Thomas Mason

I work with Thomas Mason since my beginnings in shirt making (i.e. since 1997). Its history and its experience makes it a major player within this industry.

Who is Thomas Mason? 

In England, Thomas Mason is, in 1750, one of the main entrepreneurs of the textile industry. In the middle of the industrial revolution, Thomas Mason seized a great opportunity in a sector that until then had only relied on a large manual component.

What opportunity? I'll tell you...

For centuries, in regions between Yorkshire and Lancashire, pieces were manufactured using old methods : spinning was done by hand, at home, then the fabric was made on hand looms.

Textile machines were subsequently mechanized, multiplying production by using hydraulic energy. At that time, an important waterway connecting Liverpool to Leeds, the yorkshire textile hub, was built and the first ships arrived loaded with cotton from the Caribbean.

Thomas Mason, who had guessed the potential, decided to found one of the first cotton fabric mills in Leeds, for shirts. The fabrics, which were already of first quality at the time, were used by the tailors of West End London for aristocracy and rich upper class and were then exported throughout the British Empire and elsewhere in the world. 

Thomas Mason and the masculine elegance

The industry founded by Thomas Mason then became a reference in terms of male elegance. Everything happens within the St. James' s district of London, where private clubs and manufacturers of shoes, umbrellas, hats and shirts were the most exclusive and, over the years, have been mainly located on the famous Jeremyn Street. This small street, near Piccadilly, has become the world capital of shirts. 

1914

Thomas Mason is called to leave for the first World War. Nevertheless, its industry continued to work tirelessly: new fabrics and treatments are factory tested to make the cotton waterproof and resistant. The helicopter pilots were the first to benefit from it, by the way. They wore special combinations made of cotton with dense weave which became impermeable to sea contact.

Thanks to this great innovation of the time, the fabrics Thomas Mason saved the lives of many airmen: London, with its famous Savile Row and Jermyn Street, is once again confirmed to be the centre of international male elegance.

The rise of Thomas Mason House

Thomas Mason factories flourished when the Duke of Windsor was elected the most elegant and aristocratic man. Turnbull and Asser became then the exclusive manufacturer of shirts of the English royalty. Comfort and colors finally became the pillars of fashion at that time. When turning the pages of the archives of these years, drawings and polychrome patterns are definitely what attract the eye.

Traditional masculine elegance is involved in this new fashion trend and brilliant stylists came to Savile Row, Jermyn Street and Carnaby Street. Clothing became colored, imaginative and amusing. Shirt became eccentric, ties typical and very flashy.

The 1990s and today

In 1992, English brands Thomas Mason and David & John Anderson were acquired by the Bergamo family Albini and their two centuries of history and tradition. Today, Thomas Mason fabrics, inspired by the collections of the historical archives, have descended into the continuous lines Silverline and Goldline. As for the seasonal collections they still represent a reference for lovers of British taste.

Why I have chosen Thomas Mason as my supplier for the shirt fabrics ?

It's very simple...

Their British inspiration at first. Their eccentricity in some of their collection in second.

When I choose my fabrics, I feel the quality of the cotton, made only with the finest threads in the world, which are Egyptians. This House has always known how to reinterpret its rich heritage in a modern and original way, through precious and colored fabrics.