Turnbull & Asser is the quintessential British shirtmaker which has dressed heads of state, style icons and stars of stage and screen in British-made shirts since 1885. It provided James Bond with his famous cocktail-cuff shirt in 1962’s Dr No; and, as Prince Charles’s favourite shirtmaker, they were awarded a royal warrant in 1980. The Jermyn Street mainstay is immensely proud of its British heritage, although its definition of Britishness constantly moves with the times, to take into account the brand’s progressive creativity, innovative spirit, eccentricity and strength of character. Turnbull manufactures all its elegant and timeless shirts and ties in its English workshops in Gloucestershire. This minimises its carbon footprint and enables it to work with local artisans, echoing the generations of dedicated craftsmen who have been passionate about the brand throughout its history.
In 2021 Turnbull partnered with The Deck, the first womenswear tailor on Savile Row, to create a capsule of four women’s shirts. Inspired by style icons of the past and present, the shirts are crafted with exceptional details inspired by timeless, classic menswear pieces, making them suitable for any occasion.
Passionate about supporting the arts, Turnbull converted its Mayfair-based Davies Street store into a gallery space, entitled The Room. Here it hosted artists like Walter & Zoniel, Carl Koch, Fred Baier and the Canopy Collective, enabling Turnbull to have a more open discussion with the arts community and celebrate a field that has inspired its collections for years. Turnbull also supported artist, Eloise Moody, with Turnbull shirts in creating her piece, The Drift, at London Wetland Centre in Barnes, exploring the relationship between people in London and the fluid migratory behaviour of birds.
Turnbull also collaborated with multidisciplinary artist Harriet Smith, who used a traditional weaving technique to create new, exclusive patterns to inform a collection of shirts and nightwear in Turnbull’s autumn colour palette.
Building on its commitment to craftsmanship, Turnbull & Asser stretched its craftsmen’s skills with its latest eveningwear collection. The diverse and elegant pieces include a teal soft-touch velvet suit, silk embroidered shirts and a limited-run of sterling silver hand-painted cufflinks, designed and created in Birmingham’s renowned jewellery quarter.
While Turnbull has continued to devote its passion and craft to offering expertly crafted more traditional products, it has also responded to its customer’s desire for self-expression by offering a more contemporary wardrobe to suit their evolving needs. Importantly, it is also focusing on the environment, so in 2021, Turnbull developed its Re-purposed project. The new venture, available this year, comprises an evolving capsule that will re-use excess fabrics from core lines, then re-purpose them into new limited-edition pieces, according to season and available materials.
For Turnbull & Asser 2022 is looking to be an exciting year. It will continue to inspire its customers by interviewing people of the moment to create compelling content for its Off the Cuff blog. It will also continue exploring and developing the highest quality fabrics and use of bold colours, stripes and checks. The brand is growing globally, constantly expanding and evolving its wardrobe of classic pieces for the modern man.
