What matters most are when it comes to menswear?

Menswear? That’s easy - details! It’s always about details. You see, this t-shirt isn’t just made using any old crap. We chose 100% micro French terry cotton, which makes the t-shirt durable but still soft. It gives it structure without it being stiff, and so it complements the body, you see?

 

045 Heavy Weight T-Shirt made using 100% micro French terry cotton

 

The trousers, too. We chose a Japanese cotton for this one which gives it a versatility between formal and casual. With the right amount of tapering below the knee and the pull tabs that feature at the waist you get the effect. Anyone could have a go at these, but I’ve been making handmade suits for decades and that means that I know what those little details are that matter. That inch here, or that button there.

 

Are the trousers a favourite?

Oh for sure. The boss I worked for when I did my apprenticeship taught me trousers so I’ve always loved making them. He used to cut for Valentino and Fred Astaire and he taught me all the little intricate details about how to make trousers. It’s an art. It’s where I started and I’ve been talioring trousers for almost 50 years now.

It’s about creating something that actually works on the body and works for the person, rather than some shoddy imitation. You can see that a mile off.

110 High Waisted Trouser tailored from Japenese twill cotton

 

Your experience helps you see that?

Exactly. When I work with clients, say they want a black suit. Well there’s a hundred shades of black. But I won’t show them those hundred shades, I’ll show them three knowing that they’re the right shades for them. Because after all that’s what they’re paying me for. For my experience. It’s that I’ve been in the workshop day in day out up to my ears in fabrics for decades. It’s taught me what looks good and what doesn’t.

Making stuff we’re proud of. For us that’s everything.

 

What else is important about Basic Rights?

I’m a big believer that great clothing shows the person as an individual, even if it’s two people wearing the same thing. It’s like a canvas for your personality.

I’ll give you an example. A while ago a client of mine that works in the food business found himself sitting next to David Bowie in Japan. This bloke couldn’t look more different from Bowie. Big guy, bald but with a pony tail. Anyway during dinner Bowie turns to him and says “we have the same tailor!”

He recognised the make! He knew they were from the same hand! I thought ‘now that is a compliment’.

 

Talk to us about dressing Bowie then, what was that like?

It was great! I made for him for over ten years. At that time he was just getting out of that drugs phase. He was into all that microbiotic crap if I remember rightly.

 

 

The first suit was Live Aid. That light blue one he wore. Then there was the Let’s Dance tour. And after that I did a lot of personal stuff for him.

 

 

 

In fact I remember a funny thing that happened with him and the wife. It was the three of us in a room at the Grosvenor House Hotel, he was in his underpants on the bed and he says to Helen “look I’ve been working out,” he gets her hand and puts it on his leg. She goes “Ahhh!” and Bowie says “oh stop that, feel my leg!” So he gets up and starts chasing her round the bed trying to get her to feel his leg. Wish someone video’d that. Bloody hilarious it was.

I did his mourning suit for Bob Geldof’s wedding. Actually it’s funny, I did Jasper Conran’s morning suit, I did Bowie’s morning suit and… hang on, who was the other one again?… that’s it, it was Simon Le Bon.

 

Dressed by David: Bowie, Jasper Conran and Simon Le Bon, Bob Geldof and Paul Yates’ wedding, 1986.

 

Do you often work with musicians and designers?

Yeah it’s funny, I seem to work with musicians, designers, directors… artists. Don’t often work with actors for some reason (thank god). But artists. I got a funny compliment from one once. They said ‘I love your suits. They don’t feel new…’.

At least I think it was a compliment?

 

Who was that?

That was David Hockney.

 

That’s great!

Yes, he’s a lovely bloke. My very first client was his printer, because his girlfriend was in my class at college. Then I made for David’s boyfriend, Peter Scheslinger. I was only just out of college so I must have been 19 at the time. Late 60’s, early 70’s.

 

David Hockney & Peter Schlesinger.

 

Anyway. So I met Peter who introduced me to Ossie Clarke and Manolo Blahnik. They all lived in the same building you see. Manolo would never admit that I made his clothes but I bloody well did! I told you I used to work for Anderson & Sheppard yeah? He’d just say Anderson & Sheppard made it. Drove me mad it did.

 

Anderson & Sheppard’s been the school to a few designers, though am I right? Alexander McQueen trained there too?

That’s right, he was there six months then got the sack. He kept turning up to work stoned, completely useless he was. For womenswear it’s a totally different thing but for menswear at least he’s not a designer in my opinion, he was more of a stylist. You know?

It’s a bit like for Jasper Conran. I made him this evening suit and he loved it and said “can I have this in my collection?” I thought ‘well I’m never going to make this mass production so what’s the harm’, said “yeah fine”, charged him a huge amount of money and voila! He took the pattern and sample and got it made.

 

Is there a common thread that runs through your clients would you say? Sounds like they’re all coming from a creative place?

Yes they’re mainly artists. I’m a professional’s professional. You see for someone like Manolo, he’d see a picture of Noel Coward and say ‘ooh, I love that suit he’s wearing!’ Course I’m very good at doing that, but for him. Or like Bryan Ferry who would look at an Oscar Wilde velvet jacket and get all excited. He’d take it to Anderson’s and they’d say ‘really??’ You go there and you get an Anderson suit, you won’t get anything different. That’s what I do.

I used to work full time with Ossie [Ossie Clark, fashion designer widely credited with creating the look of the ‘swinging sixties’] he taught me a lot. He also got me working on all sorts of projects. Used to make shed loads of limited print trousers for Bridget Riley. I wanted one of her pictures but she said to me ‘oh you can’t afford me’ - course she was absolutely right.

 

Bridget Riley and her expensive pictures.

 

What do people come to you looking for?

They’re looking for something different. Something to fit the brief. And you’re doing that in someway here? At Basic Rights? Exactly. It’s about taking a classic idea and realising it. You know, there’s a million ways to make a plain t-shirt, but if it’s going to be any good you have to know a) why you’re making it in the first place and b) how to make it right.

We’re making these to be those old favourites that you keep going back to. And we realise it with the cut - the way it’s not too revealing on the bicep (so it’s not a muscle tee) and the way it falls straight down the side of the body (so it’s flattering to every body type) - the fabric we use (thicker and sturdier than normal cotton but still soft to the touch) and the finishing, like the stitching around the neck and the way we’ve finished it there.

But it’s true for all of our products. We only think they’re worth it because of the quality. The way I look at it is this is a machine-made version of me.

Not just run of the mill. Something with a twist. I used to make for Freddie Mercury and he always used to say that’s what he liked about my clothes. They had a twist.

 

Tell me about Freddie Mercury.

He was great. We used to get so out of it! Me and the wife used to go to the big house down in Earls Court and he’d ply on the Cristal champagne and get the gear out (and it would be the best!). Anyway I did the Great Pretender, I did the Montserrat period. He liked that so he flew us all to Ibiza for his birthday party. We had some good times.

 

 

 

Sounds like you were quite close?

Well me and Freddie were in a way. But at the same time I don’t ever get too close to my clients. You need to get to know them to know what they’re looking for but you’re also there to do a job. It’s like with Paul McCartney you think you’re best friends but you’re not.

 

You made for Paul McCartney?

Yeah for quite a while. I did ‘Ebony and Ivory’ wtih Stevie Wonder, some other stuff. Made loads for Linda too. They were good people. After a while we stopped working together but I would see them wearing imitations of my work. Someone had been copying for them it looked like.

 

 

Is that an occupational hazard?

God yeah. I’ve worked a fair bit with Tom Ford, velvet smoking jacket and that. Made him stuff like tennis shorts. I remember making some shooting clothes for him, you know shooting jackets and stuff (he didn’t want to shoot, he just wanted to look good in it by the way…). Anyway he kept the design and put ‘em in his collection. I don’t mind. Is what it is.

Most top designers will do this you know. If you look at these guys - Tom Ford, Ralph Lauren - most of the collections are just their own clothes. The clothes they want to wear. That’s what this collection is. Mine and Freddie’s version of clothes that we’d want to wear. The stuff we’d want to live in.

 

Will it always be like that?

God yeah.

 

 

What you working on next?

You’ll have to find out.

 

David Chambers tailoring for Basic Rights. Refined essentials made for wearing.