FT features TfW
I was thrilled recently to be the subject of one of Mike Southon’s columns in the London Financial Times. If you don’t take the FT you can read the online version, Dresses for Success. Mike is someone who understands business on the human scale. He values the entrepreneurship of individuals and small companies without assuming they all want to become multi-nationals. And he knows that it’s as much about relationships as it is about products and marketing. We didn’t talk much about balance sheets…
These are the values I have come to recognise as the foundation for Tailoring for Women and in spite of the invigorating contact with clients and potential customers, designing and creating garments can be a rather lonely craft; more in common with the writer and painter than the actor or musician. So Mike’s encouragement throughout his interview was for me just as important as the kind words he wrote in his article. You can read his inspirational approach to starting a business in The Beermat Entrepreneur. And he reminded me that, in spite of all the hassles and hurdles, running a business can be fun – especially when you get to do the important creative work like designing and making as well.
With tailoring, respect for both the product and the client is essential. After all, the customer is also the display vehicle for the product. The garment has to reflect not only her (or his) values and status but also their professional and social impact, and personality. Unlike a painting, say, which can assume its own ‘personality’ free of human intervention, a dress or suit must work in symbiosis with its wearer. In fact, I believe a good tailor must also be a good psychologist, assisting the client to discover and enhance their own value and uniqueness, perhaps even aspects they were previously unaware of. Although I’m usually sceptical about TV ‘makeover’ shows, it can be a moving moment when a designer or stylist reveals to a surprised client a hitherto hidden aspect of their personality.
So thanks to Mike for reminding me that these are essential elements of any creative enterprise – especially important when submerged by the daily deluge of deadlines, bills and spreadsheets.
Photo: www.mikesouthon.com
Tags: entrepreneurs, FT, Mike Southon, tailoring and psychology
How exciting to be featured in the FT, Carol!
Congratulations on the FT feature!
This article really got me thinking… As my clients develop their perception of themselves, their vision of their future and I watch the illumination in their eyes as they discover the opportunities they can create in life, I wonder how this will be reflected in the clothes they choose to wear and how their newly discovered values will be portrayed?