoke."

For those seeking sartorial enlightenment, Rowland notes the SRBA has launched a website, savilerowbespoke.com, to help them on their path to proper tailoring. In addition, when Anderson & Sheppard moved into its new premises at 32 Old Burlington Street, Rowland says, "we opened up our workrooms especially to confront the confusion that potential customers might have over the increasing number of terms being used to describe made-to-measure... Since moving, we have been welcoming more and more first time customers who have done research through word of mouth, reputable press and the Internet and therefore have a very good idea of why they have come to us." No mere ruling no matter how barmy will change that.

Pictured above is Savile Row maverick Ozwald Boateng. See the gallery for more.

British couturier Hardy Amies, whose Savile Row shop opened back in 1946, is launching its first line of women's handbags this month. The new line comprises four key styles "inspired by traditional English luggage and the secret lives of female spies in the second world war," British Vogue reports. The theme is fitting since the dashing Sir Hardy himself, who died in 2003, was something of a real-life James Bond, serving as an officer in the British secret service during World War II. The bags, which start at about $1,600, each come with their own code name (and, we suspect, several hidden compartments).

Amies had an illustrious career as a couturier, designing clothes for everyone from Stanley Kubrick to the Queen of England. A self-described snob, he was a world authority on men's fashion, and his house carries on in high style. Among his many stylish epigrams, he once declared that "Luxury lies not in riches, but in the absence of vulgarity." Though he didn't live to see them, we think he probably would have approved of these bags bearing his name.

As we mentioned in our Classicist column on Anderson & Sheppard last week, dapper Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter is a devoté of the bespoke British tailoring firm. He proved the worth of a well-made suit with the black three-piece Anderson & Sheppard number he wore to the Tribeca Film Festival fete that Carter co-hosted with Robert De Niro in Manhattan the other night.

Carter, pictured here with New York's billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg (one of the guests along with Sigourney Weaver, Harvey Keitel, David Bowie, Jerry Seinfeld and others) looked quite dashing and much more svelte than on some previous occasions -- a fact which we feel is attributable more to A&S' fine tailoring rather than any newfound abstemiousness on the editor's part. After all, he does own one of NYC's trendiest eateries, The Waverly Inn, and we highly doubt he's ever presented with a bill.

[via Kempt]

Welcome to The Classicist, our new column devoted to timeless style, enduring elegance, and true, built-to-last luxury as opposed to mere extravagance....

Savile Row stalwart Anderson & Sheppard, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, is steeped in tradition, to say the least. Yet while other old-fashioned bastions of upper-class masculine British taste have been sold off or hideously modernized, A&S has managed to adapt and survive -- thanks to a strong-willed woman.

Anda Rowland, daughter of the firm's longtime owner, natty British millionaire Roland "Tiny" Rowland, who took over the business a few years ago, has set about bringing it into the 21st century without sacrificing one whit in the way of elegance.

The firm not only outfitted the great Fred Astaire - perhaps the best dressed man the modern world has ever known - but also Rudolph Valentino, Charlie Chaplin, authors Evelyn Waugh and Somerset Maugham, Gary Cooper, Noel Coward, Sir Laurence Olivier, Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Duke Ellington.