Greatest Briton

Walking down Jermyn St the other morning on my way to visit our shop I was captivated by the display in Turnbull and Asser's window featuring numerous silk handkerchiefs with drawings  of Winston Churchill printed on them. 

The timely display of Churchill is a fitting tribute for one who has been voted our Greatest Briton and who today we commemorate his passing fifty years ago. With his trademark cigar, polka dot bow- tie and victory sign the drawing perfectly encapsulates the spirit of the man.

The Finishing Touches

Just a few comments on our fashion show last week. I realise how important it is to have a bit of fun and accessories are a way to inject a touch of humour. For instance, when we showed the  military coat with the sheepskin collar I added a sheepskin glove which I placed in one of the pockets with two fingers pointing out, only to notice at the last moment that  it was suggesting and I put this in polite terms, "Go Away", I immediately turned the glove around so that it would be interpreted as "Peace".

With a nod to the 70s I had made several leather  H medallions to hang languidly around polo neck sweaters which instantly transformed the whole look. The main theme of the show had been to promote wool and British sheep so we featured several sheepskin pieces one being a Gilet which when the model walked down the cat walk I asked him that when he reached the halfway point to take off the Gilet and to reverse it revealing the Hackett logo imitating the branding of sheep.

For the finale the model wore a bold Prince of Wales suit made from British wool and woven into cloth by Fox Bros. I teamed this with a  brown bowler hat and umbrella to reinforce our logo and decorated the bowler with patches of material to match the suit, it made a strong impact, whether we sell any remains to be seen, but I had a lot of fun putting it together.

Jeremy Hackett

London Collections: Men

I realise that perhaps it's a little bit late in the day to be wishing you Happy New Year. I'm not sure what is the etiquette concerning how long into the New Year it is acceptable to greet people with Happy New Year?

I had intended to update you with the build up to London Men's Collection but out of the blue the Editor of How To Spend It magazine online invited me to write a daily journal for their column Diary of A Somebody for five days on the trot leading up to our Fashion show Sheep Shape and London Fashion. So if you are vaguely interested in what I have been up to recently then you may like to visit their website. On the evening of our fashion show and dinner we commissioned the artist Clym to sketch the backstage goings on, below is an example of his work. My Sussex Spaniel, Muffin made her debut on the catwalk and was an instant hit.

Happy New Year!

Jeremy Hackett