Richard James, the Savile Row tailor founded in 1992, has opened Richard James House at 19 Clifford Street in London, directly opposite its store at 29 Savile Row. The Savile Row Bespoke Association announced the opening on 21 March 2024. The Grade II listed Georgian townhouse covers more than 2,500 sq ft across three floors and includes a bespoke workshop, a fabric library, private fitting rooms and a first-floor cocktail bar.
Savile Row Style magazine reported that the project cost $2.6 million and that the building is the company's third outlet. The brand has returned to Clifford Street premises it previously occupied, now redesigned. The house is open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 6pm.
What is inside
The first floor is given over to bespoke tailoring and also holds the lounge and bar. Alongside the fitting rooms there is a fully equipped bespoke workshop and cutting area, an events space and a library of fabrics for customers to choose from.
The interior designer David Thomas led the work with Toby Lamb, Richard James's design and brand director. Thomas told the SRBA that he went through the company's fabric archive with Lamb. Savile Row Style described walls in burgundy, orange, blue and yellow, with curtain and carpet patterns drawn from the company's in-house prints, and original interior details restored. Thomas said he wanted to respect the exterior, which he described as the only all-white building on Clifford Street. Wallpaper with an astrologer theme in the first-floor fitting room came, he said, from watching a bespoke evening jacket being decorated with Swarovski crystals.
From the smallest shop on the Row
Sean Dixon co-founded the business with Richard James in 1992. James retired a few years ago, and the brand continues under his name. Dixon told the SRBA that many customers who first bought ready-to-wear have since moved on to made-to-measure and bespoke suits, and that the company's shops have long worked as social spaces, which is why a bar was included. He also said he sees a revival in demand for the suit.
“We started in 1992 with what was the smallest store on the street, so we have grown.”
Sean Dixon, co-founder and managing director of Richard James
Dixon also said Richard James remains the only Savile Row tailor to have won the British Fashion Council's Designer of the Year award. The company is a member of the Savile Row Bespoke Association.
What it means for buyers
The new house follows a pattern on and around Savile Row: shops that combine ready-to-wear, made-to-measure and bespoke under one roof, with a bar or lounge to keep customers in the building. For a buyer, the practical point is that the bespoke workroom and cutting area are on site, so fittings can happen where the garment is being made. Anyone weighing the three levels of service should read our explainer on bespoke vs made-to-measure before booking a consultation, and our Savile Row guide covers how to plan a first visit to the street.
Richard James also took part in the Concours on Savile Row in May 2024, where it partnered with Audi, according to the SRBA.
