Otto Hertz was a cloth merchant based in Brussels when he founded his business in 1938. His mission: to bring the highest quality, stylish cloth to the world’s most discerning gentlemen. The name Scabal, standing for Societe Commerciale Anglo Belgo Allemande Luxembourgoise, gave some hint towards his international ambition and central to this goal was a home on London’s Savile Row, the centre of the sartorial universe.
That dream would be realised in 1972, and this year Scabal celebrates the 50th anniversary of its Mayfair home on ‘The Row’. From its purpose-built space at No.12, Scabal has grown its reputation as both a retailer and supplier of luxurious cloth, dispatching orders of fabric on a daily basis to every one of its prestigious neighbouring tailors, and beyond to more than 70 countries.
Half a century in the history of the tailoring trade is not to be underestimated. From its Savile Row base Scabal has witnessed sweeping changes in menswear, culture, design and luxury alike, in London and the world over. What has remained consistent, however, is the company’s guiding mission, a brand driven by passion, heritage and craftsmanship
Remaining true to these traditional values while continuing to make head-turning strides in modern tailoring are key to Scabal’s ongoing success. To mark its Savile Row anniversary Scabal has created a British made, fabric collection of 50 designs with a distinctly British feel, as well as a commemorative label.
Michael Day, Scabal’s Head of Fabric Design, comments:
“For this special collection we wanted to celebrate the history of British Tailoring so we dedicated time to go back over the past 50 years in the Scabal fabric archives to gather ideas and elements from cloths that were launched in each of the past 5 decades, we then used these as the inspiration for this new collection.”
He continues: “We live in an age when dramatic changes in technology and culture have resulted in new habits and lifestyles and this in turn influences tailoring and fashion. We recognise that our customers experience greater leisure, mobility with a more relaxed and informal attitude. We know how to cater perfectly to their needs while maintaining the perspective of experience. We avoid being swept along with the strongest current. Rather it must be our purpose to assimilate these changes while remaining faithful to our basic principles and this philosophy is very similar to why Savile Row continues to evolve and thrive.”
Gregor Thissen, Executive Chairman, Scabal adds:
“As a company we have the privilege of being able to look back at a very long history. Our 50 years on Savile Row have been a major part of this journey and are crucial to our development as a leading partner within our field. It has inspired cloth creations and given us direct access to the heart and engine of the global tailoring community, a place where customisation, individuality, eccentricity, and style has been at home for many centuries. Savile Row still today sets the global standard for excellence in the trade.”
