Mark Powell (clothing designer)

Mark Anthony Richard Powell (born London November 11, 1960) is a British fashion designer whose emphasis on bespoke tailoring has gained a celebrity clientele with custom from actors George Clooney,Daniel Radcliffe and Martin Freeman, rock stars and style icons Bryan Ferry, Mick Jagger and Paul Weller and supermodel Naomi Campbell.

Powell's dandyism, keen sense of fashion history and mix of references from the Edwardian era to the present day has been recognised as contributing to the resuscitation of "great British bespoke ".

Powell - who has produced collections for Marks & Spencer and collaborated with fashion brands Mulberry, PPQ and Michiko Koshino - is associated with London's Soho area, having operated from the locale for more than 25 years; his latest venture is the shop Mark Powell Bespoke in Marshall Street, London, W1.

Powell started his fashion career at King's Road retro boutique Robot in the late 1970s and developed an interest in made-to-measure when commissioning garments from the Robot outlet in Floral Street, Covent Garden.

In 1984 Powell opened his first shop, Powell & Co, in Soho's Archer Street, stocking suits and menswear in the style of the sharp East End characters of his childhood. This was the first manifestation of what was later to become known as "gangster chic"; among Powell's clients were the incarcerated Krays.

By the early 90s, when he was operating from a top-floor studio in D'Arblay Street Powell had a customer base including Jagger, Ferry, Vic Reeves, who sported Powell's neo-Edwardian suits for his TV appearances, and George Michael, who wore a Mark Powell suit for his performance at The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert.

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Wikipedia