SAVILE ROW PAST AND PRESENT EPISODE TWO

In 1971 Maverick screen actress Katherine Hepburn, whose long-term lover Spencer Tracey was a customer of Huntsman, takes the extraordinary step of ordering bespoke denim jeans from her late lover's Savile Row tailor. Hepburn's commission foreshadows bespoke denim collections launched in 2006 by Timothy Everest and Evisu.

Timothy Everest has launched a new service, where he is applying the same standards and techniques to his jeans as he does to his suits. The whole process takes four to six weeks, with three fittings by his tailors to refine every detail.

Evisu was one of the first Japanese denim labels to become famous outside of Japan in the early Nineties. The brand’s founder, Hidehiko Yamane, bought vintage Levi’s looms to produce his artisan denim using traditional methods. You can even buy bespoke jeans.

Katherine Hepburn created a style that elevated denim to a new level of acceptance. Thirty eight years later the style continues its climb up the ladder.