London’s Beaumont Hotel has to be one of our favourite haunts in the city. When it opened in the Autumn of 2014 we couldn’t wait to foxtrot it over for a Knickerbocker Glory and a Bloody Mary in the Colony Room restaurant and people watch in the bar.
The hotel was inspired by its architectural setting, the Macy Building; a 1920s deco garage and renovated into the hotel that it is today by living hospitality legends, Chris Corbin and Jeremy King. Its deco and bon viveur decadence was further inspired by the fictional founder and proprietor of the hotel, Jimmy Beaumont, conceived by Jeremy King.
Jimmy Beaumont was raised in America and the son of a Hotelier. Growing up around the sons and daughters of the country’s East coast and mid-West elite he was socially set-up for life. Educated at Yale, he graduated to work for the likes of JP Morgan and then to The Knickerbocker and Alqonguin hotels. A stint in London’s hospitality industry during the First War gave him a taste for the city and a weakness for the sartorial offerings of Savile Row and Jermyn Street. Returning to New York, he worked as Manager of the Plaza Hotel before progressing to GM of the St Regis Hotel in 1923. Disenchanted by the prohibition and depression within the country and the repression of the Big Apple, he set his sights back on London and its embrace of all things Transatlantic.
Jimmy opened the Beaumont Hotel in 1926, securing a place for both himself and the hotel on the society map. A destination for the likes of Gershwin, Coward, Dietrich and the Sitwells to name but a few of its glamorous guests, it was the place to be and be seen. Guests were seduced not only by the hotels decor and charm, but by Jimmy himself, a vivacious yet elusive and enigmatic character.
As part of London Craft Week, selected tailors on Savile Row, together with our good selves at Budd are bringing together a capsule wardrobe conceived and inspired by Jimmy Beaumont. This includes a smoking jacket and tuxedo, through to business suits and leisure wear. Our contribution, created by bespoke cutter, James Macauslan includes an historically accurate marcella dress shirt, a neckband shirt with detachable collar and a baseball shirt, inspired by Jimmy’s time at Yale University and photographs from the time. Each contribution reflects our ability to interpret style and character and showcases our prowess in cutting and construction. James is possibly our most creative cutter and it was only logical that he take on the project.
LONDON CRAFT WEEK is an annual event that showcases exceptional craftsmanship through a journey-of-discovery programme featuring hidden workshops and unknown makers alongside celebrated masters, famous studios, galleries, shops and luxury brands across the Capital. The event runs from 3- 7 May.
The festival’s Chairman, Guy Salter, OBE MVO, eloquently defines it thus:
“London Craft Week is a response to a renaissance in the appreciation of creativity and craft; to the role of hand, head, unique skills and true talent. It is another example of what, at its best, the world’s creative capital does so well – mixing glamour with cutting edge; heritage and contemporary and the commercial with the cultural.''
For more information on London Craft Week and the Jimmy Beaumont capsule collection, please visit the link below:
http://www.londoncraftweek.com/events/jimmy-beaumont-capsule-collection#sthash.a0kkI4gg.dpuf
We shall be showcasing our three bespoke shirts in homage to Jimmy Beaumont in our windows throughout the week of Monday 1 May 2017 and at a celebratory dinner at the hotel itself on Thursday 4 May.