Drake's is a British menswear

haberdasher __NOTOC__ In British English, a haberdasher is a business or person who sells small articles for sewing, dressmaking and knitting, such as buttons, ribbons, and zippers; in the United States, the term refers instead to a men's clothing st ...

founded in 1977 by Michael Drake. Manufacturing in

East London East London is the part of London, England, east of the ancient City of London and north of the River Thames as it begins to widen. East London developed as London Docklands, London's docklands and the primary industrial centre. The expansion of ...

, Drake’s produces men’s accessories and shirting, and is predominantly known for its

ties TIES may refer to: * TIES, Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science * TIES, The Interactive Encyclopedia System * TIES, Time Independent Escape Sequence * Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science * The International Ecotourism Society {{disambig ...

History

Drake's was founded in 1977 by three former

Aquascutum Aquascutum is a British heritage luxury fashion house that designs, licences and distributes ready to wear and accessories. It is owned by Shandong Ruyi. History Beginnings Aquascutum was established in 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition ...

employees: Michael Drake, Jeremy Hull, and Isabel Dickson. The original Drake’s collection was composed of men’s scarves. Drake’s went on to produce handmade

and pocket squares, for which it is now known. When Michael Drake retired in 2010, Drake's was acquired and taken over by Michael Hill, Michael Drake’s previous understudy and lead designer, and Mark Cho, co-founder of The Armoury haberdashers in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

Collaborations

Drake's has collaborated with

Fred Perry Frederick John Perry (18 May 1909 – 2 February 1995) was a British tennis and table tennis player and former World number 1 male tennis player rankings, world No. 1 from England who won 10 Majors, including eight Grand Slam (tennis), ...

, Adam Dant, Nackymade Glasses, J.Crew,

Aimé Leon Dore Aimé Leon Dore (pronounced ''ay-mey lee-on door'') is a fashion and lifestyle brand founded in March 2014 by Teddy Santis. Based in Queens, New York, the brand's flagship store is located on Mulberry Street in Nolita, Manhattan. Etymology T ...

, Private White VC, and

Royal College of Arts The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...

Locations

On 20 May 2011 Drake’s opened its

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

shop at 3

Clifford Street Clifford Street is a street in central London, built in the early 18th century, on land that once formed part of the Burlington Estate. It is named after the Clifford family, Earl of Cumberland, Earls of Cumberland. The daughter and heiress of ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Formally the home of an art and antiques gallery, it is situated between

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 ...

and

Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

. The interior of the store features Harris Tweed armchairs, wood floors and cabinetry from the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

. In April 2013, Drake’s moved its tie factory to 3 Haberdasher Street, London. Drake’s combined all aspects of the Drake’s business under one roof; the factory, design studio, showroom, warehouse, head office and factory shop. In July 2013 Drake's acquired the Rayner and Sturges shirt factory in

Chard, Somerset Chard is a town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Somerset. It lies on the A30 road near the Devon and Dorset borders, south west of Yeovil. The parish has a population of approximately 14,000 and, at an el ...

. In doing so, Drake's has inherited a workforce of 35 producing handmade,

bespoke ''Bespoke'' () describes anything commissioned to a particular specification, altered or tailored to the customs, tastes, or usage of an individual purchaser. In contemporary usage, ''bespoke'' has become a general marketing and branding concep ...

and

ready-to-wear Ready-to-wear (RTW)also called ''prêt-à-porter'', or off-the-rack or off-the-peg in casual useis the term for garments sold in finished condition in standardized sizes, as distinct from made-to-measure or bespoke clothing tailored to a partic ...

shirts. As well as producing

private label A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...

, Michael Hill relaunched the historic Cleeve

shirt A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist). Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. ...

ing brand, owned by Rayner and Sturges, and introduced the first

capsule collection A capsule wardrobe is a minimalist collection of clothes that can be put together in different ways to cover a variety of outfits and occasions. The aim is to have an outfit suitable for any occasion without owning excessive items of clothing. Thi ...

of ready-to-wear shirts into the Drake's store on 3 Clifford Street and online. In 2022 Drake’s opened a store on

Canal Street Canal Street may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Canal Street (Manchester), Manchester, England * Canal Street, Oxford, Jericho, Oxford, England United States * Canal Street (Buffalo), a street and district at the western terminus of the Er ...

in New York City. Its flagship store at 9

has been named among the best menswear stores in the world.

Awards and honours

Drakes has won several awards for prestige in its area such as

Queen's Award for Export Queens is a borough of New York City. Queens or Queen's may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Queens (group), a Polish musical group * "Queens" (song), a 2018 song by Saara Aalto * ''Queens'' (novel), by Stephen Pickles, 1984 * "Queens", ...

and the UK Fashion Export Gold Award.

References

External links