LONDON — Savile Row-trained tailor Abbie Leach presented her first collection from her bespoke label Abbie Leach Atelier at The Columbia hotel last Thursday.
Neutral-hued pantsuits, double-breasted tuxedos and skirt sets ebbed and flowed around the models, who strutted around the Victorian banquet hall.
“Everything’s been done by hand,” the designer explained post-show.
The collection included a cropped blazer with intricate embroidery.
Courtesy of Abbie Leach Atelier
“I wish you could see the insides of the garments, because the time, the stitches and the work that has gone into them means they’re made to last,” Leach added.
Before founding her custom-order brand in 2021, she trained on Savile Row, London’s street synonymous with men’s tailoring, later going on to work with Harris Reed.
While she learned invaluable skills, as one of a few female tailors, Leach said her Savile Row experience was disheartening.
A look from Abbie Leach Atelier’s first presentation.
Courtesy of Abbie Leach Atelier
“I was belittled by the tailoring industry. I stopped sewing for a year and fell out of love with it. Working with Harris [Reed] gave me my confidence back,” she said.
“It was an unwelcoming environment. But there’s now amazing groups like Women in Tailoring, which is an organization that focuses on female tailors getting apprenticeships, work and really hustling,” she added.
But while Leach is glad to see the industry growing more inclusive, there are also hallowed traditions she brings to her brand — each look was the result of four painstaking fittings, and each garment is able to be purchased straight off the runway.
