The Tamesis
These brands draw inspiration from classic menswear forms – suits, ties, knitwear, shirts and jeans – but without the stiffness and artificiality associated with them. “[We have] “People aren’t quite sure what they should wear,” Riley said. [these] Brands can explain. “
A less serious in-store experience sets P. Johnson and its contemporaries apart from their more traditional neighbors on Savile Row. “People who come to the store have all these stresses in their lives and when they step through that door they deserve an escape. There’s a saying in our industry that is take your job seriously, don’t take yourself seriously. I think that’s a lovely thing about the Australian attitude. We take what we’re doing seriously, we love it, we really care about it, but we have fun while doing it.”
P. Johnson’s Australian attitude also helped the founders create a brand identity that was different from those founded in London, New York, Paris or Milan. “We can pick all the best elements from North America, Europe, Asia, wherever and form our own perspective,” Riley said. “We’re going to take all these exciting things, all the best bits, and mix them together.” He compared P. Johnson’s tailoring to classic Italian styles, both designed for hotter climates than tailors in London or New York. In the past, the brand has worked with London-based photographer James Harvey-Kelly to shoot campaigns on Italian beaches and London’s terraced streets.
Still, in a nod to its roots, P. Johnson sells belts woven from kangaroo leather, a nod to the nearly extinct Australian bushcraft tradition. Each belt is woven by hand, a process that takes eight hours and requires a lot of skill and experience. “These things are beautiful and they are part of our native language,” Riley said.
The brand’s arrival in Mayfair is the culmination of a journey from Sydney to the heart of sartorial heritage. The store has been 17 years in the making, more than a decade after P. Johnson first opened a store in the British capital. This is a testament to P. Johnson’s approach: stick to your guns and grow over time. “We’re never in a hurry,” Riley said. “No matter what we do, we just want to do it well, do it slowly and do it hard.”
