Renowned as one of the finest bespoke tailors of London’s famous Savile Row, Dege & Skinner was established in 1865 and is still family-owned today. With a rich heritage, it also has the royal seal of approval, as it’s obtained three royal warrants of appointment, Queen Elizabeth II (1984), the Sultan of Oman (1981), and the King of Bahrain (2003), and provides bespoke and military tailoring. No matter the occasion, the experts design, cut, and make all the bespoke clothing at number 10 Savile Row—from business suits, overcoats, and smoking jackets to equestrian clothing and more relaxed leisure garments. Dege & Skinner The process is a labor of love that takes hours to complete. Their tailors and expert cutters dedicate a minimum 60-80 man hours to producing a 3-piece suit. For a 2-piece, they spend 55 hours, while a custom coat takes approximately 40 hours. It’s no surprise that their customers are always impeccably dressed. Managing Director William Skinner tells us more about Savile Row’s leading tailoring house.
Tell us about the heritage of Dege & Skinner.
Established over 150 years ago in 1865, Dege & Skinner is one of Savile Row’s foremost and most respected bespoke tailoring houses. We’re one of only two that remain in family ownership—I’m the fifth generation of the Skinner family to manage the business—and we were also the first to incorporate an in-house bespoke shirt-making service, which continues to this day.
Our sole retail store and bespoke tailoring shop are located at Number 10 Savile Row, central London. The workshop is located in the basement of the building and can be seen from the pavement. Our dedicated team of top-notch makers is housed in this workshop. Each maker has a unique expertise in shirt making, waistcoat/vest making, coat making, and trouser making. All of Dege & Skinner’s bespoke tailoring and bespoke shirts are cut and made here at Number 10.
In 2016, we launched our ready-to-wear line to complement the bespoke service. This collection is very popular online.
What’s the USP of the brand?
As a family-owned business, we are dependent on our reputation and customer service. Our customers tell us that they appreciate the personal, close, and trusted relationship that develops with their Cutter. With an in-house bespoke shirt department, based inside the shop itself, customers seem to enjoy ordering shirts along with their bespoke outerwear and seeing shirt patterns being cut to order at Number 10 in the heart of London’s prestigious Savile Row.
Visible from the street pavement, the workshop provides a constant source of interest amongst Londoners and tourists, who are primarily unused to seeing artisan makers creating beautiful items of clothing by hand in the center of a capital city. Savile Row’s uniqueness continues to amaze!
What are the main pillars that make up the company?
Our team is a true family business. Our core values are deeply rooted. Quality, trust, investment, The following are some examples of how to get started: Training We put our customers at the heart of all we do.
Tell us about the royal connection and the V&A collection.
We’re also world renowned for making military uniforms so often seen during royal and globally televised events, such as Royal Weddings and the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 and, more recently, His Majesty King Charles III.
It might surprise you that our military uniform expert has been here at Dege & Skinner for her entire career, just over 40 years! Sarah has worked with some of the world’s most iconic and striking pieces of British military tailoring. The V&A Museum even included a piece in the 2014 exhibition titled ‘What Is Luxury’? This same piece is now in the Museum’s official archives.
You may have seen Prince Harry’s wedding day frock coat When he married Meghan in 2018, and the mini versions made for the Page Boys. Or perhaps, HRH Prince Louis’ much admired doeskin tunic that he wore to the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III. Or perhaps the replica military uniforms that were made on the Queen’s request and worn by her four Page Boys at the Coronation.
Sarah and her colleagues also work on the Tudor-inspired uniforms of The King’s Bodyguard of The Yeoman of the Guard and The Royal Company of Archers, widely seen at numerous high-profile events attended by His Majesty The King in England and Scotland. It’s for the work on these specific historic uniforms that Dege & Skinner holds the treasured Royal Warrant.
Which markets are your favorites and where would you like to expand into?
My father, the Chairman of Savile Row today, was asked by his father in the 1960s to build up trade across pond. So, overseas Trunk Shows still contribute a significant level of trade for us, and we’re now scheduling regular trunk shows across America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and the Far East. Most recently we’ve seen increased demand for our services in Hong Kong and Singapore, with Japan continuing to deliver a strong order book for our bespoke departments. If there is a demand, we will travel to meet it.
What is QEST
It’s 40 years since military tailoring specialist Sarah Wilkinson joined Dege & Skinner, and her sewing and embroidery skills remain a rarity, even here on Savile Row. Sarah Wilkinson joined the company as a 16-year-old in August 1983. She was awarded a scholarship by the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) in 1992, which enabled her to study metal thread embroidery at The Royal School of Needlework located at Hampton Court. These rare skills bring a unique level of expertise to the team here at Dege & Skinner.
As Sarah’s career illustrates so clearly, investment in training to the level required of one of Savile Row‘s foremost bespoke tailors is business critical to a century-and-a-half-old business such as ours and the bespoke tailoring trade in general. We’re currently training three apprentices, all of whom coincidentally happen to be women, working across three different areas of expertise.
What has been the highlight of your career to date?
For me, I have a number!
- Trunk shows are being initiated in the Far East. Traveling to Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan to meet clients, while also maintaining and expanding the bespoke trunk shows to the USA and Europe.
- Taking on the uniform and evening wear requirements of the Royal Company of Archers, the King’s Bodyguard for Scotland
- Making clothes for Michael Jackson, David Bowie, U.S. Presidency HW Bush and author Tom Clancy
- Over the course of my tenure at Dege & Skinner, the company has trained 19 apprentices, the majority of whom are still working for us or are still in the Savile Row Community. This helps maintain the skills needed for bespoke shirtmaking and tailoring.
- The company celebrated its 150th Anniversary in 2015 and the introduction of the Dege & Skinner Ready to Wear collection in 2016.