Thomas Mahon (tailor)
Thomas Mahon is an English tailor, noted for outfitting the British royal family and other VIP clients. He is also noted for his former blog, englishcut.com.[1]
Early life and education
Mahon was born in Carlisle, Cumbria, and grew up in the small village of Corby Hill, Cumbria. He was educated at the local village school and went on to the former grammar school, White House in Brampton, Carlisle. He entered the tailoring trade by taking a summer job at bespoke tailors S. Redmayne Ltd. There the company's owner, Michael Wigglesworth, great-great-grandson of the company's founder, encouraged Mahon into what would be a lifelong career in the craft of bespoke Savile Row tailoring. As Wigglesworth pointed out, "Mahon had a vocation and a natural love of the craft". He stayed at Redmayne and completed his apprenticeship whilst studying industrial pattern construction and grading at a local polytechnic. After seven years of training he left Redmayne for London and furthered his skills as a striker (apprentice cutter) to Dennis Halbery at Anderson & Sheppard of Savile Row.[2]
Independence and Weblog
In 1995, Mahon started his own bespoke tailoring company called Steed Bespoke Tailors with Edwin Deboise, before going independent in 2001. In 2005, he began his weblog English Cut with aid of cartoonist and internet entrepreneur Hugh McLeod, in order to promote his business and share his knowledge of the traditional tailor's craft.
Mahon credits his weblog with helping build his business to the point where he had to temporarily stop accepting new clients in 2007 He's quoted as saying, "this is about relationships. It's the old adage that quality, not quantity is key."[3]
Mahon is married to his wife, Claire, who also studied tailoring, fashion, and design at University College for the Creative Arts at Epsom. They have three boys: Patrick, Francis, and John. In his spare time he is a keen sailor and teaches sailing and navigation with the rank of Petty Officer in the Sea Cadet Corps, the UK's Naval Cadet Force.
Ousted from English Cut
English Cut traded successfully building a worldwide client base and reputation, and Mahon sought to expand the business and its services. In late 2012, Mahon began working with Christian Irving, a long time friend and colleague who wished to offer a high quality, affordable, made to measure tailoring service. Mahon then began searching for a suitable high-quality manufacturer. Through his client contacts he found himself a manufacturer in Japan. Work on this new service was supervised by Mahon for the next four years. Culminating with a personal visit to Japan in May 2017, two months before leaving as founder, head cutter and creative director of English Cut.
This situation arose when, in 2015, Mahon was approached to sell a 20% stake in English Cut Ltd to Todd Enright on behalf of White Winston LLC, Boston, MA. Although the purchase was never completed, a loan note from White Winston was enforced as the main creditor on 31 July 2017. This involved the company being in an insolvent position and forced into administration by White Winston. Mahon was invited to stay under new terms but found the conditions unacceptable and left the same day.
Redmayne 1860
Mahon subsequently started his own blog, cuttinganswers.com and also returned as head cutter and creative director of his original company, where he started in 1983, Redmayne Ltd.
His bespoke tailoring is still available on a limited basis whilst training his apprentice Eden Lewis since 2015. A full made-to-measure service followed in the autumn of 2017.
References
- Abraham, Chris (9 July 2010). "Marketing Conversation: English Cut Is Still the Best of the Breed Brand Blog".
- English Cut: Savile Row Tailors. Documentary. Accessed 9 January 2011.
- Fletcher, Mansel (13 September 2007). "Interview: Thomas Mahon". countrylife.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2011.