The Contour of Luxury Spring/Summer 2018 | Page 62
Alexis Day Alexis Day
How hands on are you in the tailoring process for your
brand? Cleverly you mix styles from the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s with
more modern styles of today. Can you share a snippet of
your secret to making the Mark Powell’s crisscrossing
of era styles successful?
Mark Powell
Well still very much, I mean obviously I don’t do none of
the work really anymore, I used to cut and everything
else, but know a days I’m still very hands on with the
whole process. I still measure every individual client,
I still set every suit myself, so the whole process is still
very much my thing. Obviously I meet the client in the
first meeting, decide on the fabric, and obviously the
design, what are we going to do for them. In about 3 to
4 weeks later we do the first fitting, which is the suit
when it’s half made and basted together, which I’m sure
you’re familiar with, and that’s the first thing. Then
we do a second fitting, and then the suit is completed,
and that normally takes about, you know, 6-8 weeks,
the whole process. So, yes, I’m pretty hands-on. Really,
that’s really what you’re there for, you’re the creator and
you’re there with the client through the whole process
of what you’re doing for the client.
Alexis Day: The concept is yours. It comes from you.
Your vision.
Mark Powell: Exactly, exactly.
Mark Powell
A lot of it comes from knowing certain details that can
work on any of your styles, even if they come from a
particular era. I think really, the only thing that always
changes are the things that are offbeat style, or whether
you’re doing a shorter jacket, a longer jacket, a narrow
lapel, a bigger lapel, I think all those things sort of
things kick in to being significant with proportion. But
ultimately the styling that you do gives your thing its
identifiable look. And I think as long as you keep your
identity of your detailing and styling then I think you
always have a little nod to what everybody wants in
the moment. The thing for me at the moment, I do get
a little annoyed about particularly is that everybody’s
doing this very tight, over tailored look, and I think
the problem with that is it’s actually very, very easy to
do that. The thing is, it’s quite easy to over fit a suit,
and almost make it like a second skin, but it isn’t easy
to sort of drape fabric over a body so that it rolls over
the body. That looks so much more elegant. If you look
at a lot of the carbon Italian tailoring and a lot of the
American tailoring, American influenced by Italian
tailoring at the moment is very much that look. And I
nod to it a little bit, you know you have to a little but,
but I do think it’s still important that they actually
shape and style over the body instead of fits to the body.
I think it’s really important to make the cut the thing
that defines the suit rather than just something that is
very over fitted.
Alexis: I agree, and I’ve watched some of your videos
and when watching, I’m looking at the movement of the
fabric when people walk by and how it flows over their
leg, and how it fits their shoulders. So number one, the
cut is great, number two your fabrics are amazing so it’s
just a great combination. I really, really like the look.
Mark Powell: Thank you.