{"id":123601,"date":"2025-11-09T06:49:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T06:49:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/123601\/"},"modified":"2025-11-09T06:49:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T06:49:13","slug":"how-weight-loss-drugs-are-changing-savile-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/123601\/","title":{"rendered":"How weight-loss drugs are changing Savile Row"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Kathryn Sargent, the first female master tailor in Britain, meets a new client in her London atelier she needs to \u201cget to know their body\u201d. So she asks: what\u2019s your daily diet? Is your weight stable? Do you work out? These days she is toying with adding a new question. Does she mean: do you dress to the left or the right, sir? \u201cNo, I never ask that! It\u2019s the pen. Are you on the pen?\u201d<\/p>\n

Caroline Andrew, who, like Sargent, is one of a growing breed of female British tailors who make bespoke suits for both men and women, wrestles with the same issue at her Mayfair studio. \u201cAmerican customers are happy to admit they\u2019re taking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic or Mounjaro<\/a>. But the Brits aren\u2019t so open. If they suddenly drop three sizes, they tend to say, \u2018I\u2019m just eating really healthily.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Kathryn Sargent, the first female master tailor in Britain<\/p>\n

SAM WALTON<\/p>\n

Open or not, more wealthy consumers are injecting appetite suppressants and slimming down, and that is very good news for bespoke tailoring, a trade in which Britain still leads the world. Savile Row, the home of bespoke, is attracting new customers who want to spend thousands of pounds on wardrobes that show off their new figures. Existing Savile Row clients are doing the same and also paying for alterations to now-baggy old garments.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great for business \u2014 up 20 per cent year on year,\u201d says Rosie Holden of Gormley & Gamble, whose atelier is on the fringes of the City. One in four of its clients, new and existing, is taking weight-loss drugs. \u201cWomen are aiming for a size 10 to 12,\u201d she says. For men, it\u2019s between 48 and 52 on the commonly used Italian scale.<\/p>\n

Tailors are used to navigating changing body trends. \u201cI\u2019ve been through boob jobs and bum lifts with my female clients,\u201d Andrew says. The pen is different, she argues, \u201cbecause while the desire for big boobs and bums has faded, it looks like weight-loss drugs<\/a> are here to stay. Clients tell me they feel so good they will be on them for ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many men and women who have \u201csuddenly hit their weight goal\u201d are going bespoke for the first time. \u201cThey\u2019ve slimmed down, saved up and think, \u2018I can invest in new clothes now,\u2019\u201d says Jemma Hunt, Holden\u2019s business partner at Gormley & Gamble. A number of clients are experimenting with new fabrics. \u201cThey tell me, \u2018I\u2019m going to wear a thick velvet dinner jacket for the first time,\u2019 \u201d Sargent says.<\/p>\n

\"Caroline<\/p>\n

Caroline Andrew has altered the way she makes and sells suits to account for weight-loss drugs<\/p>\n

Many existing customers who have lost weight are replacing their old suits with the same styles and colours in smaller sizes. But some are opting for a new look, one with a more cinched waist, or a double-breasted jacket because they feel the extra fabric will no longer make them look chunky.<\/p>\n

Print and lighter, more vibrant colours are becoming more popular than the plain darks customers may have chosen in the past for their slimming effect. \u201cWe tell some clients, \u2018These new colours are going to light you up,\u2019 \u201d Holden says.<\/p>\n

Weight-loss drugs are also transforming the way tailors make new suits. Most increase the seam allowance in new jackets and add side adjusters to trousers to make it easy to let them out if a customer lowers the dosage of weight-loss drugs and gains a few pounds. Many are also changing the cut of jackets to reflect their customers\u2019 new posture. Men who lose a lot of weight tend to walk more upright, enabling tailors to create a more powerful, less hunched silhouette.<\/p>\n

The business model is changing too. Andrew recommends that clients invest in slightly different-sized suits in their new slimline wardrobe, just in case, over time, they put back on a little of the weight they have lost. She also suggests two pairs of trousers with each suit for men, \u201cone a flat-fronted, fitted pair, and the second slightly larger on the waist and seat, where weight usually goes first, with pleats. This gives you flexibility for 5 to 8 kilograms [11-18lb].\u201d<\/p>\n

As well as ordering new suits, Savile Row regulars want to have clothes altered. \u201cSome have already invested hundreds of thousands of pounds in their wardrobes and are loath to let clothes go,\u201d Hunt says. Alterations can run to several thousand pounds for a single suit.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Sargent\u2019s work<\/p>\n

SAM WALTON<\/p>\n

In cases of extreme weight loss, however, suits can\u2019t be rescued, Sargent says. \u201cThe jacket can end up too long and can\u2019t be shortened because the position of the pockets is fixed. The \u2018rise\u2019 of the trousers [the measurement from the crotch seam to the top of the waistband] may also have to be completely remade.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weight-loss drugs may be popular \u2014 and profitable for Savile Row \u2014 but they are controversial. Critics say it is unclear if they pose long-term health risks. Some users report chronic nausea that prevents them from working, yet still continue taking them. The jabs are also expensive, costing up to \u00a3400 a month.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Life as a woman on Savile Row: \u2018I was treated badly but now it\u2019s an advantage\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Tailors are careful not to judge clients. \u201cEveryone is slightly vain,\u201d Andrew says. \u201cAlso, there\u2019s a lot of pressure on women and increasingly men to look good. There\u2019s lots of things that you can do to tweak your looks. If you can afford it, and want to do it, you can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

True. But the effect of weight-loss drugs is spilling on to the catwalk, with \u201cOzempic hips\u201d becoming a noticeable new trend. During the four main fashion weeks in September the low-rise trouser silhouette returned, along with the protrusion of hip bones, either poking out of waistbands or outlined by a tight dress. A recent audit carried out by Vogue Business of 198 shows and presentations revealed that just over 97 per cent of models on the catwalk this season were a UK size 4 to 8. Only 2 per cent could be categorised as \u201cmid-size\u201d (a UK 10 to 16) and fewer than 1 per cent were \u201cplus size\u201d, a British 18.<\/p>\n

After so many years of the fashion industry paying at least lip service to body positivity and \u201cplus size\u201d models becoming more popular on the catwalk and in ad campaigns, Holden concedes that \u201cit does feel like we\u2019re going backwards\u201d. But she recalls a recent conversation with one new female client. \u201cShe told us, \u2018I\u2019ve been on every single diet. My portion sizes are normal. I exercise. But I just cannot shift the weight. The pen has sorted that out.\u2019 Now we have sorted out her wardrobe and she looks and feels fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, less is definitely more for Britain\u2019s tailors. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Kathryn Sargent, the first female master tailor in Britain, meets a new client in her London atelier…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":123602,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[163,85,46,482],"class_list":{"0":"post-123601","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-medication"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123601"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123601\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}