Made to Measure
Carnaby has a long-standing association with tailoring, and some of the old guard are still making sharp suits at 26 Kingly Street. They’ve made for Savile Row’s finest and for famous faces galore.
Words Tom Bottomley
In 12 separate rooms over four floors at 26 Kingly Street there are master craftsmen at work, some holding secrets of the stars that they’ve handmade bespoke suits and coats for. Timothy Sheehan, now aged 73 and about to retire, says: “I’ve been around here working for Savile Row shops since 1959. I’ve made for a lot of famous people in the past, such as Paul McCartney, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Rex Harrington and Robert Mitchum back in the 1960s. Through Tommy Nutter on Savile Row, I also made the suit for Jack Nicholson playing The Joker in the 1989 Batman film. The purple morning jacket I made for him just went for £65,000 at auction.” Coincidentally, another tailor, Peter Neliniopis, also made for another
actor who played The Joker in a later Batman film, The Dark Night. He says: “I made the tuxedo suit for the late actor, Heath Ledger, for the red carpet film premiere, and they sent me a picture of him wearing it which I still have on my wall in the workshop. The suit looks great.” Neliniopis has been a tailor in the Carnaby area for 45 years. “I still enjoy tailoring very much. You have an end product – something you’ve created by hand from scratch. It’s very satisfying. It’s not just putting all the pieces together and that’s it. You have to make your customers really look the part.” Carlos Ochoe, who runs the BC Tailors family business, believes there’s a new-found interest in
suits and sharp dressing. “There’s a real trend for tailoring again at the moment. A lot of younger guys are getting in to wearing nice suits and smart coats for the first
time. There’s also a new breed of tailors coming through.”
Kishore Premchand learnt his trade in Mauritius, and has been tailoring in Carnaby for 24 years. His customers have included Tom Jones and the late, great George Michael. tailoring in Carnaby since 1965. He says: “I used to make suits in the 1960s for a lot of the original Mods, who would seek out the best tailors in the Carnaby area. I was amongst the first main tailors to come to see for the right look and fit.” Even to this day Then there’s Franco Santoro, who’s been
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