Bespoke Waistcoat for Lord Mayor

We were honoured to give to Court Assistant Nicholas Lyons on the occasion of becoming the Lord Mayor of the City of London a bespoke waistcoat.

The waistcoat was designed and produced by Liveryman Victoria Townsend, (London Academy of Bespoke).

In producing the waistcoat, she trained a number of apprentices working alongside her. From start to finish, its production has been documented and will become a learning resource for apprentices for years to come, with details about consultation, measuring, cutting, fitting and hand-finishing, every element true to the tradition of bespoke tailoring.

The waistcoat is made of 100% wool Barathea and a classic black silk twill lining. Barathea wool, first woven in the 1840s, is a broken twill weft rib weave designed to be light in weight and resilient to creasing. The cloth used for the waistcoat was woven in Huddersfield, England, by royal warrant holder Huddersfield Fine Worsteds. The silk lining was woven in Como, Italy.

The motifs on the waistcoat have been hand drawn and embroidered by Alice Timmis, a textile designer trained at the Royal College of Art, using a 1950s freehand Irish embroidery machine. They reflect institutions and places of importance to the Lord Mayor: the lamb in glory and camel are important features of the Merchant Taylors’ Company crest; the lion sits at the top of the Lord Mayor’s Shrieval badge; the Celtic motif, formed of four Triquetra or Trinity Knots, symbolises the Lord Mayor’s Irish heritage; and the ‘scrolls’ of flora on the front shoulders of the waistcoat have been created from elements of both the Shrieval badge and the Merchant Taylors’ Company crest.

The gift reflects both the original craft and the modern focus of the Merchant Taylors’ Company.