LONDON — Ever since “The Bear,” the business of luxurious T-shirts has been on a trajectory and brands are banking on the opportunity to add a personal touch to an everyday item.
The British brand Sunspel has launched a bespoke T-shirt service exclusively at its new men’s-only store on Jermyn Street. The brand has been making luxury T-shirts since 1908.
“It’s very important for us to stay on this street; we’ve only moved a couple doors down [to a bigger space]. We’ve seen growing business here [on Jermyn Street] year-after-year and since our soft launch in August, we’ve seen some very positive results,” said Raul Verdicchi, Sunspel’s chief executive officer.
The brand’s bespoke T-shirt service seems to be going down well with customers. A T-shirt can take up to four weeks to be completed, but it’s more than just a basic garment — it has the complications of a Savile Row suit with every inch, fabric weight, color and customization taken into consideration.
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Verdicchi wants to roll out the service to the other 10 Sunspel stores.
Since May 2023, Sunspel has opened four stores — three of them in the U.S. and its current London relocation, as well as refurbishing its Chiltern Street space.
Verdicchi said the brand is further investing in more openings.
The British brand’s direct-to-consumer channel accounts for 45 percent of sales, followed by retail with 35 percent and the remaining 20 percent from wholesale.
“Since Nicholas Brooke bought the company in 2005, we’ve been growing double digits and during the COVID-19 pandemic, it grew by single digits, but it was still on a high,” he added.
This year the brand has found nuggets of growth in the North American, German and Japanese markets so far.
“Online is particularly important because [the customers] already know the product. They know what to expect,” said Verdicchi, listing T-shirts and polos as Sunspel’s number-one category online and in its brick-and-mortar stores.
Sunspel has found success in consistent design and store aesthetics.
The brand’s Jermyn Street store is every bit quiet luxury and it retains it with the high ceilings; gallery-like interior color palette of white, cream and cocoa brown; William Plunkett chairs, and fabric displays showcasing its rich history dating all the way back to 1860 in Nottingham, England.
There’s even a corner for the famous faces who have worn the brand on screen or stage, from Nick Kamen stripping down to his white boxer shorts in Levi’s 1985 launderette commercial to Daniel Craig’s Riviera polo shirt worn in “Casino Royale” and the bespoke ivory merino silk polo neck that Kristen Stewart wore in her role as Princess Diana in “Spencer.”
Sunspel’s fabrications remain a guiding star for Verdicchi, a Ermenegildo Zegna Group veteran who joined last year. “There was a very, very high level of attention toward detail, craft, story and heritage in my past experience and it’s exactly those elements that are extremely important in Sunspel’s fabric business,” he said.
