The term "tailor" is now used to denote the person who creates garments of a particular level and often associated with higher echelons of society.   The word's root, however, comes from a far humbler intent and place: those dark and musty garment-making workrooms of the Middle Ages.   First documented in France in the 12th century, "tailleur" meant to cut, hew or sculpt.    The Middle-English and Anglo-French term was taillour; and that was simply the person who made garments, most often for men.

When Fred Nieddu set up his own bespoke tailoring operation after years as head cutter at Timothy Everest, the term taillour and coming back to the simple idea of making clothes expressly for someone, without inferring any connotations or limitations on the type of clothes, style, cut or silhouette.  

In his tailoring studio in Shoreditch, east London, Nieddu cuts lovely pieces (like our "Project Raglan" coat) for clients and also for leading film studios – he’s the tailor behind all the menswear in Netflix’s hit drama, The Crown, for instance.  Italian by blood, Nieddu has a natural fascination with soft tailoring, but he trained at Meyer & Mortimer, one of Savile Row’s stiffest military tailors, so today his approach to tailoring combines these two traditions into something that feels contemporary and comfortable.