Richard Langford Head of Brand Marketing - Colmore Tailors.
So, having spent the last 25 years hopping between global marketing agencies, event companies and a few random businesses of my own, I finally stepped foot off the train at Birmingham New Street, walked up Temple Street (avoiding a few cheeky espresso martinis in the fabulous Botanist) and took a lift in Cheltenham House to what will now be, for the foreseeable, my corporate home – Colmore Tailors.
Having now taken that lift to the second floor, I’ve quickly come to realise that this new role is going to be more like taking on a new course of higher education. As soft tailoring, for those of you that don’t know, is not dissimilar to the fast-paced world of FMCG, or the convoluted world of high-end luxury goods, but rather it’s an amalgamation of the two – with the added complexity of having to craft a bespoke result every time - whilst being delivered via a unique one-to-one retail environment. Or as Colmore Tailors calls it, the brand journey.
Those who shop at Colmore Tailors are looking for something unique, that is experience driven. However, the demand for a one-to-one tailoring service with a quick turn-around, without compromising on quality, is always present. Combine that with a growing footfall of modern gents, who desire to be part of the technical process is an even bigger challenge. Welcome to modern tailoring!
Colmore Tailors is a brand ready for growth and it is keen to accommodate the increasing demand from eager gents hoping that the brand will solve their shopping quandary’s. This is modern tailoring and these gents are looking for style, luxury and freedom.
Colmore Tailors - Tailoring for the modern gent. Style, Luxury and Freedom.
But how do you take up the challenge without jeopardising the quality and the experience – and without undervaluing an industry that is stooped in centuries of tradition and heritage?
As Head of Brand Marketing, I’ve realised it’s not that simple to turn up here with sleeves rolled up ready to battle, armed with a rucksack full of marketing tricks (as I would have done for the beer brand, the almond milk, or the motor oil that I’ve worked with in the past). This industry needs to be understood intimately, from the ground up. There are a multitude of factors to consider when crafting a bespoke garment – from (literally) 1000’s of quality fabrics to numerous styles that will be worn by people of endless shapes and sizes. To achieve a perfect result requires knowledge, tenacity, tactfulness, and an acquired skill.
True tailoring is a skill that takes many years to perfect. So, it must be respected. To understand tailoring you must appreciate it, to appreciate it you must experience it. However, to be the best requires a much deeper kind of passion for the skill, and this is something that Colmore Tailors’ head honcho, Scott Caddick, has in abundance. Tailoring is a unique language that must be both respected and understood before you can tread freely within its complex world. To Scott, this all seems like second nature.
A few years ago I tried to learn French at night school. Since having a family home out in the Poitou Charente region of France I thought it useful, out of respect, to learn the language so that I could slip easily into the local culture. I see this a similar challenge with the same motive.
Unlike my shocking attempts to learn French, I hope that understanding tailoring will be more successful. With Scott (the Jedi Master of tailoring), by my side I’m sure that I’ll be able to explore, without boundaries, the world of tailoring. And once I understand, I’ll be able to facilitate the brands growth and develop the overall brand experience.
Richard Langford - Head Of Brand Marketing - Colmore Tailors
So, if you do see me around looking a little perplexed, or even if I seem a little inquisitive next time you visit, then rest assured I am simply thinking about ways to reach out, whilst looking at ways to add value to your own experience and journey.
