Way back in January of this year, as a finale for London Collections:MEN, we were treated to what many viewed as an unusual collaboration, in Nutters of Savile Row & Peter Werth. I mean the late, great Tommy Nutter, was the original maverick tailor. He was London’s sartorial enfant terrible, a tailoring rebel who introduced a rakish silhouettes and jaunty cocktail-‐lounge styles to the bespoke classes and the emerging classless celebrities of the Sixties. He dressed everyone, from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, to Sir Hardy Amies and Lord and Lady Harlech, from Elton John, Eric Clapton, Michael Jackson and Diana Ross.
Nutter was a one-man revolution, single-handedly responsible for introducing fashion to Savile Row, whilst committing the equally audacious act of inviting the fairer sex to share a world that had previously been the preserve of gentlemen, don’t you know. These deeds were bound by a common thread of peerless, critic defying quality. Throughout his colourful life, he continued to question authority, flout convention, and court controversy; all in the most convivial manner.
Now don’t get me wrong Peter Werth, hash’t lead a sheltered life I mean being “asked to leave”, Walthamstow School of Art he took up working for a relative at the infamous Astor Club in London’s Berkley Square. Where the club attracted an eclectic mix of aristocrats, showbiz personalities and gangsters in equal measures. It exposed young Peter to the glitz, glamour and bright lights and soon he was dressed to the nines to meet the high standards set by the club’s clientele. Werth’s love of clothing took him away from the nightlife of Mayfair to the boutiques of Carnaby Street, the hotbed of British Fashion at that time. Through a succession of jobs in the rag-trade he developed an acute understand of what people might actually want to wear.
So this collaborative collection of contemporary tailoring is designed to be sharp enough to enter Mayfair’s private nightspots and sufficiently relaxed for the dancefloors of the hottest soul clubs, with a spirit and attitude reflecting the heady heights of life after dark in the 1970’s. Delivered with Nutter’s signature oversized lapels, roped shoulders and wide-leg trousers the collection features unstructured tailored sportswear in jersey knit fabrics for blazers and shirts. The knitwear pays homage to Savile Row by incorporating overscaled Prince of Wales, houndstooth and windowpane check designs. Outerwear and accessories complete a look that seamlessly blends the old and new, in a contemporary, modern and relevant way.
