Cut from the right cloth
Robert Emmett: Keeping it light
By Charlie Thomas
back to all articles

In the heart of London’s West End, there are plenty of shops that casual passersby might find intimidating. These establishments can be found on streets like Savile Row and Jermyn Street, where history and heritage seeps out of every brass door knob and iron fence. Emmett London isn’t one of them. While the shirtmaker has a long standing history producing outstanding quality shirts in England’s capital, the shop at 112 Jermyn Street forgoes mystery even before you enter. The shop front has huge glass windows that stream light inside, allowing people to see right in. The mannequins are clothed in bright, summery colours befitting of the season in which I visit, while the front door is wide open, beckoning visitors to come in and touch the myriad of fabrics that await inside.

The shop itself feels fairly small, but this might be partly to do with the number of shirts on show, while the staff are friendly, unobtrusive and smartly dressed without looking stuffy. The whole mood at Emmett is relaxed and light-hearted, and that is likely down to the eponymous founder. Robert Emmett is a veteran of the London shirtmaking scene, having had his other shop at 380 King’s Road since 1992. But despite being in business solidly for over 30 years, in an incredibly competitive market which, by his own admission has unfortunately shrunk over the years, he remains upbeat and consistent with his brand’s direction.

Like the handful of tailors including Richard Anderson and Ozwald Boateng in the ‘00s, who disrupted Savile Row with their more youthful, vibrant energy, Emmett came onto the scene in the ‘90s offering a change of tack. Many of London’s shirtmakers at the time were predominantly selling formalwear, but Robert positioned his company as a smart casual outfitters, offering both formal shirts alongside more relaxed weekend wear. “Luckily, we’ve always had a variety of shirts because we were always a smart casual brand”, he says. “We have a huge formal contingent of the brand but it was never the majority of it. So, like other shirtmakers, we’ve never had to go from a 95% formal brand to a more casual one. I think what helped to distinguish us from the others is that we’ve always been quite colourful – we’ve always made use of what Thomas Mason has, which are probably some of the best colours of shirt material out there. ”

The choice available is something that’s immediately noticeable when you step foot inside. “What you see in the shop is variety – we try to open up and put the materials front and centre. Rather than have shirts on shelves, I’ve lifted them up so they’re on show. The beauty of that is we show about 120 different materials at any one time, and every two weeks new materials and new shirts are coming in. So the choice of fabric is phenomenal whether it’s in classic business shirts, or with colourful linens when it’s very warm.”

While no slouch on the Internet, where Emmett does plenty of its business, Robert is passionate about physical shops. The company has grown roughly five to ten per cent every year for 30 years, and that wouldn’t be possible without them. “There will never be a better way of discovering a brand than going into a bricks and mortar shop”, he says. The colour pulls you into a shop when it’s right in front of you. You get a better sense of what the brand is about or if you don’t know us you can actually physically try on the shirts. But you get to see and touch the material right in front of you, which is so important.”

This all begs the question of why Emmett hasn’t expanded into a wider ready to wear collection. There are made-to-measure options for trousers and blazers, but the focus is very much on the shirts. Surely a full blown range would benefit from Robert’s attention to detail and fastidious approach? He’s equally assured on this matter. “Why not be very good at one particular thing? I definitely admire people that have created full collections. But I’ve always thought I’d be a specialist and stay with one thing and do it as best I could.”

Producing the best shirts means working with the finest mills. Naturally, Emmett collaborates closely with Thomas Mason every season, and when I visit, much of the shop floor has shirts cut in Albini cloth. “In this country in England, chaps generally like shirts that last 17 years”, Robert tells me. “Thomas Mason has a great, lovely, soft, but durable material called “Regent”, which makes this possible. I also generally love the 120s, it’s a level of quality that’s unmatched. The 120s for me are a great weight of shirting and Thomas Mason does a lovely selection in plains, stripes and checks.”

Closing up our conversation, I ask Robert what he’s most proud of in his three decades of business. Aside from his wife and his four children, the answer is a simple one. “I think it’s creating something that people like; something that makes their life better and which makes them happy. I was recently up in the mountains in a different country and there was a plaque on the side of a little mountain restaurant. It read, ‘make sure you’re the one that puts a smile on someone’s face’.”

Shop Emmett London’s collection at emmettlondon.com

 

(Photography: Charlie Thomas)

Related Articles