Emma Willis denim herringbone shirt, Jermyn Street

Emma Willis studied at Central Saint Martins and trained under bespoke tailors before opening her Jermyn Street practice. For autumn, she has woven Highland wool brushed into cotton in a tight diagonal, deepening the yarn to blue: a single fabric in a collection of twelve that shows how one tailor thinks about structure, restraint and the way cloth moves with a body rather than against it.

The herringbone catches light as the wearer turns. The weave sits between the formality the tailoring house demands and the casualness the fibres suggest, which is where the best shirts live. Willis offers it ready to wear, cut to standard proportions, and bespoke, measured to the individual client’s frame and preference. That distinction matters on Savile Row: the ready to wear serves those seeking the house’s aesthetic complete; the bespoke client shapes the piece to their own body and sometimes their own particular obsessions.

Willis works with mills across the UK and Europe, commissioning yarns that hold their structure through repeated washing and wearing. The herringbone will darken and soften with age rather than fade uniformly, a decision the bespoke client makes knowingly when they choose this particular weave. The autumn and winter collection ranges from traditional cottons to this blend, each selected for how it wears over time rather than how it photographs.

Ready to wear is priced from £195 for cotton shirts; bespoke commissions begin at £395 and are measured during a consultation at the Jermyn Street address or by appointment. Orders are open now, with ready to wear available for delivery within two weeks and bespoke commissions completed within six to eight weeks of measurement. The shop at 13 Jermyn Street is open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm. The full collection is visible at emmawillis.com.

Emma Willis studied at Central Saint Martins and trained under bespoke tailors before establishing her Jermyn Street practice, where she has built a reputation for shirts that prioritise fit and cloth over decoration. Her approach draws on the row’s conventions while questioning which of them serve the wearer and which serve only habit. The herringbone denim represents this philosophy applied to a single piece: a fabric choice that signals both formality and ease, neither surrendering to the other.

The twelve fabrics in the autumn and winter collection range from traditional cottons to the herringbone blend, each selected for how it wears over time rather than how it photographs. Willis works with mills across the UK and Europe, commissioning cloths that hold their structure through repeated washing and wearing. The ready to wear collection is priced from £195 for cotton shirts; bespoke commissions begin at £395 and are measured during a consultation at the Jermyn Street address or by appointment. The full collection is visible at emmawillis.com and at the Jermyn Street shop, where clients can handle the cloths and discuss fit preferences before ordering.

The distinction between ready to wear and bespoke on Savile Row reflects two different approaches to the same craft. Willis cuts the ready to wear to proportions that fit most bodies comfortably, allowing the cloth and the construction to speak. The bespoke process begins with measurements: shoulder, chest, sleeve length, collar size and any personal adjustments the client requests. A herringbone weave, viewed through bespoke tailoring, becomes a decision to work with cloth that will show its age and use honestly, darkening and softening with wear rather than fading uniformly.

Orders for the autumn and winter collection are open now, with ready to wear available for delivery within two weeks and bespoke commissions completed within six to eight weeks of measurement. The shop at 13 Jermyn Street is open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am to 6pm. Those unfamiliar with bespoke tailoring can begin with the ready to wear range; Willis’s consultation process is designed to welcome both established clients and those approaching a Savile Row tailor for the first time.

Imagery courtesy of Emma Willis (@emmawillislondon).