Timothy Sheehan
Panayiotis Meliniotis
Santoro is one of the recommended tailors on the Modculture website. Another tailor, this time since 1960 no less, Krisanthos A Lagu is a character to be sure. He made Roger Moore’s dinner suit for the 1983 Bond film ‘Octopussy’, and lets slip he’s doing the suits for the next Bond film too. He also recently made Johnny Depp’s suit for the ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ remake. “Back in the day, I even made Ralph Lauren’s personal suits and coats. Sometimes he’d rip them down and use the style for his own collection.” Hannah Rees, 29, is one of two current apprentices learning their tailoring skills from old hand Lagu at 26 Kingly Street. She’s also a leading light
in the new wave of women tailors coming through the ranks. Rees says: “There’s a massive new- found interest in learning the craft of good tailoring. I was originally a fabric designer, but I wanted to learn more about the construction side. I can now handmake a jacket from scratch. It’s a skill that no-one can ever take away from you. As long as you know how to make something from scratch, then you’re always going to know how to alter it. I’d love to have my own tailoring shop one day.” Aside from at 26 Kingly Street, there’s a great deal of tailoring still going on in Carnaby. At 11 Newburgh Street there’s Peckham Rye, and even Ben Sherman at 50 Carnaby Street now offers a made- to-measure suit service.
Peckham Rye co-owner, David Walker, believes young men are discovering sharp tailoring once again, as a means of individuality. “Men in their twenties are now wanting to have a suit made so they stand out for all the right reasons. It’s great to see, and we hope this is the beginning of a suit resurgence. They also seem to be getting more adventurous, and are pushing the boat out by buying a more fitted suit, with a three-or-four- button double-breasted
years, I’ve done updated Mod tailoring looks for Paul Weller, Bradley Wiggins and actor Martin Freeman. It’s more about bringing back the spirit of ‘Modernism’, as things evolve and move on, which is very significant to what Carnaby Street was built on - just good contemporary menswear.”
We couldn’t put it better ourselves.
jacket. It’s a bit more military-looking, but it looks fantastic.”
Down at 2 Marshall Street, you’ll find Soho ‘face’, tailor and designer, Mark Powell, who’s made suits for icons such as Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Bryan Ferry. He says: “In more recent
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