Thom Sweeney designers: 'Tailoring and watches go hand in hand'

Collecting watches is a natural fit with making clothes, the duo behind the top Mayfair boutique tell Teo van den Broeke
The best-dressed tailors in town: Thom Whiddett (left) and Luke Sweeney boast an impressive watch collection between them
Rupert Peace
Teo van den Broeke27 November 2015

There are very few creative directors who look good enough to wear the clothes they produce. Tom Ford, sure, and maybe Stefano Pilati at Ermenegildo Zegna, but that’s about it.

Thom Whiddett and Luke Sweeney, the handsome duo behind modern British tailoring house Thom Sweeney, are another addition to the fortunate few.

Perfectly turned out in their self-made bespoke suits and with not a hair out of place, the pair — who founded their eponymous company in 2007 with a view to producing “grown- up yet modern clothing” — now make suits for London’s young and discerning men; Michael Fassbender, David Gandy and Dermot O’Leary included.

While Sweeney (36) sharpened his shears working for his father on the high street side of the fashion industry, Whiddett (35) acquired his taste for menswear during an internship at Esquire magazine in 1998.

The pair met working for east London tailoring leviathan Timothy Everest in the mid-Noughties and the rest, as they say, is history.

Aside from being the best-dressed tailors in town, Sweeney and also boast a rather impressive watch collection between them.

Top 10 truly classic watches

1/10

“I got my first real watch in 2007 when I got married,” says Sweeney. “It was a really simple Rolex Datejust in silver. I started researching and reading and [watches] became a bit of an obsession.”

He continues: “[Tailoring and watches] go hand in hand, when you start making clothes for yourself it’s a really natural thing to get into. I’ve built my collection based on my outfits.”

Thom Whidett and Luke Sweeney's watch wardrobe

Patek Philippe 18ct gold Calatrava

“This one has sentimental value, it was a gift from my wife for my birthday. I’m still a novice but Patek Philippe is the next level up from Rolex in terms of investment. It’s the ultimate for a watch collector.

"This is a great piece, it’s a dress watch with a black strap, it’s incredible and special, and it feels great with a tux. The level of work that goes into these things is incredible. It was new when I got it but people think it’s vintage, it’s got an understated, vintage look to it.” — Luke Sweeney

Vintage Omega Seamaster 1960s

“I bought this watch during my old flatmate’s stag do in Amsterdam. It was our second day and I wanted to do something productive, so I randomly walked into a watch shop (probably when I was a bit drunk) and bought this 1966 Omega Seamaster.

"It was made in the year England won the World Cup but that wasn’t the reason I bought it. I also liked it because it was slim and understated, it went with everything.” — Thom Whiddett

IWC Portugeiser

“This was a 30th birthday gift to myself, it was the first proper watch that I bought. I didn’t wear them before that, I didn’t see the point if I couldn’t wear a nice one. I wear it as a casual piece now.

"At the time IWC seemed like the watch, it wasn’t too blingy or too big. It just seemed a bit understated for a new watch, and relatively small. It seemed like a watch I could wear in the future.” — Thom Whiddett

1972 Gold Rolex Datejust

“All-gold Datejusts with gold faces are hard to come by. I’d been looking for one for about a year, with the box and papers they’re very hard to find. There’s a dealer from Sheffield whom I’ve worked with in the past, he called me and said he’d found one and that was that!

"This one’s got a black leather strap; it’s kind of understated. I can’t wear all gold as it looks too pretentious. It’s a really cool watch, and because it’s vintage the gold has become a bit distressed, it looks like its got history.” — Luke Sweeney

1978 Vintage Rolex Red writing Sub Mark VI

“When you read the watch collector’s rule book you learn that the Rolex Submariner is a good starting point for a collection. This is a great watch, I wear it casually, it goes with blazers and trousers and knitwear; it’s a beautiful piece. The Mark 6 has become a real collectors’ item.

"When I bought mine it was an investment piece and over the years it’s gone up in value. I put a brown suede strap on it but I’ve got the original strap (it’s really important to keep the original strap when you collect vintage watches). The only one I’ve kept the original strap on is Daytona. Most of mine have leather or Nato straps.” — Luke Sweeney

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT