Bespoke Tailor
A Bespoke Tailor is a qualified artisan who produces tailored garments that are cut and made for an individual. They work with great precision to a high standard of excellence. Bespoke Tailors need to be precise, creative, and highly skilled in relation to garment construction.
What would you do?
A Bespoke Tailor works closely with a Bespoke Cutter, as a team they would create the tailored garment stage-by-stage, conducting fittings with the client as appropriate. The Tailor is responsible for assembling the garment, preparing the garment for fittings, amending the garment construction, completing final alterations and hand finishing the garment.
Day to day tasks include:
- Basting and stitching garments
- Preparing garment for fittings
- Making alterations
- Pressing and hand finishing garments
Where would you work?
A Bespoke Tailor is usually based in a workshop within a tailoring house. The workshop is often attached to a shop where the tailoring service materials and accessories are displayed and business and fittings take place. The workshops are usually well lit, and contain specialist equipment, mannequins and a cutting table. There are many tailoring houses across the UK and some offer a travelling tailor service, giving employees the opportunity to work abroad, particularly in cities such as New York, Paris and Milan.
What would you be paid?
For a typical working week of approx. 39 hours
- Trainee bespoke tailors starting salary is on average is £19,00 to £22,000 per year
- Trained bespoke tailors salary is on average £26,000 to £30,000 per year
- Experienced bespoke tailors salary is on average £40,000 to £50,000 per year
Pay rates vary depending on age, experience, location and the size of the company. Additional benefits may include company discounts, pension and health care. Many companies offer overtime and bonuses in order to meet deadlines.
Bespoke Tailor Apprenticeships: Employers, by law must pay the government’s apprenticeship minimum wage rate. Research shows that many tailoring employers supplement this rate of pay. https://www.gov.uk/national-minimum-wage-rates
Will you need qualifications or training?
This career starts at apprentice level and the length of training varies depending on specialisms, Saville Row Bespoke recommend 4 to 6 years for those specialising in cutting, 3 to 5 years for those specialising in tailoring coats and 2 to 3 years for those specialising in tailoring trousers. www.savilerowbespoke.com
A Level 5 Apprenticeship in Bespoke Tailoring and Cutting gives an excellent grounding and professional experience in bespoke tailoring, for more information, routes in and provider detail go to www.bespokeapprentice.com for more detail on the apprenticeship standard click here.
Qualifications and short courses relating to this job role are offered by a number of awarding organisations including ABC Awards, City & Guilds, Pearson, SQA and UAL, for more detail please follow the links.
What are the career prospects?
With experience, a Bespoke Tailor could become a Master Tailor within a tailoring business, develop a new business and become self-employed, working on a freelance basis, or move into supervisory, production management or training.
How secure is the future of this career?
The UK’s world-class textile manufacture base is growing, thriving and continually investing. Sector employment continues to grow steadily from 97,000 in 2011 to 108,000 in 2016, with an added 19,500 self-employed and research estimates the creation of 20,000 new jobs by 2020.
The number of UK textile & apparel manufacturing businesses has increased annually from 7190 in 2013 to 8075 in 2017 with forecast of further growth.
Textile goods exported across the globe continues to grow with export increases recorded at £250M in March 2016 to £273M in March 2017.
UK Fashion & textile manufacture covers traditional craft to technical textiles and has a production value of £9.1BN, add the wide fashion sector this increases to £28.1BN sector – 4.7% of the total UK economy.
For further information go to: www.ukft.org
Where can you find job vacancies?
Vacancies are advertised across the UK with concentration in London, the Northwest, West Yorkshire and the Midlands. Check out the latest vacancies on the site below:
Indeed
Total Jobs
Reed
Drapers Jobs
Bespoke Tailor Apprenticeship vacancies:
Apprenticeships at this level need applicants with experience. Apprenticeship vacancies many be found on the job sites listed above or via the Find an Apprenticeship’ Service. For further information, advise and tips on how to apply for an apprenticeship vacancy see the UCAS site apprenticeships–in-the-uk
https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship (Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales)
https://www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk/apprenticeshipsearch (England)
The websites above are external and the number of job vacancies may vary. Check daily to see new opportunities as they are posted!
Interested?
Websites associated with the Bespoke Cutters role: