Kimberley Lawton: Cut from a Different Cloth.

One of the best British tailors to emerge in recent years, Kimberley Lawton discusses her diverse cultural and sartorial influences, making bespoke for women (and as a woman) — plus, the art of creating suits that give clients Jagger-esque swagger.

Journeys in Artistry: In less than a decade in the industry, you’ve already achieved an enormous amount and won a great deal of acclaim. What do you class as some of the highlights of your journey in bespoke tailoring thus far?

Kimberley Lawton: Just being accepted into university was a big thing for me. I’m just a working-class northern girl — like, my dad worked down the pit, mum was a dinner lady, that’s my background — so that was a moment where I thought, whoa, okay, my life is gonna change now. Then after I graduated (with a bachelor of arts degree in bespoke tailoring, first class honours, at the University of the Arts London), I got my apprenticeship at Huntsman, learning the craft in a way that I never thought I could, especially being a female cutter, because there’s so few of us in the trade. I felt very lucky to be one of those women that have managed to stake our claim in this highly male-oriented world. And then setting up my own business with my previous business partner, Joshua Dobrik, that was definitely a big thing. It was brilliant to step into that world after Huntsman, and we then had a pop-up store on Savile Row, which was amazing — we had a six-month pop-up there, and we were the youngest tailors to do that in 52 years, since Tommy Nutter and Edward Sexton. That was like, Oh my God! And now launching Lawton by myself has definitely been the biggest, most exciting thing so far. I’m working with clients that really understand what I’m about and what I’m going for and how I can accentuate their personalities, meet their wants and needs. I absolutely love it.

JIA: How would you describe your sartorial vision, for someone who’s considering having a Lawton suit made?

LAWTON: I had a strong brand identity that I knew I wanted to create from the beginning. And it very much involves a lot of passions of mine. So, old Hollywood movies from the 1930s, I love the strong shoulder, the elegant tailoring — everything was cut and fit to the highest degree in all of those incredible films. And then I’m also a huge fan of the ’70s, where you’ve got your Mick Jaggers, your David Bowies, your Blondies, y’know — all these incredible artists that were not afraid to wear whatever they liked. They’d be there in a ruffled shirt and lace. Whether you’re talking heavy rock or new romantic or pop music, they’d be there donning their finery to the utmost extreme, which I absolutely love. And then there’s also this darker element, which is more in line with my music tastes and the things I find most visually appealing. So it’s got that darker rock’n’roll edge, too: big strong lapels, that bit of glamour, that little bit of seediness is in there. Putting all that together, I try to give my clients that feeling of power, that passion when they’re wearing my suits. And they go out and they’re like, this is my ‘I’m gonna fuck shit up’ suit! Don’t quote that.

LAWTON bespoke: garments in which to fuck shit up.

JIA: Is there a particular satisfaction you get from making something extraordinary, that act of creation — bringing something beautiful into the world?

LAWTON: Yes, I think that’s the same with all craftspeople, no matter what industry you’re in. I always relate it back to cooking. Like, there’s so much joy that you get when you take these raw ingredients, be it flour, eggs, and milk, or be it fabric and thread, and you put it through this process that has to be done by hand. And then you get a cake out of the oven, or you get a suit, and that feeling of having made something from basically nothing is the most fulfilling thing. I think that’s totally relatable, whether it’s watches, shoes, or baking. I absolutely love it, that’s something I get so much joy out of.

The other thing is hearing client testimonials afterward. For instance, recently I had a client say to me, ‘I was in a meeting, and this guy was shouting at me, and all I could think of while he was sat there berating me was, ‘I look better than you do — my suit’s better than your suit. Who are you to shout at me? I look great. I feel great. I’m better than you.’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, that’s what my suits are all about!’ Another of my clients told me, she’d had a hard day and was really not enjoying her work so at two o’clock she decided to switch things up — she put on her suit and then went back to the office and was like, ‘Right, let’s sort this shit out.’ I guess that’s what I want to give my clients; I want to give them confidence. Power. It’s a different mentality you get, when you wear something that isn’t a comfy and casual jeans and t-shirt. You’re like, right. This is my suit where I’m gonna get stuff done.

JIA: Obviously, giving women the opportunity to dress in these highly empowering garments is something you’re incredibly passionate about. Why did you choose to offer both men’s and women’s tailoring, and what are the challenges of tailoring for women?

LAWTON: I’ve spent so long tailoring for women — my university collection was tailoring for women, a bespoke tailored collection made for women. I’ve always wanted to dress myself and show what I can do. And it goes back even to growing up, trying to find a blazer for school, and I just hated it. And even now, I’m always like tweaking and re-tweaking my pattern to get the most elegant silhouette that’s got that gorgeous hourglass figure, that oozes femininity but is created with all the traditional wonders of the craft of bespoke tailoring. I wanted to give my clients that same feeling I got wearing bespoke, after wearing ready-to-wear suits that didn’t fit or make me feel elegant and powerful.

A supremely empowering women’s coat from LAWTON.

I enjoy doing both men’s and women’s tailoring, it’s always been my passion to do both, but I actually find women’s easier. Men are more used to the process of tailoring, they have a bit more of an idea what’s going on and how they want things, while women’s fittings are more psychological. They wanna put the suit on, look in the mirror and go, ‘Yeah!’ Whereas a guy will fuss over details: ‘Ooh I don’t know, this lapel might be a bit big…’ Girls are like, ‘Cool, can we make this even more waisted?’ It’s a completely different fitting experience and client relation. It’s nice to have a mixture and one day be making men’s, the next women’s. I love that variety.

JIA: The stereotype is that women are capricious about fashion: that they buy something, wear it once or twice, then move onto the next thing. Are more women now looking for long-term, sustainable clothing options? Investment pieces?

LAWTON: With the clients I have so far, they’ve definitely got that mentality. They understand the value of investing in a well-made, long-lasting garment. They’ve realized that constantly buying new garments from big luxury brands every season isn’t sustainable. To have something built to last, that has all the inlays and can be taken in or let out, they’re coming around to this idea of buying one thing, but buying really well. I’ve still just got the one Lawton suit — plenty of trousers, but just one coat — and I use that to demonstrate to clients that you can wear a garment like this in many different ways, and if you take care of it, it can last a lifetime. I try to educate clients that a suit, it’s not like a dress; you can’t wear the same red dress two or three times a week, but a suit you can. It’s all about how you style it. You just have to get over that fact that you’re ‘the girl in the chalkstripe suit,’ because it’s fucking cool. You’re wearing it because you look great in it. It becomes a signature. 

JIA: Can you tell us about the influence of your time at the storied Savile Row tailors Huntsman on your own style and craftsmanship?

LAWTON: I definitely took the structured element from Huntsman as a foundation for my house style. Obviously I’m happy to make anything for my clients and I have got some soft shoulders, uncanvassed jobbies on my website. But my house style is more canvassed, more than Huntsman. They use a softer canvas than I do. I really want a rigid canvas that’s got that bounce-back-ability. So if I want to build a skirt on a client who maybe doesn’t have a silhouetted seat or anything like that, I can hold out the coat with the canvas. So that’s for my menswear. Sometimes I’ll have a strip of canvas around the around the hem. My shoulder ropes are probably bigger than Huntsman as well, because I want to have that exaggerated shoulder end, that strong shoulder — I use bigger shoulder pads than Huntsman as well, typically — it’s the full whack, we’re going bigger! Stronger shoulder pads, bigger rope, stronger canvas; I found the strongest chess canvas I could get as well. I actually use a cotton felt instead of ‘demet’ in my chests as well. So they are strong, strong coats.

My women’s coats do stand up on their own; I have a bigger layer of canvas in the skirt to really give it that hourglass silhouette. But I understand that not everyone wants that look — I’ve got women that don’t want that hourglass silhouette, and they want something bit more eighties, a bit more Armani, a bit more louche, and I’ll cut them something different. I’m very free, I don’t want to force anything on anybody. I’m not going to put anyone in anything that they don’t feel comfortable in. It’s really about the client’s psychology — if it’s that bit too extreme it’ll end up being something in the back of their closet. I’d rather have them wear it all the time and love it.

JIA: Did anyone at Huntsman offer you any particularly memorable mentorship or valuable advice during your time there?

LAWTON: It’s one of the busiest houses on Savile Row so I was able to learn very quickly because of the quantity we were making. Through that process, I really refined my time management and pattern-cutting skills. I was under Campbell (Carey), the creative director, we were super busy, and it was great to learn under him and Dario (Carnera, the house’s head cutter). I think what I loved most was the ability to work with all the tailors, because I’m such a tailoring nerd, I would stay late with the tailors every night, I’d work with the trouser-maker Shane (Airoll), who was invaluable in helping me learn how to make trousers. I happily spent weekends there, too, being a big nerd and trying to absorb as much knowledge as I could, learning not only cutting but making as well.

JIA: What inspired you to start your own tailoring business, first with a partner, and now on your own?

LAWTON: As amazing as Huntsman was — and I do thank them so much for the opportunity that they gave me — I did feel restricted there. It was fantastic learning about classic men’s wear; if you think about Huntsman, you think of the most traditional, most beautiful and well-made suits. But it’s not something that’s going to turn anyone’s eye. That’s not what it’s about. It’s about just being beautifully crafted, a structured suit that someone will look at and say, ‘Oh, he looks nice.’ But I wanted to be a lot freer with my pattern cutting, with my making.

LAWTON in one of her own creations.

 It got to the point where I was like, okay, I really want to go out on my own. I got along well with Joshua because he was with Edward Sexton before and I was like, ‘Oh my God, tell me all the secrets! Tell me all the Tommy Nutter goodness! How did they make their flares? How did they cut those lapels? And those shoulder pads?’ So after learning as much as I could from him as well, and we were like, okay, I think we need to take the next step and go it alone. Because as amazing as the craft and the traditions that we’ve learned, we really want to put a new spin on it. So that’s what made us make the jump. Then Joshua decided to go into teaching, but I love tailoring and wanted to continue. 

JIA: That style you were itching for the freedom to express, it’s very distinctive, with its disco-strength lapels and flared trousers. What draws you to this silhouette and style?

LAWTON: I think it’s really sexy. It’s the most attractive silhouette you can give to somebody, to accentuate the waist, give a bit of flare to the skirt. And then flared trousers, I enjoy the technical aspect of it. My own flares have a 34-inch bottom and a tiny knee, which I absolutely adore. If I can be challenged, cutting-wise, I love it. But also if I can give the client a silhouette that maybe they don’t have naturally, I think it makes my clients look really elegant, that’s why I love it. I want them to be as elegant and as classic as they can be, but with that little edge of somethin’-somethin’.

JIA: You mentioned that you’re trying to make your tailoring available to customers beyond the privileged few. How does that work? 

LAWTON: I’ve established payment plans to make things more accessible. I have a client who’s a barber, for example, and we’ve set up a plan where he puts money away with me every month for the course of a year, and we made the suit over the course of a year. To be able to create something for someone I know is going to absolutely love it, but wouldn’t be able to manage the upfront cost of 50 percent deposit and then 50 percent balance — I love that.

JIA: How do you feel about frequently being labelled as part of the ‘new breed of female tailors’? Should gender even be a topic in this profession?

LAWTON: I’d rather be recognised for my merits as a cutter, a tailor, and what I create. I would rather be known for making beautiful suits of the highest quality I can achieve, of the best fit I can. There’s this old idea where women are seamstresses or cooks, while men are tailors or chefs. There’s something a little bit insidious about that — we’ve got to fight for our position, to be called a tailor and not a seamstress. I had hurdles to jump over, when I was doing work experience I was told I’d never make it as a cutter, because I’m a woman; I should just go into fashion instead and do computer pattern cutting. But I think now, women are breaking through into the industry a lot more, and the new generation of people who want to come into the industry, we see it as this craft that we want to keep alive. Whether men or women, there are so many young graduates who want to get into this trade and are passionate about preserving this craft, and ability is what should matter most.

JIA: Were you influenced by people like Timothy Everest or Richard Anderson who came through and really shook things up during the late ’80s and the 1990s?

LAWTON: I look up to people like Richard and Timothy for making their own way, going it alone, taking the plunge to try and do something different, step away from these big houses. There’s a new wave of people doing that, like Fred Needu of Tailleur, Oliver Cross of Oli’s, there’s a group of younger tailors and we’re trying to do a similar thing. We’ve learnt from the big houses and the houses that came up during the Cool Britannia era, and now we’re seeing what stamp we can put on things, what can I show to the world that reflects who I am, or who they are as a business. And you see that with like, Fred’s lovely, soft shouldered, like loose, louche, casual, comfortable — you can see Fred in his work. And you can see Oli in his work. And I hope you can see me in my work, too. And I think there’s definitely a space for us all to show that we’re not just Savile Row; there’s a whole industry of amazing craftspeople that aren’t just restricted to that street. My workshop is in Leighton, northeast London, in the sticks. I see my clients in their homes or hotels, or in a fitting space on Savile Row — I do venture back there. But because I’m new, I don’t have any outside investment, every penny that I’ve made goes back into the business.

JIA: Speaking of pecuniary matters, could you share some insights into the financial aspect of bespoke tailoring? Some might presume that because of the high prices of bespoke suits, it’s an immensely profitable business, but the margins are razor thin, aren’t they?

LAWTON: The margins in bespoke tailoring are quite slim. While it’s true that bespoke items are expensive, the reality is that the profit margins are not as high as one might think. I do what I do out of love for the craft, not to become a millionaire. It’s definitely a labour of passion. It’s definitely not a get-rich-quick scheme.