Lutwyche – Riding High
I’m sitting across from English tailor Tony Lutwyche in his slick Soho studio and we’re chatting away about a number of things, one of them being his passion for the game of polo. While some may not immediately see a union between bespoke tailoring and polo playing Lutwyche, as the official tailor of the British Polo Team, sees the synergy. “Polo is an aspirational, wealthy game and it’s a good association for us,” he explains, noting how top end brands such as Cartier and Audi also benefit from tapping into the niche market.
However for him personally the relationship goes deeper than a mere marketing opportunity. He really loves the game. “I used to play it, very badly, when I was in the army. Now I am happy just to watch it. The whole day is a great antidote to London life – the grounds are usually in beautiful parts of the country, there is a great crowd, the alcohol flows, it’s just a relaxed, social day.”
It was his good friend and team captain Henry Brett who approached Lutwyche a few years ago and invited him to be the team’s official tailor. “When Henry was captain, British polo began to gain a higher profile. Three international games were set up each year, the Cartier International Guards being the highlight. With parties and presentations associated with the games, the boys (more often in jeans and a t-shirt) had a need for suits.”
His role as official tailor has grown over the years. As well as designing their team blazers, he fits each player in a tailor-made suit that doesn’t have the England badge emblazoned on it. He’s also been asked to do other bits and pieces too, including Malcolm Borwick’s morning coat for his wedding.
His work clearly speaks for itself and has triggered envy in rival teams. “Last year Glen Gilmore, who captains the Australian team, came up and said “We don’t want those English guys looking so much smarter than us. Can you help us?” Lutwyche now does the team blazers for the Australian and Argentine teams.
In his bespoke business, Lutwyche takes time during each fitting to get to know his client to get a feel for their personality and style so that it can be expressed in his design. He says designing for a national team requires different considerations. “They need to look like they are representing their nation, so the national colours are obviously important but these do not always transfer wonderfully into clothing.”
The US launch of Lutwyche’s Ready to Wear and Made to Measure ranges at Saks Palm Beach earlier this year was timed to coincide with another significant polo event, the Westchester Cup. This longstanding US/English battle was first played in 1886 but the British team have not travelled to the US since 1939. “It was a big occasion for our team to go over there and the Americans threw everything they had at it, so it was a fantastic day. Both teams came to our launch party at Saks, which added some glamour to the evening and also made it feel a little bit more British.”
Lutwyche and his wife were present at many of this season’s big polo days, including Cartier. His highlight was England playing Argentina, joking that the result went the wrong way. He also found the Gold Cup hugely exciting because it was “anyone’s game and it literally came down to who played best on the day and got the luck of the bounce.”
Lutwyche is an affable bloke who evidently enjoys his role with the players. “Over the years I have become friends with many of them,” he acknowledges. It would appear, at least for the Lutwyche tailoring brand, that polo is very much a part of who they are and what they do.
- Felicity Harrison is FQR’s managing editor
One Response
Would you like to comment on this article?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
August 25th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
very good speech tony!!!