Gieves & Hawkes honours polar legacy at Onwards Expedition farewell

The Georgian façade of No.1 Savile Row has witnessed more than two centuries of Britain’s adventuring spirit. Long before the tailoring house claimed its address, the Royal Geographical Society occupied these rooms, planning expeditions across unmapped continents. On Tuesday evening, Gieves & Hawkes gathered friends and supporters within those same walls to mark the departure of Max Worsley and Martin Nesse, who set out today on a 1,349km unsupported ski journey across Antarctica to the Geographic South Pole.

The resonance runs deeper than geography alone. Henry Worsley, the accomplished polar explorer, once stood in this very building preparing for his own Antarctic expedition. His son Max now inherits both the address and the calling, a lineage of courage stitched into the fabric of British exploration.

The Onwards Expedition transcends the physical ordeal of reaching the South Pole. Through storytelling, education and outreach, the journey aims to illuminate Antarctica’s critical importance to our planet and kindle in young people a connection to nature and outdoor discovery that might otherwise remain dormant. Exploration, as the expedition’s philosophy holds, possesses the power to shift how we see the world.

Gieves & Hawkes, alongside fellow heritage brands Christopher Ward and Dewar’s, supports this ambitious undertaking. The partnership brings together British institutions united by appreciation for craftsmanship, adventure and the unshakeable spirit of discovery that has always defined exploration itself.

As Max and Martin embark on their extraordinary journey into one of Earth’s final frontiers, No.1 Savile Row once again becomes a threshold between the known and the unexplored, between inspiration and action.

Imagery courtesy of Gieves & Hawkes (@gieveslondon).