PICTURED: RICHARD HARVIE AND ANDREW HUDSON.
Jermyn Street’s Open Door Series will be honouring the brands and businesses that make our street the home of gentleman’s style, and the pinnacle of British craftsmanship, by spotlighting your favourite brands, and the people behind them, as we get ready to invite you through our doors once more!
Harvie & Hudson, the last of the Jermyn Street shirtmakers still owned by its founding family, have a bold style and impressive heritage, and are icons of gentleman’s attire.
They officially began in 1949, but George Hudson and Thomas Harvie actually founded the business prior to the Second World War after leaving their previous employer, ‘Jermyn Street Shirtmaker,’ where Mr Hudson was head cutter and Mr Harvie managed the store. Their combined skill-set meant their aspiration of owning their own shirtmaking business was within reach, however WWII put this on hold when Thomas was drafted to Burma and George worked as a uniform cutter.
Fortuitously, both men made it home safely after the war and were able to begin Harvie & Hudson in earnest, acquiring their first store at 20 Duke Street, which they set up over a weekend. They stocked a large variety of fabrics, for their made-to-measure and bespoke shirts, as well as ties and other gentleman’s accessories. They moved store soon after opening to 41 Duke Street, St James’s, but their rapid change of location did nothing to dampen their drive. They worked successfully to establish their name, gaining clients from around the world, such as members of 21 Club in New York, and they still have faithful customers from America to this day.
In 1964, Harvie & Hudson changed store again, this time moving to their current iconic location at 96-97 Jermyn Street, the basement of which they transformed into their cutting room. 96 Jermyn Street was originally The Rose Tavern, which was run by Fanny Cornforth, (the mistress of the Pre-Raphaelite painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti), and its original rose cornices on either side of the door are a sight to behold, one synonymous with Jermyn Street to this day. Harvie & Hudson also repurposed the Rose Tavern sign for their storefront, with the original gold leaf rose detailing still in place. The tiles in the masonry of 97 Jermyn Street are a Pugin design from when Robert Angell rebuilt the store and are equally as striking. As the second generation of Harvie and Hudson took the reins, they began crafting their own fabrics. This came about in the early sixties when Mr Harvie constructed shirts out of brightly-striped pyjama fabric for their window displays, as a publicity stunt. This gained the business huge attention; gentleman began requesting similar striped shirts in bright colours and the iconic Harvie & Hudson house-colourways and bold-striped shirts were born.
Today, the third generation of Harvie and Hudson can be found on the shop floor of the store, ready to assist with anything from choosing a pocket-square to creating their famous bespoke shirts. The current store has been remodelled but, in keeping with Harvie & Hudson’s ethos, still pays homage to their rich heritage. Their shirts have been worn by the likes of Sir Winston Churchill, and Frank Sinatra, and even Princess Diana and are still the embodiment of luxury. Jermyn Street would not be the same without the Harvie and Hudson families, their iconic store and rich history.