Last year, Savile Row experienced a surge in suit sales, with a number of tailors – Richard Anderson and Huntsman & Sons among them – reporting that bespoke orders had reached, and even eclipsed, pre-pandemic levels (the term ‘bespoke’, coincidentally, traces its origins back to the sartorial street, when cloth earmarked for a commission was said to ‘be spoken for’). Now, gents in the market for some custom-made suits and form-fitting formalwear have a new address to add to their little black books – Number 25 of neighbouring Old Burlington Street: the expanded home of Thom Sweeney.

Aesthetes may recognise that address as the former home of the Stephen Friedman Gallery. The contemporary art curator has relocated to 5-6 Cork Street (another update for your little black book), allowing Thom Sweeney to knock through from its mock-Georgian home at 24C, and expand into a space that’s lighter, brighter and far more redolent of sunny LA and Miami (where the tailor also has stores) than the gunmetal London outside. The ground floor is dedicated to the company’s ready-to-wear line, while upstairs is where customers are fitted for bespoke and made-to-measure commissions.

During construction, Luxury London was invited for a hardhat visit, and watched as builders struggled to find a drill bit big enough to bore through the several metres of concrete that separated the two addresses. The nuclear bunker levels of aggregate that had to be breached delayed launch by several weeks, yet the expanded store opened in October with the swagger of a brand that in less than two decades has built a reputation to rival any of its fêted neighbours on Savile Row. (You might, with merit, argue that it’s done more in that time to maintain the relevance of English tailoring, both at home and abroad, than any other house.)

The backstory, to condense 18 years of blood, sweat and shears into a couple of paragraphs: Thom Sweeney was established in 2007 by Thom Whiddett (Kent) and Luke Sweeney (Essex), who met while working at East London tailor Timothy Everest (Whiddett on bespoke; Sweeney on made-to-measure). The duo set up in a six-by-six room in Stratford Place, opposite Bond Street station, before moving into a larger space in nearby Weighhouse Street.

The pair launched their first ready-to-wear collection on Mr Porter in 2013 – a year after David Beckham wore a Thom Sweeney suit to help open the 2012 London Olympics – before marking a move to Mayfair’s Bruton Place with a party attended by, among others, David Gandy, Matt Smith, Jamie Redknapp and Dermot O’Leary (the presenter having worn a Thom Sweeney suit for his wedding). The brand relocated to its current Old Burlington Street address in 2020, where customers can still make use of a custom-built pool table and copper-clad cocktail bar.

“I remember Thom calling me and saying he had seen the perfect home for us,” says Sweeney. “Once I walked down Old Burlington Street, I knew he was right. It’s right in the thick of the action, but it has its own charm. It has a completely different feel to Savile Row and Old Bond Street. It almost feels like a village in Mayfair.”

Reflecting the brand’s most recent store openings in Los Angeles and Miami, the extended part of the London flagship features warm boating woods, polished chrome detailing, and a modern aesthetic that complements the original townhouse next door. On the ground floor, menswear mavens can browse Thom Sweeney’s ready-to-wear collection, featuring the brand’s signature refined tailoring, elegant casualwear, slim-fit shirts and British- and Italian-made knitwear. Highlights from the Autumn/Winter 2025 collection (seen below) include new textures and colours in a revised knitwear range, double-breasted suits in an incredibly soft virgin wool, and a re-worked series of classic aviator bomber jackets.

The floor above is home to the tailor’s bespoke and made-to-measure services, where there are more spacious fitting rooms, while at the rear, a private walled garden serves as a quiet retreat for clients. “The minute we found out we could link the two buildings, we knew we had something special on our hands,” says Sweeney. “We had outgrown the existing space and needed extra room to offer our clients. The new extension helps us serve and showcase the ready-to-wear collection on one floor, and bespoke and made-to-measure above, in a much nicer environment, but still maintains the charm of our townhouse next door.”

Thom Sweeney's bespoke suits, constructed in Old Burlington Street, typically require three fittings, 80 hours of handiwork, and are usually delivered within a 10-week timeframe. Made-to-measure orders are created by fitting customers into one of the brand's ready-to-wear garments, then making changes to its pattern to improve fit. Thom Sweeney's made-to-measure tailoring is made in the same Italian workshop as its ready-to-wear garments downstairs.

“The extended space sits exactly in-line with our two new spaces in LA and Miami. The finishes and colours all have the same DNA – even down to the playlists that play across all our stores.” Next spring, Thom Sweeney will open a new flagship on New York City’s Madison Avenue. “We’re very excited, it’s another fantastic space. Same vibe, same level of service as our London store. We’re hoping to open in March – do come and say ‘Hi’.”

Visit thomsweeney.com