Savour International

London is beleaguered by the credit crunch, but why are business prospects rosy for the most exclusive gentlemen's outfitters?

As the two stags on the wall show, this is the sales floor of an older, traditional establishment. One of the deer has been there for 89 years and the other for 88 years, and amidst the hunting memorabilia a log fire crackles in the hearth. Everything has a refined air. Even the "Financial Times" in front of the heavy brown leather sofa looks as if it had been freshly ironed.

In the fitting room, which is large enough to for a delivery vehicle to park in, the suit patterns are on show for Gregory Peck, Peter Ustinov, Peter Sellers, Paul Newman and the English football team that won the 1966 World Cup.

Former American President, F. D. Roosevelt's measurements are also on display. The state interventionist and critic of capitalism, who is a much-cited example during the current crisis, commissioned his suits here. Indeed, that was an expensive pastime - the starting price for a made-to-measure suit at Huntsman, the gentleman's outfitter on London's Savile Row, is about 4,000 euros. In London, nowadays, this is a lot of money. The financial crisis has considerably clouded many people's future prospects. A think-tank report recently estimated that the country would need at least until 2030 to return state finances to the same status as before the credit crisis hit London's financial markets.

In times like these, who can afford to purchase a suit for 4,000 euros?

The reddish glow on the face of Peter Smith, general manager at Huntsman, turns slightly crimson. "We are very discreet here," he comments, "and only reveal the names of those clients who sadly no longer use our services." Trust is the most important asset on Savile Row.

The small street with fine tailors near London's Piccadilly Circus is still regarded as the world's most exclusive venue for gentlemen's outfitters. This street was planned from 1731 on the site of what was then the Duke of Burlington's garden. Until this day, the address is synonymous with exclusive, yet understated gentleman's tailoring. When the dandy "Beau" Brummell, a friend of George IV, made elegant simplicity a style ideal with society's elite during the first third of the 19th century, the legendary "style anglais" also began its rise to international fame among high society in other countries.

Style and fashion are closely related, and over the years repeated attempts have been made to align the time-honoured traditional workshops more closely with contemporary taste. Tommy Nutter was among the tailors who made the wildest attempt, and from 1969 he delighted his clientele - including the Beatles and Jaggers - with wide collars and flared trousers. His successors, latterly the contemporary fashion designers Ozwald Boateng und Richard James, attracted rock stars and actors with eye-catching designs and garish colours. It was not long before the new stars in town, the financial players in London's banking district, parked their Ferraris in front of these smart establishments. Thanks to the desire for gambling among the nouveau riche, and since the world's worst financial crisis since the 1930s has spread, once again there are some free parking spaces in front of the new and successful establishments.

In contrast, Huntsman represents traditional styling. Tailored jackets have high inset sleeves, so the owner can always raise a gun without difficulty - exactly like in the old days which the overwhelming majority of clients would presumably describe as the "good old days". Huntsman is a refuge for old money. Its manager, Peter Smith, explains how up until a few years ago little value was placed on obtaining new clients. Anyone who was smart enough to enter the shop for the first time had, at best, to enter his name in a book and sit and wait at home until Huntsman made contact.

This atmosphere of unshakeable discretion is presumably what attracts old money to return to Huntsman. At a time when even the bosses of major companies have to part with their private jets by making grand public gestures, at Huntsman, the privileges of the upper classes are being maintained. Old money has still held onto its wealth, and a gentleman's suit is a private matter. Everything is conducted here in the store with an air of polite quietness, since all suits are handmade - exactly as things were in the days of Beau Brummell - and no garments are machine-produced. A tailor-made suit is estimated to require 60 hours of work. "It is remarkable how a well-made suit can flatter a person's appearance," remarks Patrick Murphy, head cutter at Huntsman. He is hard at work on a sports jacket, and among the lining and cloth he inserts interlining of horsehair. "A gentleman's hunched posture and rather round figure can be almost made to disappear."

Murphy, with red hair and a fine figure, has been conjuring up jackets in this way for 25 years at Savile Row. His father was also employed here and they have both seen a lot - the stars and the president, but also hard times in the early 1980s under Margaret Thatcher, of all politicians. The then Prime Minister, who was a passionate advocate of market forces, suspended rent subsidies, so many tailors businesses went bankrupt, while others had to initiate severe cutbacks and reduce their size.

When a few courageous tailors made representations to the responsible minister, he advised them to relocate to Heathrow Airport where they could catch clients before they departed overseas. The crisis lasted almost two decades. Large textile chains such as the American leisurewear company Abercrombie & Fitch moved into Savile Row. They wanted to profit from the elite flair of this location, and pushed the rents even higher. Huntsman survived thanks to its strict classicist style. Now Murphy approaches the worn linoleum stairs and descends to the cellar. Next week he will travel to New York to take measurements and will have 40 bespoke suits in his luggage. A few of the suits are already hanging here.