Netjets US Autumn 2022

SUITED UP
“People are coming to me for suits
and they’re buying the most elegant suits
I’ve ever sold in my career.”– Paolo Martorano
COURTESY EDWARD SEXTON
NEXT GENERATION
Dominic Sebag-
Montefiore is
carrying on Edward
Sexton’s subversive
traditions.
Facing page: Kevin
Seah leads the
way in Singapore’s
tailoring circles.
pinstripes; they’re going for double-breasted;
they’re going for peak lapels; they’re going for
dressy jackets and trousers with braces. They’re
choosing cloths like cashmere. They want luxury.”
And they want it from an under-the-radar purveyor
with pedigree whom Martorano personifies.
Across the pond in London, Dominic Sebag-
Montefiore, cutter and creative director at
Edward Sexton (edwardsexton.co.uk), is also
observing customers taking real joy in dressing
to the nines. “Bespoke tailoring is blooming into
something beautiful and special,” he says. No
longer is traditional men’s wear viewed as a
dour corporate uniform, reluctantly donned for
the workday. “Today, the suit is free to be an
icon of masculine elegance,” he explains, “or
something subversive.”
Sebag-Montefiore’s mentor, the eponymous
Sexton, knows a thing or two about subversion,
having earned legendary status as the cutter for
Savile Row insurrectionist Tommy Nutter, tailor
to 1960s London’s swingingest characters.
Today, Sexton’s house honors Nutter’s legacy,
remaining dedicated to making “clothes that
are striking, bold and timeless that are true
to our rebellious roots—dressing The Beatles,
Stones, Warhol, Hockney, and so on,” Sebag-
Montefiore explains. “We approach what we
do boldly and unapologetically,” he says. “We
have more freedom to be creative in what we
make than we have had in over 40 years.”
And yet, for all this talk of breaking with
tradition, Sebag-Montefiore says he’s acutely
conscious of the need to adhere to the oldschool
values of exquisite construction and
craftsmanship upon which Sexton built his
name. “Legacies are hard earned and easily
lost,” Sebag-Montefiore believes. “A reputation is
dependent on maintaining the standards that won
it. A legacy is kept by pursuing higher standards.”
The reputation of Australia’s oldest bespoke
tailors, J.H. Cutler (jhcutler.com), stretches
all the way back to 1884. When John Cutler
assumed the role of cutter at the family
business in the 1970s, he became the fourth
generation of his bloodline to run the company.
Over the years, John expertly catered to the
sartorial needs of a host of Australian prime
ministers, business leaders, top professionals,
and internationally renowned entertainers.
Unfortunately, none of John’s four children
chose to follow him into the trade, so when
he began pondering retirement, he was forced
to look beyond his gene pool for a successor.
Employed by John in 2009, Sam Hazelton has
been training to take the reins at J.H. Cutler
for the past 13 years. Now, with John retiring
to Tasmania, he’s poised to fulfill that destiny.
“It’s an amazing opportunity,” says Hazelton.
“I’m truly honored and I’m still getting used to
the idea. I’ve always known that the business
had incredible potential, and I’d like to really
explore that over the next few years.” He says
plans are afoot to refresh and slightly modernize
the brand, and to ensure the standards Cutler
and his forefathers established are kept.
“It’s difficult finding or training people these
days. Sadly, there’s no government-supported
tailoring apprenticeship program in this country.
58 NetJets