The Bite Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2024 - Issue 36

We Belong to London In Hackett London’s Autumn-Winter 2024 collection, ‘We Belong to Lon- don’, Jada Brookes admires the brand’s return to its capital city roots. bitemen HACKETT LONDON A s a young boy, Jeremy Hackett knew what he wanted in a suit. When fitted for his first bespoke suit for Holy Communion at age seven, the future purveyor of fine suits requested a ticket pocket to be sewn into his jacket to match the one on the suit of the tailor measuring him. “I still have a ticket pocket sewn into all of my suits for that reason,” he told Luxury London online. He also advised his parents that the heavy, worsted wool they chose wasn’t suitable fabric. Instead, he went for a grey Donegal tweed. Jeremy worked on Savile Row during the 1960s and became fascinated with the early 20th-century gentleman’s quintes- sential British attire. Two decades later, he opened his first store selling second-hand clothes on King’s Road in Chelsea. Jeremy began creating garments by merging traditional styles with modern cuts, perfect for Savile Row style seekers without the associated cost. “I started by scouring the flea markets in Portobello, buying unique pieces of English cloth- ing,” he revealed on the brand website. “I opened up a tiny store in a residential area, and the success was instantaneous,” he added. “People lined up to see what I had bought that day, and it was incredible. It also didn’t look like a second-hand store but an immaculate, beautiful gentleman’s boutique.” When he couldn’t meet the demand of his customers, he opened another store next door and manu- factured new pieces that emulated the classic designs. “That’s how Hackett London was born.”