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INTERVIEW<br />
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MYbrighton: Zack Pinsent<br />
Period Tailor<br />
Are you local? Yes, <strong>Brighton</strong> born and bred. I<br />
was born in the Trevor Mann unit and grew up<br />
on Hartington Villas by Hove Park.<br />
What do you do? I’m a period tailor. Making<br />
men and women’s bespoke clothing from the<br />
1660s to the 1910s.<br />
What drew you to that? I’d always been interested<br />
in making things, and vintage clothing. I<br />
started making a few bits for myself, and then one<br />
or two pieces for friends.<br />
So the impulse for you to make your own<br />
clothes came first, and the business sprang<br />
organically from that? Exactly. Friends of<br />
friends were saying “can you make me such and<br />
such?” and I was going “yes I think I can!” It<br />
started off more as a hobby making the stuff, as I<br />
was researching and practising and learning my<br />
craft. To a point where it’s now a business, which<br />
is daunting. I have now got a global scope, where<br />
I’m going over to America to see clients and I’ve<br />
got clients specifically flying from other countries<br />
to see me. It’s nothing like I ever thought it<br />
would be.<br />
Did that popularity come from the BBC<br />
News video this summer? No, it was all sort<br />
of doing fine before then. The BBC piece has<br />
actually made me known more in this country,<br />
bizarrely. I was already known quite well in<br />
America. Now I’ve got more UK clients, which<br />
is wonderful. On just the BBC platforms, such as<br />
Facebook and Instagram, it’s had over 60 million<br />
views, which is a little bit mad. At one point<br />
apparently, I was trending on Japanese Twitter.<br />
It keeps astonishing me why people are so<br />
interested in all of this. I don’t see myself as necessarily<br />
doing anything special, I’m just being me<br />
and doing what I enjoy. I’m wearing something<br />
that I’m completely, 100% comfortable in. And<br />
truly myself in. And if you’re confident in yourself<br />
then you’re laughing really.<br />
Are you a theatregoer? I saw The Lover/The Collection<br />
by Harold Pinter with David Suchet and<br />
Russell Tovey. It was amazing, really wonderful<br />
pieces. I then hung around backstage and got to<br />
meet one of my absolute heroes, David Suchet,<br />
and Russell Tovey. I’ve always loved Poirot, and<br />
Tovey was also in one of the early episodes. It was<br />
funny thinking ‘ah, he’s there!’<br />
What do you like about <strong>Brighton</strong>? I love that<br />
<strong>Brighton</strong> is unapologetically itself, and not afraid<br />
to change. Some people say “<strong>Brighton</strong>’s not the<br />
same anymore”. Yeah, but that’s always been<br />
<strong>Brighton</strong>. <strong>Brighton</strong>’s never been the same, it’s<br />
always changed and evolved. I think that’s really<br />
important. When you think of its past, it started<br />
off as a fishing village and then became a royal<br />
playground. It’s always been open to change. It’s<br />
always been dressed up. I believe that <strong>Brighton</strong> is<br />
the Pavilion. It’s that whole madcap eccentricity.<br />
<strong>Brighton</strong> is a bit of a bubble. A wonderful<br />
bubble that I absolutely adore. 99.9% of people<br />
in <strong>Brighton</strong> are genuinely lovely. It’s fantastic.<br />
This atmosphere is completely different to other<br />
places I’ve been in the country. I can’t imagine<br />
going or being anywhere else: London’s great but<br />
it’s not <strong>Brighton</strong>. It’s not home.<br />
Interview by Joe Fuller<br />
pinsenttailoring.co.uk<br />
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