Kilgour cutter Del Smith returned to one of the most memorable and enduringly elegant appearances on film for inspiration for this pair of bespoke evening tails.

The tails that Fred Astaire so famously performed in in Top Hat were made for him

by Kilgour in 1935. Also numbering Louis B. Meyer and Edward G. Robinson amongst its customers, Kilgour – founded in 1882 and the latest member of Savile Row Bespoke – enjoyed a special relationship with the golden age of Hollywood.

In response to a client’s request for new evening tails, Del undertook a fascinating, in-depth study of Astaire’s appearance in Top Hat and noticed that his tails featured some special details to allow him more freedom to move. For example, additional material was included in the sleeve draping and the roped sleeve head on the shoulder line was designed in a more flexible, athletic way. The edges of the waistcoat were also rounded off in contrast to the more usual, angular finish, which was one of the more intricate details that the exacting Astaire requested himself.

Del incorporated these details into the new tails which, to ensure they remained as close to Astaire’s originals as possible and pay homage to Kilgour’s 130th anniversary, were made from a stunning Holland & Sherry Super 130s fine herringbone.

“It took hours upon hours of watching the film and searching through old Kilgour, French and Stanbury (as Kilgour was known in 1935) archives to pin down the type of cloth and identity of the original cloth merchants,” says Del.

“The most challenging part of making the garment was creating the shoulder line. We saw that Fred Astaire was very small, almost like a boy, when we looked back at the records. To bring the suit up to date for the modern man of today, I had to make it look more masculine without being top heavy, paying particular attention to the shoulders.”

The end result is a unique, markedly elegant and perfectly functioning bespoke garment that perfectly demonstrates Kilgour’s ethos of aligning tradition with innovation.

The tails, plus two other Kilgour evening suits, will be on display to all as a part of Savile Row Open Day, a part of London Collections: Men, on 8th January 2013.