Huntsman and Emma Willis provide suits for injured ex-servicemen
Savile Row tailor Huntsman has teamed up with luxury shirt maker Emma Willis to provide bespoke and made-to-measure suits to help boost the confidence of of ex-servicemen with life-changing conflict injuries.
Emma Willis, based on London's Jermyn Street, started her charity Style for Soldiers 10 years ago after hearing of the difficulties servicemen faced when returning to civilian life. She began employing her shirt making skills to help boost their confidence and has now teamed up with the historic tailor, which was founded in 1849.
Huntsman CEO Pierre Lagrange said of the initiative: "As you’ll hear from the team at Huntsman, styling those soldiers in bespoke garments has been an extraordinary, uplifting experience for all, and I am grateful to Emma for her leadership that inspired us.”
Huntsman’s general manager Carol Pierce and cutter Anette Akselberg worked together with the retired soldiers, to create a suit expertly fitted to their different body shapes. Among the recipients of the suits are 25-year-old Shaun Stocker who lost both his legs and has been partially blinded after stepping on a landmine in Afghanistan. Stocker, who now works as a motivational speaker, will wear his new grey herringbone suit for his wedding in June.
Garth Banks, a soldier who was also injured in Afghanistan in 2010, and who now has two prosthetic legs, commissioned a suit with short trousers in what Akselberg described as “a bright, French blue.” “Garth is very into his clothes...and this particular colour just suits him so much,” she said.
“You feel quite humbled when you see these guys and all that they’ve been through,” added Pierce. “And yet they’re so appreciative of craftsmanship and teamwork, which is very much what they do anyway [in the army]. It was a very, very rewarding project.”
