| 1921: Crown Prince Hirohito of Japan commissioned | | | | It became the choice mackintosh for British officers |
| Henry Poole & Co, a respected Savile Row Tailor, | | | | during the Trench War in Europe, hence the name |
| to create Westernized suits for his state tour of Britain. | | | | Trench Coat. It remains true to original form apart from |
| A representative of Poole's sailed to Gibraltar with | | | | some colour additions |
| pattern templates where he met The Crown Prince's | | | | Another example is English Madder Print. The |
| destroyer and cabled measurements to London. | | | | "madder" part of this lovely phrase refers to a natural |
| So the order would be accomplished three weeks | | | | dye from a Eurasian herbaceous plant, Rubia tinctoria. |
| later when the Prince was due to reach the UK. Japan | | | | Its continuing success through decades of rise and fall |
| consciously embrace western culture and looked to | | | | owe much too scientific intervention. The colouring |
| Savile Row as the finest example of suiting. | | | | agent in madder root called alizarin was in fact first |
| This is just one episode in its illustrious history. | | | | chemically extracted and then synthesized in 1869 by |
| Countless creations have been channelled to the | | | | two English chemists. Although the dyeing process, |
| world. If you try and chart the course of style | | | | even today, requires a variety of painstaking steps, |
| creations, Savile Row is a good place to start. | | | | synthesized alizarin brought the price within the reach |
| Thanks to scientific intervention, information could be | | | | of commercial producers. |
| cabled immediately around the world, similarly to | | | | The fashion industry is a very repetitive one, naturally |
| emailing, but far less open to abuse. | | | | so, you don't see many people walking down the |
| Many clothing styles and fashion accessories worn on | | | | street with wearing clothes fresh off the catwalk. |
| a day to day basis are often products of an accident | | | | Everything is watered down to meet demand. Believe |
| or created purely for functional uses. It has taken | | | | it or not, we're all very conservative. |
| many decades to achieve "Designer label" status. No | | | | We can't change history but can learn a lot from its |
| Catwalks were apparent, models, or fashion media in | | | | turbulent past. Many fashion designers have drawn |
| the early days of fashion/style creation. A gradual | | | | elements from the past and given them a lick paint to |
| evolution aided by such brands as Jaeger, who | | | | create contemporary fashion accessories. |
| remained at the fore front of style for many decades, | | | | During the eighties, Vivienne Westwood did well |
| using (science) photography in fashion. | | | | launching her "Pirates Collection" elements of this are |
| Thomas Burberry Noticing how local shepherds and | | | | still being mimicked today, and by very conservative |
| farmers wore linen smocks, which were cool in | | | | brands. |
| summer and warm in the winter, he attempted to | | | | If you're a dedicated follower of fashion you will have |
| apply the same principles to other clothing. | | | | noticed how often the look of the seventies makes |
| In 1879 he developed a fabric which was | | | | regular visits. Style is constant, fashion comes and |
| weatherproofed in the yarn before weaving, using a | | | | goes. |
| secret process and then proofed again in the piece, | | | | Science has underpinned every movement in fashion, |
| using the same undisclosed formula. The new material | | | | evident even more so in today's high tech world. |
| was untearable and weatherproof, whilst cool and | | | | The next time to you don the favourite designer silk tie, |
| breathable. He called the cloth 'gabardine' and | | | | or admire your collection of cufflinks, remember it's |
| registered the word as a trademark. | | | | elementary. |