Byrne & Burge
THE YOUNGEST FIRM of tailors in this book, Byrne & Burge takes the finest traditions of Savile Row and filters them through an ethos entirely its own. Founded in 2007, it flies far below the radar of editorials, marketing, menswear blogs and social media. Co-founder and director Joshua Byrne, who trained under Arthur Catchpole, the most eminent cutter of his generation, is adamant that the client, and not the garment, should be front and centre. He’s not interested in creating a brand, and nor is he determined to strap you into the straitjacket of a preordained house style. He simply wants to make the best clothes he can. In that, he succeeds – brilliantly. To the newcomer, Byrne & Burge can seem difficult to access, and even pin down.
Therein lies its beauty. Once you’ve made it up to its sunny, first-floor fitting room, most likely upon a word-of-mouth recommendation, you quickly grasp that there’s no ‘look’ to buy into. You yourself are the look. At once intuitive and reflexive, Joshua blends his impeccable technique and passion for fabrics with a thorough understanding of the nuances of 21st century international lifestyles. At Byrne & Burge, the client is no mere cookie on a conveyor-belt. Sophisticated and self-confident, he’s able to communicate both his tastes and his needs in the expectation they’ll be understood, then interpreted to the highest standard. With Joshua and his team, that’s a given.
See also: Norton & Sons, Henry Poole & Co
