Edward Sexton
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Edward Sexton (born 9 November 1942) is a British
Savile Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...
tailor, fashion designer and manufacturing consultant. Sexton has been called a key player in the history of Savile Row.


Early life

Edward Sexton went to English Martyrs School (in
Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
) from 1953 to 1957. Leaving school, Sexton went to work at Lew Rose (in 1957), a suit manufacturing factory in East London, where he received his initial training. Lew Rose operated a section production system; Sexton progressed around each section developing basic tailoring skills. In 1959, Sexton went to work as an apprentice for Jerry Vanderstine, a coat maker who worked for Harry Hall (specialist equestrian tailor on
Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...
, London). In 1959, John Oates, the head cutter at Harry Hall, then asked Sexton to come and work as an assistant cutter and trimmer. In 1961, Sexton worked at Cyril A. Castle, a celebrity tailor, as an assistant jacket-cutter and trouser-cutter. While working at Cyril A. Castle, Sexton got his first position of responsibility on the cutting board and put himself through a pattern cutting course at Burner Street Technical College (later to become part of the London College of Fashion). In 1962, Sexton moved to Kilgour French and Stanbury, where he finished his training. In 1966, Sexton got his first job as a fully-fledged cutter at (military tailor) Welsh and Jefferies, where he honed his skills cutting both military and civilian tailoring. Sexton made trips to
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...
to make uniforms for officers passing. Sexton believed this experience proved invaluable to the work he would later produce.


Nutters of Savile Row

In 1967, Sexton went to work as a cutter for Donaldson, Williams and Ward, where he met the young salesman
Tommy Nutter Tommy Nutter (17 April 1943 – 17 August 1992) was a British tailor, famous for reinventing the Savile Row suit in the 1960s. Born in Barmouth, Meirionnydd to Christopher Nutter and Dorothy (formerly Banister), he was raised in Edgware, Middlese ...
. Nutter quickly recognised Sexton's talent and they started working together for private clients. Through this work they began to develop a style (a waisted and flared jacket with wide lapels and parallel trousers) which was to evolve over the years. Nutter was very handsome and always impeccably dressed, and quickly drew clients from his social circle, which was growing in size and influence. On 14 February 1969, Edward Sexton and Tommy Nutter opened
Nutters of Savile Row Savile Row tailoring is men and women's bespoke tailoring that takes place on Savile Row and neighbouring streets in Mayfair, Central London. In 1846, Henry Poole, credited as being the "Founder of Savile Row", opened an entrance to his tailor ...
at No. 35a
Savile Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...
, with the backing of
Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...
,
Bobby Willis Robert Willis (25 January 1942 – 23 October 1999) was an English songwriter and talent manager who became the manager and eventually husband of singer Cilla Black. Career His first known recorded composition, "Shy of Love" was featured on th ...
, James Vallance White and Peter Brown. This was the first new Savile Row establishment in 120 years. Nutter was the creative force and front of house focus, while Sexton was a traditional bespoke master cutter who created the garments. It has been said that "Sexton was the genius behind Nutters." In 1976, Tommy left Nutters of Savile Row and Sexton became managing director. Sexton remained managing director until 1982, when he moved from 35a to 36–37 Savile Row and changed the name of the business to Edward Sexton.


Leaving Savile Row

In 1990, Sexton left Savile Row to set up in Knightsbridge, alongside couturiers Caroline Charles and
Bruce Oldfield Bruce Oldfield, OBE (born 14 July 1950) is a British fashion designer, best known for his couture occasionwear. Notable clients have included Sienna Miller, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Diana Ross, Emmanuelle Seigner, Rihanna, Kelly Brook, Taylor S ...
. Sexton continues to operate, by appointment only, from a studio on
Beauchamp Place Beauchamp Place (pronounced "Beecham Place") is a fashionable shopping street in the Knightsbridge district of London. It was known as Grove Place until 1885. It was once better known for its brothels and lodging houses, but since the Edwardia ...
, producing bespoke tailoring for both men and women. Bespoke shirts and an exclusive selection of accessories for his customers offer a complete Sexton 'look'.


Consultancy and collaborations


Wilkes Bashford

From 1987, Sexton produced a collaborative range for
Wilkes Bashford Wilkes Bashford is a clothing retailer headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States. In November 2009, Wilkes Bashford was acquired by Mitchells Stores. The flagship store was opened in 1966 by its namesake Wilkes Bashford. It is favo ...
in San Francisco.


''Poor Little Rich Girl''

Sexton made the costumes for the $12million NBC production of '' Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story''. Sexton dressed many of the characters in the film, including
James Read James Christopher Read (born July 31, 1953) is an American actor. He played the role of George Hazard in the ''North and South'' television miniseries, and had a recurring role as Victor Bennett on the supernatural series ''Charmed'' between 2 ...
as Cary Grant, Anthony Peck, and
Farrah Fawcett Farrah Leni Fawcett (born Ferrah Leni Fawcett; February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she playe ...
.


Saks Fifth Avenue ready to wear

In September 1988, Sexton created an exclusive line for
Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street and ...
of made to measure suits and ready to wear tailoring: shirts, ties, socks, canes, hats, pocket squares and ascots.


Stella McCartney and Chloé

In 1995, while studying at Central St. Martins,
Stella McCartney Stella Nina McCartney (born 13 September 1971) is an English fashion designer. She is a daughter of British singer-songwriter Paul McCartney and the late American photographer and animals rights activist Linda McCartney. Like her parents, McCa ...
served an apprenticeship with Sexton, who was her father's tailor. Sexton helped McCartney develop her graduate show that was modelled by Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Yasmin Le Bon. The show made front-page news, and the entire collection was sold to Tokio, a London boutique. In 1997, when McCartney took over from
Karl Lagerfeld Karl Otto Lagerfeld (; 10 September 1933 – 19 February 2019) was a German fashion designer, creative director, artist and photographer. He was known as the creative director of the French fashion house Chanel, a position held from 1983 ...
at
Chloé Chloé () is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. During the next year of 1953 Aghion joined forces with Jacques Lenoir, formally managing the business side of the brand, allowing Aghion to purely pursue the creativ ...
, as creative director she "relied on" Sexton to create her first Paris collection. Sexton worked for Chloé as a consultant and continued tutoring McCartney in cutting, design, fabric selection and tailoring. In 1999, Sexton refused to renew his contract with Chloé.


Petra Ecclestone Form Clothing

In 2007,
Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is an English business magnate. He is the former chief executive of the Formula One Group, which manages Formula One motor racing and controls the commercial rights to the sport, and part-owns ...
showed Sexton designs by his 18-year-old daughter
Petra Petra ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرَاء, Al-Batrāʾ; grc, Πέτρα, "Rock", Nabataean Aramaic, Nabataean: ), originally known to its inhabitants as Raqmu or Raqēmō, is an historic and archaeological city in southern Jordan. It is adjacent to t ...
. Sexton was impressed, and he started working with Petra to develop her label, Form, though the company closed the following year.


Famous outfits

In the interests of their privacy, Sexton does not like to discuss his clients. Notable clients include: ,
Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Since 2009, he has sold over 3 million albums and 5 million singles worldwide. Lambert is known for his dynamic vocal performances that fuse his theatrical tra ...
, , , , Velvet Album suits


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sexton, Edward Living people Shops in London Clothing retailers of the United Kingdom 1942 births British tailors