From The Sartorialist

Yup, folks. I couldn’t resist.

I first visited George Cleverley in London in 2008. It was amazing and recently, I’ve been lucky enough to score an interview with the Creative Director and Heir himself! Enjoy!

Let’s start off by introducing yourself…

I’m George Glasgow, Jr., creative director of George Cleverley & Co. Ltd.

George Cleverley was founded in 1958. Over the last 50 years, you’ve skyrocketed to becoming a lot of folks’ “grail” shoe. George Cleverley has an RTW line but is much more well-known for and founded upon your bespoke footwear.

Yes, this is correct. The actual Cleverley name goes back 100 years as the original George Cleverley was not the only Cleverley making shoes. Most of George’s family (father, cousins, etc.) were all shoemakers. However, it was George who became known as a society shoemaker given his clients were the who’s whos of the world. Our RTW line is derived from our bespoke samples and offers excellent value for money. These are also all made in England. We have been selling our RTW in Japan at Beams for over 20 years, so the Asia market is familiar with our range.

For folks who don’t totally understand what true bespoke shoemaking is, can you give us a quick rundown?

It involves taking many measurements and building an individual last which your shoe order is constructed around. This results in the perfect fitting shoe and a style that the customer has designed and not like the shop would like to sell a customer.

You’ve been involved in the family business since you were 13, correct? How have you influenced the company since taking over as creative director?

Yes. We have become more proactive in technology such as our Web site, new brochures and look books, more worldwide trunk to reach our clients. Additionally, we have introduced our Anthony Cleverley range (Anthony was George’s nephew), which is our semi-bespoke range, and we feel the best RTW shoe in the world available today. I decided to look back in our archives and see what styles were popular 50-plus years ago and found them to be very unique and cool, so these are the styles that make up our range. Each style is named after the original client it was made for.

As far as bespoke shoemaking companies go, George Cleverley is not that old. What do you think has allowed the company to shine and grow so quickly?

Firstly, we are still a family-run business which maintains our quality to the highest standard. Secondly, George Cleverley’s styles were unique, and when they were originally made more than 50-plus years ago, they were far ahead of their time. Unlike most bespoke shoemakers, the Cleverley shape is unique and attracts men in their 80s as well as men in their 20s, which I think is amazing. We also are very selective in the quality of calf we use in all of our shoes, so I think customers have seen this consistency and like that. We also build our shoes strong but light, which is better for your feet and keeps your feet from feeling tired during the day.

I‘ve heard so much about this ancient Russian leather you have. Can you tell us a bit more about it?

It’s very unique and from 1786. Back then, everything was made so well and strong. It was built to last, which resulted in the Russian [leather] being able to sit under the ocean for 200-plus years and still be usable to make shoes, bags, etc. The 1786 Russian has a unique smell, and the grain is beautiful. Personally, I think in a boot it looks wonderful. It is, of course, very limited, and the first pair we made out of this leather was for HRH The Prince of Wales. George Cleverley has exclusive rights to the leather, and we only select the best skins available.

What has been one of your most memorable experiences in the business?

I’m a big football fan, so I think spending the afternoon at David Beckham’s house in Beverly HIlls doing a fitting was one of them!

What is your favorite pair of George Cleverley Shoes?

The Churchill! Burgundy calf, imitation lacing, full brogue is the way to go. It looks great with suits and jeans, which I like.

What influences your shoe designs? Music? Art? Designers?

What’s interesting is that we make shoes personally for some of the biggest names in fashion today. So perhaps they take inspiration from Cleverley. For me, I like to look at the old styles in our archives, which were made for Cary Grant, Rudolph Valentino, Clark Gable, Gary Cooper… These were true original fashion icons, in my opinion, and very elegant men, so their styles are of great interest to me today. I think in modern day, I admire Charlie Watts for his style. He has been a Cleverley customer for over 20 years, and every shoe we make for him is unique and stylish but still elegant. I take a lot of inspiration from my world travels. Given my position, I spend approximately five months a year traveling around the world from London and Paris to New York and Los Angeles to Tokyo and Seoul, so I picked up a lot of influences along the way.

What are your thoughts on how many pair of shoes should a man have?

A lot! I think men should have more shoes than women.

You must travel a ton! What do you usually pack in your suitcase?

Firstly, I only use Rimowa [luggage] as they are strong and look good! I wear a lot of suits, so I always travel light with at least two or three different suits at different weights in case the weather changes. I wear dress shirts for work and for casual wear, so I generally pack 10-plus shirts. I take three or four pairs of shoes (two black and a brown or burgundy). I also bring a sports jacket and a few pairs of jeans. I always pack my sport wear for the gym, but given my schedule, I often don’t get to use it.

Suits? Shoes? Toiletries you use? Socks? Shirts?

All my suits are by Anderson & Sheppard. My shirts are by Sean O’Flynn and Turnbull & Asser. Socks and shoes are from George Cleverley, and my toiletries are mostly La Prairie in Switzerland. For casual wear, I love James Perse in Los Angeles. It is made in California, and the cotton is very soft, which I like.

Since this blog isn’t solely about clothing 100 percent of the time, what music are you listening to right now?

A Flock of Seagulls, David Guetta, Duck Sauce, Kings of Leon and The Rolling Stones.

Anything else you would like to add?

I think more people are becoming more interested in quality and want to invest in items which last for many years to come, like this recent article in Esquire Magazine.

I can’t thank you enough for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk and answer some questions for us. If folks want to get in touch and pick up a pair of shoes, RTW or bespoke, how can they go about doing that?

They can visit our Web site for more information, or visit our London store, Beams in Japan, Leather Soul in the USA, Heritage in Korea and of course our worldwide trunk shows (cities and dates available on our Web site).

Thanks!

…and you think I’m not going to include more pictures of George Cleverley shoes?! Check these beauties!

Fall/Winter color palettes are always a bit more subdued–especially for Italian brands like Borrelli Luxury Vintage.

Greys, browns, and blues, that could sum up almost every Italian collection and it should! I’ve said this many times on this blog. I don’t always look for new things, I just like the classics.

So beware, you’ll never see Rick Owens or ninja pants on here.

Back to the Borrelli…word has it that ever since their massive fiasco with tax fraud etc and the Italian government. They’ve been producing “lower quality” garments from varying factories.

I don’t know if this collection is part of it but, I’m looking forward to finding out. At least their prices have gone down (though these factory changes could be reason).

You see, recently a law was passed that now allows Italian companies to say an item is “made in Italy” if only the majority of the phases of production are in Italy…not 100% of it. (for more see here) This proposes a rather interesting issue.

All of Borrelli’s clothing will still be made in Italy, they’re just now using different factories. A few folks have said they moved a lot of their production out of Naples to Prato (home to a large immigrant population). Yes, exploitation of the garment industry doesn’t seem to have an end. I hope Borrelli is treating whomever is now manufacturing the clothing with respect.

Borrelli has always had an unbelievable high standard of quality to their garments–everything made by hand.

So what will the future hold for Borrelli Luxury Vintage? I’m not really sure, but I’ll still give them props and credit for continuing to issue some bad ass lookbooks. Even if it’s not 100% handmade by an old Italian seamstress anymore.

Read about me and Wu Tang!

Head over Free/Man to read a interview I did with Darian and his great blog.

COUNT IT!

I recently received an email from Beams with a link to their Spring/Summer catalog. WOOHOO!

I really wish there was a Beams in New York because in my opinion, it’s the best curated shop in the world.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with Beams, it’s a department store type shop in Japan. Originally founded in 1976 “with the goal of changing the culture and customs of Japan’s youth.”

It has since done a heck of a job! Usually being the first stores to buy from up and coming labels and companies. (they were one of the first retailers of Thom Browne, etc.)

In short, if its available at Beams its worth buying.

Pending some other plans I’ll be in Tokyo this summer, and I can’t wait!

Here are some looks from their recent catalog.

I suppose I assumed most of the blogosphere has had their hands on a digital version of “Take Ivy” for a while now.

If you havn’t heard of it, it was a book originally published in 1965. T. Hayashida (a photgrapher from Japan) visited the Ivy League universities and documented the fashion style of the era. This book has influenced countless designers and look books. Sadly its pretty hard to find a hard copy of it and if you can its around 2k. There is a digital version though.

If you don’t have it yet, I posted it in one of my tweets.

Here are some of my favorite looks from the Japanese book “Take Ivy” by T. Hayashida (click on the pics for a bigger version)