Common Threads – Details, episodes & analysis

Lee Marsh of Lee Marsh Bespoke has been in the bespoke trade since the 1990's and has worked for many esteemed houses on Savile Row including Gieves and Hawkes and Henry Poole. Though Lee is a classically trained tailor his mindset is focused not on the past but on the future. Having attended The London College of Fashion he brings an element of design to his work that isn't typically found on bespoke garments. His flare for style and passion for high quality make has landed him incredible clients and attention from press such as GQ and The Rake.

Many of our conversations here on Common Threads include two participants. One being the host and the other being the guest. On this episode though, we were fortunate to have another guest, giving a third dimension to our chat on learning bespoke tailoring. This time that third dimensionally is a delightfully spirited pupil of Lee's, Beatriz. Before coming to Lee Beatriz had already gotten her feet wet in alterations but wanted to take things to the next level and contacted Lee and started on the four month long jacket making course known as the Savile Row Jacket Masterclass.

In this two part episode we go step by step through the Savile Row Jacket Masterclass to better understand it's potential to bring newcomers in touch with bespoke who find themselves thousands of of miles away from the Row itself. We also gain better insight into what working on Savile Row is like and where it is headed. 

Lee Marsh of Lee Marsh Bespoke has been in the bespoke trade since the 1990's and has worked for many esteemed houses on Savile Row including Gieves and Hawkes and Henry Poole. Though Lee is a classically trained tailor his mindset is focused not on the past but on the future. Having attended The London College of Fashion he brings an element of design to his work that isn't typically found on bespoke garments. His flare for style and passion for high quality make has landed him incredible clients and attention from press such as GQ and The Rake.

Many of our conversations here on Common Threads include two participants. One being the host and the other being the guest. On this episode though, we were fortunate to have another guest, giving a third dimension to our chat on learning bespoke tailoring. This time that third dimensionally is a delightfully spirited pupil of Lee's, Beatriz. Before coming to Lee Beatriz had already gotten her feet wet in alterations but wanted to take things to the next level and contacted Lee and started on the four month long jacket making course known as the Savile Row Jacket Masterclass.

In this two part episode we go step by step through the Savile Row Jacket Masterclass to better understand it's potential to bring newcomers in touch with bespoke who find themselves thousands of of miles away from the Row itself. We also gain better insight into what working on Savile Row is like and where it is headed. 

Emmanuel Mundus is a corporate accountant turned bespoke tailor, turned tool maker to hundreds of tailors around the world. Hear how one man found his way in the often times difficult to navigate sartorial world, starting with courses at Newham College and inevitably ending on the famed street of Savile Row. 

"I am Paul Kruize. I studied fashion and I worked as a designer for years, but secretly I always wanted to be a tailor. And as the years went by, I was drawn more and more to making jeans. Not fashion. Jeans. Bespoke, minimalistic, and detailed. For I believe that less is more and god is in the details." 

We sit down to peel back the layers of one humble tailor.

Reza is a London based tailor and entrepreneur having worked on number 12 Savile Row, Chittleborough & Morgan. He is the creator of AKEILĀ and in 2020 started producing one of the first ever YouTube video series outlining the fundamentals of bespoke jacket making. 

George Marsh has worked in multiple Italian tailoring houses including Liverano & Liverano, and is tailor, cutter and co-founder of Speciale along with Bert Hamilton Stubber. Speciale is a "tailors and shop for the makers we love" nestled into Notting Hill in London. 

Dubbed “the millennial bespoke tailor” by no less than Women’s Wear Daily, Paolo Martorano, while still young, boasts a singularly auspicious body of experience.

As the grandson of both a master tailor and a seamstress, Paolo’s inclination to the bespoke world was something of a double legacy birthright. Prior to attending the Fashion Institute of Technology, where he graduated with a degree in Textile Science, he began his career while still a teenager by garnering an internship with Alan Flusser. He followed that with a seven-year stint in the custom clothing department at the legendary Madison Avenue flagship of Paul Stuart (where he helped quadruple their made-to-measure and Bespoke operations), only leaving to assume the position of Manager of Bespoke and Made-to-Measure, North America, at Dunhill.

In 2017, at the urging of several customers, he took, by his own admission, the “immense step” of starting his own label.

Today, Paolo Martorano Bespoke — located in the Renaissance Studios on West 57th Street in Manhattan— hews to the tradition of the “meticulous measurement,” “custom paper pattern” and “basted fitting” protocols that define the very best classic Bespoke process — which for generations has been the gold standard of a hand-made garment.  In this way, Martorano has earned the respect of international power players looking for unassailable sartorial correctness. At the same time, he has also cultivated a following amongst a new generation of sharp-dressed men, who crave not only the personalization and expertise that signifies the craftsmanship, but who also expect a uniquely collaborative experience and a timely delivery schedule.

His client roster includes jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli, former Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus President Philip Miller, Stubbs & Wooton founder Percy Steinhart, and former President of LVMH, North America, David Daniel.

Dubbed “the millennial bespoke tailor” by no less than Women’s Wear Daily, Paolo Martorano, while still young, boasts a singularly auspicious body of experience.

As the grandson of both a master tailor and a seamstress, Paolo’s inclination to the bespoke world was something of a double legacy birthright. Prior to attending the Fashion Institute of Technology, where he graduated with a degree in Textile Science, he began his career while still a teenager by garnering an internship with Alan Flusser. He followed that with a seven-year stint in the custom clothing department at the legendary Madison Avenue flagship of Paul Stuart (where he helped quadruple their made-to-measure and Bespoke operations), only leaving to assume the position of Manager of Bespoke and Made-to-Measure, North America, at Dunhill.

In 2017, at the urging of several customers, he took, by his own admission, the “immense step” of starting his own label.

Today, Paolo Martorano Bespoke — located in the Renaissance Studios on West 57th Street in Manhattan— hews to the tradition of the “meticulous measurement,” “custom paper pattern” and “basted fitting” protocols that define the very best classic Bespoke process — which for generations has been the gold standard of a hand-made garment.  In this way, Martorano has earned the respect of international power players looking for unassailable sartorial correctness. At the same time, he has also cultivated a following amongst a new generation of sharp-dressed men, who crave not only the personalization and expertise that signifies the craftsmanship, but who also expect a uniquely collaborative experience and a timely delivery schedule.

His client roster includes jazz guitarist John Pizzarelli, former Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus President Philip Miller, Stubbs & Wooton founder Percy Steinhart, and former President of LVMH, North America, David Daniel.

Growing up, Alex's life ran parallel to a life of tailoring and fashion design. Doing homework where his mother would draft patterns that would be seen on the catwalk next season, he was always near the high fashion industry and got his first taste of it interning at Miller's Oath in New York City. At a young age Alex would excel at soccer and spend much of his childhood traveling the world playing the game. Alex now pours himself into the world of high fashion, applying the same dedication that allowed him to play on the US National Soccer Team in his teenage years. 

2:23 - US National Soccer Under 14

2:49 - Atlético Madrid 

7:22 - Miller's Oath 

12:00 - Paul Stuart

13:43 - Paolo Martorano 

14:19 - Mark Rykken

15:05 - Alan Flusser 

16:49 - Boston University 

25:00 - Sartorial Trips 

47:41 - Haider Ackermann

Dries Van Noten

52:58 - London College of Fashion (LCF)

53:35 - Thom Sweeney

Chris Despos has been making suits in the handmade tradition since the 1970s. As a second generation immigrant, Chris was initially taught by his Macedonian father who learned the trade working in Italian workshops on his way to the Americas. 

In this episode of Common Threads we get a brief glimpse into the world of bespoke tailoring in the United States after WWll as the country caught stride in the RTW and MTM industry. 

During the 70s and 80s in the United States many tailoring legends were still alive and well such as the famous Bill Fioravanti. These tailors belonged to technical associations such as the CTDA where exhibitions were held to show a certain cutting style or fitting technique. In addition to the sharing of skills Chris recounts how tailors would organize events to get to know each other better and build long lasting relationships.  

Society Brand - 5:00

Hart Schaffner Marx 

Fashion Institute of Technology - 7:15

Angelo Litrico - 9:00

Sartoria Litrico 

A. Caraceni - 15:05

Emilio Pucci - 24:45 

Fox Brothers - 24:45

Duke Ellington - 24:45 

CTDA - 27:00

Bill Fioravanti - 28:30