Liam and Sam Fayed grew up in London observing their father run Turnbull & Asser, the storied Savile Row men's clothier he acquired in 1986, a year after its centenary. And while their own men's line, Bespoken, draws from the bespoke method, as the name makes perfectly clear, it also has its roots in rock 'n' roll, from the time the brothers had a band.
Now all grown up and based in New York, the brothers Fayed still say their label is part Savile Row, part rock 'n' roll. For Fall, however, Bespoken was much less rocker than commuter. At the Turnbull & Asser showroom on 57th Street, Liam described how they'd been noticing the innate stylishness of white-collar workers in transit, their office attire layered in utilitarian coats and knit scarves. So he and Sam jazzed up the straphanger look with double-breasted coats over double-breasted jackets (some with a slight stretch), a slim blazer made entirely of neoprene, other blazers worn over thin sweaters, a herringbone biker jacket (no leather), and a Rorschach-like marble print for shirting.
Fabric innovations included a shadow-dyed iridescent wool, for visual richness, and a Japanese nylon heat-sealed at the seams. Traditionalists will gravitate toward a particularly heavy (in a good way) black flannel coat, twice the density of regular wool, as well as a camel topcoat and a tuxedo jacket with a grosgrain lapel—for satin is far too fancy. Let Turnbull & Asser outfit the British male monarchs in their finery, as it has for decades: Bespoken is building its own image on that of the thoroughly modern man.
