King Charles III's famous 'striped' shirts are made in Gubbio
Turnbull&Asser, a historic British brand and the sovereign's trusted tailor, has appointed former Burberry designer Roberto Menichetti as creative director
Along Jermyn Street, London's men's wear street, just below Piccadilly, a white sign and an old-fashioned shop window on the corner of Bury Street are a landmark for every self-respecting gentleman: it is the Turnbull&Asser shop. Its fine striped shirts in pastel colours, such as the classic Westminster, have always been a favourite of King Charles III: they have been official suppliers to the sovereign, including the specially sewn coronation shirt, since he was still only Prince, if only because the shop enjoys a royal licence of shirtmakers, tailors of bespoke shirts, granted by the thenPrince of Wales in 1980. He also dressed variousJames Bond during the decades of the film saga.
The London-based house, a piece of British history, has just appointed experienced designer Roberto Menichetti from Gubbio as creative director. In his new role, Menichetti will oversee the brand's entire creative direction, including bespoke shirting, tailoring, outerwear and accessories, the British shirtmaker, with a history of 140 years behind it and a relaunch programme for the future, announced in an official statement.
From St. Francis to Burberry
The prestigious British newspaper The Times even flew all the way to Gubbio to meet the designer in charge of bringing the country's coat of arms back to life. After all, Menichetti is an old acquaintance of Great Britain and already has a history of revival behind him, right in London. When he was very young, in 1998, he was appointed creative director of Burberry, the British brand par excellence but at the time in deep crisis: he brought the British house back to its splendour so much so that in 2002 the company was quoted on the London Stock Exchange at a £1.12 billion capitalisation and from there Burberry's great ride as a global luxury brand began.
Born in the United States, to an Umbrian family, and raised in the city famous for St. Francis and the Wolf, Menichetti trained in Paris with Claude Montana before joining the GFT Group and later Jil Sander, where he established himself for his pure, minimalist lines and launched the maison's menswear collection. After Burberry, he designed collections for Celine and Belstaff.
The Al Fayed family
For almost 40 years, the British tailoring firm has been owned by Ali Fayed, the younger brother of the more famous Mohammed Al Fayed, the former owner of the Harrods department store, and father of Dodi, Lady Diana's partner, both of whom died in a car accident in Paris in 1997. Mohammed himself, after selling Harrods to the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, disappeared a couple of years ago.
