No one has come up to me yet and asked can you take that image off your instagram or we’re going to sue you.
– Chris Kerr.
Daniel Craig dressed in Chris Kerr for a Sony TV Advert (image sourced ASYLUM TV)
Bespoke Soho tailor Chris Kerr has made suits for Vinnie Jones in Snatch, For Ian McShane in John Wick, he of course did the velvet suit for Mads Mikkelsen in Casino Royale. He’s currently working on the latest Mission Impossible film (Mi7), Peaky Blinders, Downton Abbey, amongst others.
For the podcast Chris talks about meeting Lindy Hemming and making the suits for Robbie Coltrane as Valentin Zukovsky. Those stories can be found in the book From Tailors With Love, available on Amazon.
We do have an exclusive for you here with Chris, when Matt asks Chris if he has tailored for Daniel Craig, we get a very surprising answer. An interesting chat, some of which I have transcribed for you below. It’s also up on our YouTube channel.
Hi Chris, a little bit about Chris Kerr the brand and your Father please the infamous Mr Eddie
CK: I started working with my dad in 1997. I left school at 16 and got an apprenticeship in print. I worked on purpose built computer systems that retouched photos and it was in-depth job. We’d spend all day retouching a photo for a magazine cover. But Apple came along with Photoshop, and it turned our reasonably well paid job into something the average 13 year old could do in their bedroom.
But that gave me the impetus to go up and do something else.
And your Dad tailored for quite a few famous folk
CK: My dad was very blasé half the time he didn’t know who he was making for. It didn’t really mean a lot to him it was just another job. I remember one day he came home and said,
We had a bunch of scruffy Irish guys in today. I think they’re in a band.
It turns out they were U2. So we then gave him a bag of all records and CDs and said get that lot signed then please thank you very much. But that was typical of him. He didn’t know who U2 was, wasn’t his generation. He was just happy to do the job.
Pierce Brosnan wearing Chris Kerr in A Long Way Down
Now cut to present day, you don’t just do contemporary tailoring do you
CK: We are quite good at different periods from 1850 onwards. Hence over the years we have picked up a lot of knowledge and we have a lot of literature about old cuttings. We’re not afraid to try some things. Some people don’t want to stray away from their house style and do things a bit different. I’m always willing to try something new or a different period.
Is tailoring for films different to individual clients?
CK:We don’t approach it in any different way. Maybe for stunt situations, many a designer will ask,
Well you don’t have to make this properly if you can get away with doing it.
Realistically its probably harder to try and not to do it the way that we do things. Every suit is made properly even the stunt ones.
Can you talk about it on social media and post photos of the actors wearing your suits etc?
CK: I have to be very coy and understated with all of that. I’d love to shout about a lot of things that we’ve done, but you do sign NDA’s (non disclosure agreement) and sometimes they are not keen for that association. So that’s fine. I do the job, and thats what you sign up for.
Generally I’ve found most designers are happy for you to put images out there on Instagram after the event. If you’re not revealing anything thats original content, most people are reasonably happy. No one has come up to me yet and asked,
Can you take that image off your instagram or we’re going to sue you.
Listen to the Podcast
The podcast is available to listen in the player below or on iTunes, Stitcher or Spotify. You can also catch our chat on YouTube. Be sure to give Matt and Chris follow on Instagram. Chris is available for an appointment through his website.
Credits & Further Reading
The images of Daniel Craig used to promote this article were sourced through Asylum FX. I recommend listening to the interview to get the relevancy.
