Eleven young cutters were awarded their Savile Row Bespoke Association’s Apprenticeship Certificates at the Master Tailors’ Benevolent Association’s summer party on Friday, 6th July.

SRBA technical committee Chairman Philip Parker of Henry Poole & Co provided the introduction to the awards ceremony held at the Merchant Taylors' Hall, acknowledging the impressive achievement of those who had successfully completed their apprenticeships, while board member Michael Skinner of Dege & Skinner presented the certificates.

Philip Parker paid just tribute to the master tailors, apprentices, Kimberly Alsleben of Henry Poole & Co and the staff of Newham College, not least course examiner Su Thomas, for the part they have played in ensuring the success of the apprenticeship scheme.

Run in tandem with Newham College, the highly successful apprenticeship scheme offers the best training in bespoke tailoring in the world and works to ensure that Savile Row remains the acknowledged centre of master tailoring.

This was the Master Tailors’ Benevolent Association’s final summer party before it is merged with the Tailors’ Benevolent Institute to form the Bespoke Tailors’ Benevolent Association.

The successful apprentices and their respective houses:

Dege & Skinner:
Emma Martin (Voted BBC TV’s ‘Young Tailor of the Year 2012'),
Nina Penlington,
Natasha Mokshanaj,
Tristan Thorne.

Gieves & Hawkes:
Wai Yee Wong,
Richard Lawson.

Henry Poole:
Emily Squires.

Huntsman:
Philippa May,
Vanessa Whitehouse,
Christopher Bull.

Richard James:
Victoria Townsend.

Photography by John Stone.