Edward Sexton

On February 14 1969 Edward Sexton set-up a tailoring business with
Tommy Nutter and together they established Nutters, a modernist
tailoring business that revolutionised Savile Row. The business
partners parted in 1976 and we sadly lost the legendary Tommy Nutter
in 1992, but Sexton has continued to develop a flourishing trade.

Sexton is a 100% tailor - starting out at 16 with an apprenticeship
with Kilgour French and Stanbury, he has dedicated his whole life to
the art of making bespoke clothes and whilst based in London, he has
developed his business hugely in the US where he has an impressive
list of clients and a Manhatten showroom. He's well known for
creating Bianca Jagger's white tux wedding suit, dressing Twiggy,
Jackie O and Lennon and McCartney and more recently he helped Stella
with her collections for Chloe.

The Cine Lumiere was a fitting choice for Sexton's London Fashion
Week debut. A swooping staircase provided us with the opportunity to
really see how the clothes moved before the models posed. The first
two outfits set the agenda. A female model was out first draped in
green tweed, followed by a man in an unfinished jacket with tailor's
markings - this was clearly a show celebrating handcrafted English
attire, but with modernist take on the traditional art. Shirt collars
were worn without shirts, and our eyes were treated to flashes of
beautiful silk linings in compelling shades of pink and green.
Menswear includes a new take on a traditional Hacking jacket, velvet
lounge suits, double-breasted dog tooth coats, Tony Montana-style
white tuxedo suits, brown pinstripe suits, Crombie-style coats all
worn with Cuban heeled shoes courtesy of Archie Eyebrows (Liz and
Terry D'Havilland's new range). Edward's womenswear straddles both
traditional and modern stools - there's updated version of the
classic white tuxedo suit with nipped in waist and more fitted
trouser, a striking pink tweed jodpjur/jacket combo, a funky high
waisted tweed check trouser with a masculine shirt finished with big
fat yellow braces. A red dress with belted waist also features a
jacket collar neckline, and other fitted frock have front tear-shape
cut-out panels at the bust.

"Wish I'd done this bloody years ago" Sexton told me after the show
and we have indeed waited a long time to see such exquisite tailoring
- the heart of our clothing heritage - looking bang up to date on the
catwalk.

Words: Marian Buckley
Photos: Ian Gillett