Drake's ⭐ Top pick

Make things that people can and will want to wear, for years and years to come. No disposable fashion. Handmade textiles, in our own workshops, with materials we know by name.

1977. Michael Drake, Jeremy Hull, and Isabel Dickson leave Aquascutum and open a workshop in London's East End. Three veterans of a great house wanting to do things their own way. First product: men's scarves. Not ties - those come later.

The workshop sits steps from Spitalfields, where French Huguenots wove silk in the 18th century. Drake's fits into that lineage even if nobody claims it. Ties arrive quickly, then pocket squares, always handmade, always in London. High-end boutiques in Paris, Milan, Tokyo and New York place orders. Drake's remains a supplier, not a consumer brand.

Michael Drake retires in 2010. Michael Hill, his right hand and creative director, takes over with Mark Cho, co-founder of The Armoury in Hong Kong. The shift is clear: Drake's moves from discreet supplier to full brand. In 2011, the first shop opens at 3 Clifford Street, between Savile Row and Bond Street.

In 2013, two decisive moves. The tie factory relocates to 3 Haberdasher Street - everything under one roof. And Drake's acquires Rayner & Sturges, a shirt factory in Chard, Somerset, with 35 employees. Drake's shirts are now made in England. The heritage Cleeve brand, owned by Rayner & Sturges, is relaunched.

Grenadines are the signature. Woven on wooden looms dating to 1928, from high-twist silk yarn. Three-fold construction, full-length slip stitch, hand-rolled edges. Ties run £150-200. Shirts £150-250. Tailoring - unstructured jackets made in Italy - came more recently.

Flagship at 9 Savile Row. New York store on Canal Street opened 2022. Queen's Award for Export. But the heart remains Haberdasher Street, where a team makes by hand what machines make elsewhere.