The Golden Shears

The Golden Shears Tailoring Competition is open to Trainees/Apprentices in the trade and Students at Colleges on dedicated tailoring courses.

The Merchant Taylors’ Company invites you to submit and support any student currently under your tuition.

This year Trophies & Prize Money will be awarded as follows:-

1. THE MERCHANT TAYLORS’ GOLDEN SHEARS and £2,000 for the finest entry.
2. THE MERCHANT TAYLORS’ SILVER SHEARS AND £1,500 for runner-up.
3. THE MERCHANT TAYLORS’ SILVER SHEARS AND £1,000 for the “Rising Star”.
4. A CERTIFICATE SIGNED BY THE MASTER OF THE MERCHANT TAYLORS’ COMPANY AND THE CHAIRMAN OF JUDGES will be awarded to each competitor who qualifies for the Final Judging.

All completed garments, illustrated design work and working patterns, to be received at the London College of Fashion, Curtain Road, London EC2A 3AE (Marked for the attention of Sonia Dhimer, Site Administrator) on the dates as follows:-

By Post or Courier: Between the 13th and 15th December 2010 only

By Hand: Between 14th and 15th December 2010 and 4th or 5th January 2011 only

No garments to be delivered during this time

ALL COSTS OF POSTAGE AND PACKING OR COURIER CHARGES TO BE MET BY THE ENTRANT AT ALL TIMES.

Please send all Entry Forms to the Mrs Katharine Green at the following address by Monday 11th October, 2011:-

Mrs Katharine Green
Event Co-Coordinator
Merchant Taylors’ Company
Merchant Taylors’ Hall
30 Threadneedle Street
London, EC2R 8JB

Telephone: 07789 002523

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it / This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

To download the rules of the competiton follow this link

To download an application form follow this link (Please note that each Student or Trainee/Apprentice must submit a separate Entry Form)

For a size chart please follow this link

In the mid 1970's, during Sir Peter Studd's Mastership, the Company decided to rekindle the connection with its original craft trade through the Federation of Merchant Tailors. Liverymen and Past Federation Presidents, Angus Cundey and Robert Bright (who together with Michael Skinner in the late 1980s were the first Master Tailors for several hundred years to become Free of the Company), played prominent parts in launching a training related competition.

The Company presented the Golden Shears trophy for the competition. The trophy is a pair of traditional cutting shears mounted on mahogany – the traditional shears as used by cutters and tailors and the mahogany representing the boards on which they worked. The Golden Shears were awarded to the tailor whose clothes, using non-professional models (often themselves) were judges for fit, style and suitability to wearer as well as the skills of cutting and tailoring.