Hardy Amies: London’s great tailor & couturier

Hardy Amies’ reputation for stylish and classic tailoring and dressmaking earned him a star-studded clientele. His brand was known and loved far beyond its London home. And he won a number of fashion awards throughout his lifetime.

Amies evolved his designs as new styles took over the fashion world. He also branched out into the world of ready-to-wear clothing and embraced other merchandising opportunities. But throughout his decades-long career, Amies maintained a reputation for refined, expertly made fashion.

Amies had never trained in dressmaking. But when an opportunity arose in 1934 to join London couture house Lachasse as a designer, he seized it.

Around that time, London was a couture hotspot. Places like Mayfair attracted wealthy visitors looking for custom-made clothes. Even Parisian couture houses opened branches in the capital.

At Lachasse, Amies became known for a stylish but practical approach to couture. He was praised for his treatment of traditional woollen fabrics and his innovative approach to tailoring, earning coverage in fashion bible Vogue for the first time in 1937.

In 1945, Amies set up his own fashion house, Hardy Amies Ltd, at 14 Savile Row. The Mayfair street has a historic reputation for bespoke menswear tailoring. But Amies’s brand tailored classic looks for both men and women.

In 1947, French designer Christian Dior launched the influential ‘New Look’ that leaned into ultra femininity and opulence. A 1949 custom-made wool coat in our collection shows Amies’ ‘London’ version. Its wider shoulders and less constricted waist made it more practical than Parisian designs.

While Amies was known for his work with wool and tweed, Dior’s groundbreaking collection inspired him to also specialise in satin and tulle evening dresses and ball gowns.

Hardy Amies Ltd found success both at home and abroad. Americans in particular loved his designs. In 1950, Amies launched a boutique with simpler, ready-to-wear outfits.

A boost to the business’ publicity came in 1950 when Princess Elizabeth, who became Queen Elizabeth II two years later, placed a small order for her Canadian tour.

So began a 50-year-long working relationship with the queen that heightened his global reputation. “Queen Elizabeth typifies all that I admire most in the English women's attitude to dress,” he wrote in 1954. He was granted a Royal Warrant as one of her official dressmakers in 1955.

From the 1960s, Amies branched out into menswear design, bringing sharp Savile Row tailoring to suits sold on the high street. In 1961, he teamed up with Hepworths (now known as the retailer Next) to launch one of the first ready-to-wear menswear lines. He made history by staging one of the first menswear catwalks at London’s Savoy Hotel.

The menswear venture was a huge success. By 1964, the brand’s annual income from menswear was far greater than what he earned from couture and his boutique. The 1966 World Cup-winning England Football Team wore suits designed by Amies.

Amies continued to design elegant womenswear for British high society, including Princess Diana and his best couture client, Diana, Lady Delamere. This 1969 silk evening dress, adorned with ostrich feathers, shows how his style evolved from formal suits to more flamboyant garments.

But he also had a strong business vision. Amies sold into global markets and embraced all sorts of merchandising opportunities, including the ready-to-wear lines. In 1963, he designed overall dresses for Sainsbury’s supermarket staff. Even the costumes for Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey were Hardy Amies’ creations.

Amies remained in charge of his business into his nineties. He died in 2003.