I have worked at Anderson & Sheppard for the past ten months. I started working in the last week of September 2016. This coincidentally was the same week I should have returned to University.

Learning on the job is much more fulfilling and holistic than learning in the classroom and I have no regrets about my decision. Over the course of my short time at A&S I have been taught trimming, measuring, altering garments, striking and the most important part of a cutters job- drafting. The skills needed to convert a set of seven measurements (in the case of trousers) into a two dimensional paper pattern that then must be turned into three-dimensional garment is the hardest to develop and master. Thankfully there is a strong and capable team in the cutting room who can offer me guidance and support. This is what I am working on at the moment, any spare time I have is spent drafting practise patterns.

Working in the bespoke tailoring industry is great honour. Being a part of a trade that is centuries old and being entrusted with knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation is fascinating, particularly for someone of my generation. In an age where it seems that everything we use is made overseas it is remarkable thing that there is still thriving industry in the heart of 21st century Mayfair. Things are being made by hand right in the centre of London, the trade is almost as old as the city and it  is a pleasure and a privilege to call myself part of it.