J’AIME JULY/AUGUST 2022

FEATURE
The Savile Row tailor -
without the price tag
TAILORING RUNS IN RICHARD NEASHAM’S BLOOD. AS A FOURTH GENERATION
TAILOR RICHARD, FROM WALSALL, IS KEEPING HIS GREAT GRANDFATHER’S LEGACY
- AND THE NICHE CUSTOMWEAR MARKET - ALIVE BY OFFERING AFFORDABLE
LUXURY. JASPREET SHERGILL CAUGHT UP WITH HIM TO FIND OUT MORE
The world of tailoring isn’t a place we’d often turn
to for our daily wear in this day and age. If there’s a
special occasion or a wedding, we might explore the
idea of getting a custom piece made but otherwise
we tend to go straight to the high street - or even
online.
But maybe this doesn’t have to be the case. Fourth
generation tailor Richard Neasham, who’s shop RN
Tailoring opened in Sutton Coldfield last year, is
adamant that custom clothes don’t always have to
be for those milestone moments, and that there is
a market for those that like the finer things in life -
without the price tag.
Patterns, sewing machines and hand-work
embroidery runs in Richard’s blood but the only
question is that will this craft be around for much
longer?
Growing up, Richard was living and breathing
fabric, stitching and all things tailoring from a young
age. His great-grandad Leonard Neasham had
opened up his tailors’ store in 1930, starting a family
legacy which would last for four generations and
counting.
After turning 16 years old, Richard decided to leave
school and follow in Leonard’s footsteps, alongside
his grandad, Jack, and father, Roger.
“Before, when I was at school I used to go with
my dad to London to companies like Daks and
Aquascutum and I would stand there and watch
them do the buying so when I left school, I already
knew that was what I wanted to go into for work.”
said Richard.
Leonard Neasham’s first store was in Walsall and,
as time went on, the town became more expensive
and the shop needed to be refurbished. After some
thought Roger Neasham decided to retire, and it was
left to Richard to see what steps he wanted to take to
RICHARD MAKES CUSTOM SUITS
FOR ALL OCCASIONS
keep the Neasham legacy going.
“After my dad retired, I knew I still wanted to stick
to menswear and tailoring so instead of running
the shop I decided to go and work for Gieves and
Hawkes, the Savile Row tailor,” Richard explains.
“I ended up being there for 16 years, then roughly
about eight years ago I set up on my own as a
travelling tailor, so I’ll travel and go to businesses and
homes, I’ll go with all my cloth books and measuring
tapes. Just after we came out of the COVID-19
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