About me

I am a 3rd generation tailor in my family.
I have spent decades working in the film, fashion and theatre industry.

How it all began.

I started my training from the age of seven with my parents. My father had his own business making tailcoats for ballroom dancers and suits for famous Hollywood actors. I also spent alot of time working with my mother who worked as a seamstress for world famous fashion houses.

By the age of 18, I had been working in the industry for a decade, but saw sewing as just a hobby. A way of looking fab and fashionable on a teenager’s budget.

A chance meeting with a Hollywood costume designer at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London changed my perceptions.

Over the decades, I have had the opportunity to learn from master tailors and cutters from the realm of costume, theatrical and classical bespoke tailoring, film, fashion and haute couture industry. I have  lectured and mentor students and upcoming professional talent and have undertaken public speaking, been a head of department, head tailor, pattern cutter and run my own successful enterprise.

I champion the art of sculpting fabrics to enhance the male and female body.

So what makes me different to other sewists?

Having worked in such varied disciplines, I have extensive knowledge on many garment construction alterations, tips and tricks, which up until now have been the jurisdiction of the theatre and film world, which makes the fit of a garment superior.

To have  trained viewpoint to what is being created and how to obtain the desired effect is key.

I also have an expansive outlook on creative construction which has been honed to visualise and execute concepts which many may be able to draw but not create.

Having gained significant in-depth experience, I have been commissioned to write 2 industry standard text books, ‘Simple Tailoring and Alterations’ which has been in circulation for nearly a decade, with 5-star reviews and ‘The Waistcoat Workbook’ which was released in the spring of 2024.

 

"Being an experienced theatrical tailor means knowing what garment construction rules to adhere to, bend or break in order to achieve the desired effect for the relevant occasion."

Jay

I specialise in;

The design, draft, cut and construction of clothing which combines stretch wear, tailored canvassing and fashion design to sculpt one of a kind garments.

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Design

The conceptualisation and imagining of the designs on paper.

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Source

Collecting the fabric and trimming samples for each concept.

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Create

Prototyping and pattern cutting the concept into a three - dimensional garment.

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Realisation

Constructing the collection of garments to a finished stage.

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