Tommy Nutter (17 April 1943 – 17 August 1992) was a British tailor, famous for reinventing the

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 ...

suit in the 1960s. Born in

Barmouth Barmouth ( cy, Abermaw (formal); ''Y Bermo'' (colloquial)) is a seaside town and community in the county of Gwynedd, northwestern Wales, lying on the estuary of the Afon Mawddach and Cardigan Bay. Located in the historic county of Merioneth ...

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to Christopher Nutter and Dorothy (formerly Banister), he was raised in

Edgware Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...

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, where his father owned a cafe. After the family moved to Kilburn, Nutter and his brother David attended

Willesden Technical College The College of North West London (CNWL) is a large further education college in north-west London, England. It was established in 1991 by the merger between Willesden Technical College and Kilburn Polytechnic in the London Borough of Brent. Toda ...

. Nutter initially studied

plumbing Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water delive ...

, and then

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

, but he abandoned both aged 19 to study tailoring at the Tailor and Cutter Academy. In the early 1960s, he joined traditional tailors Donaldson, Williamson & Ward. After seven years, in 1969, he joined up with

Edward Sexton Edward Sexton (born 9 November 1942) is a British Savile Row 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 S ...

, to open '' Nutters of Savile Row'' at No 35a Savile Row. They were financially backed by

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 ...

and her husband Bobby Willis, Managing Director of the Beatles'

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Peter Brown, and lawyer James Vallance-White. The business was an immediate success, as Nutter combined traditional tailoring skills with innovative design. He designed for the

Hardy Amies Sir Edwin Hardy Amies KCVO (17 July 1909 – 5 March 2003) was an English fashion designer, founder of the Hardy Amies label and a Royal Warrant holder as designer to the Queen. Early life Hardy Amies was born Edwin Amies on 17 July 1909 in ...

range, and then for the man himself. His clients included his investors, plus

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Bianca Jagger Bianca Jagger (born Blanca Pérez-Mora Macías; 2 May 1945)

and

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

. Nutter was most proud that, for the cover of

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' album ''

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'' in 1969, he dressed three out of the four: George Harrison elected to be photographed on the road-crossing in denims. In the 1970s his bespoke business became less successful, but he branched out into

ready to wear Ready-to-wear (or ''prêt-à-porter''; abbreviated RTW; "off-the-rack" or "off-the-peg" in casual use) is the term for ready-made garments, sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing ...

clothing, marketed through Austin Reed. He also successfully expanded into East Asia, establishing the Savile Row brand in Japan. In 1976 Sexton bought Nutter out of the Business. Nutter went to work for Kilgour French and Stanbury, managing his own workroom. Sexton continued to run Nutters of Savile Row until 1983, when Nutter returned to the row with a ready to wear shop: "Tommy Nutter, Savile Row". This new venture, which traded at No 19 Savile Row until Nutter's death, was backed by J&J Crombie Limited, who continue to own the "Tommy Nutter" trademark. At this time, Sexton set up a business in his own name. In the 1980s, he described his suits as a "cross between the big-shouldered ''

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'' look and the authentic Savile Row."New York Times, Obituary, Tommy Nutter, Savile Row Tailor, 49, August 18, 1992 He created the clothing of

The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book '' Batman'' on April 25, 1 ...

worn by Jack Nicholson in the 1989 film ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939. I ...

''.Victoria & Albert Museum: Tommy Nutter
/ref> Nutter died in 1992 at the

Cromwell Hospital The Cromwell Hospital is a private sector hospital located in the South Kensington area of London. It is operated by international healthcare company Bupa. History The hospital, which was designed by Holder Mathias, was established by Bank of Cre ...

in London of complications from

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ma ...

. In 2018, ''House of Nutter: The Rebel Tailor of Savile Row'', a biography of Nutter, with reminiscences by his brother David, a New York celebrity photographer, was published; it was written by Lance Richardson.

References

External links

* *
Victoria & Albert Museum: Blue check wool suit, Designed by Tommy Nutter, London, 1966
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20100514110709/http://www.nosr.co.uk/ Nutters of Savile Row Website {{DEFAULTSORT:Nutter, Tommy LGBT fashion designers Menswear designers British tailors British fashion designers Businesspeople from London 1943 births 1992 deaths AIDS-related deaths in England British LGBT artists People from Edgware People from Gwynedd Savile Row Bespoke Association members 1960s fashion 1970s fashion 1960s in London 1970s in London 20th-century British artists 20th-century English businesspeople 20th-century LGBT people