Power Tailoring, Redefined: Inside Savile Row’s First Women-Only Tailoring House

Gormley & Gamble create Bespoke Tailoring for Women of All Ages and Stages

Step inside Gormley & Gamble — the pioneering, female-led Savile Row tailoring house creating bespoke suits for women that blend precision, confidence, and empowerment.

Sometimes, off-the-peg just doesn’t cut it. For women who want clothes that command attention, fit flawlessly and tell their story, bespoke tailoring has long been out of reach — especially north of the border. The art of a sharply cut suit has, for too long, belonged to a man’s world.

But change is in the air. Whether you’re investing in a power suit for that new executive role or dreaming of your own Bianca Jagger-style white suit moment on your wedding day, Gormley & Gamble are rewriting the rules. This all-female team — the first women-only tailor in Savile Row’s storied history — are bringing their expertise to Edinburgh for a limited time with their Trunk Show at Gleneagles Townhouse, and they’re offering Hood readers an exclusive perk.

Women Designing for Women

At the heart of Gormley & Gamble is a powerhouse team of women redefining what Savile Row tailoring means for a modern female client. Founder Phoebe Gormley launched the brand in 2015, becoming the first woman to open a women-only tailoring house on the Row. A Forbes 30 Under 30 alum, patent holder, Google AI Visionary and UKRI Smart Grant winner, Phoebe’s achievements are as impressive as her vision. Her work has been spotlighted in The New York Times, The Times, Financial Times, Vogue and the BBC, while awards such as Marie Claire’s Woman of the Future, Women in Retail’s Rising Star and Great British Entrepreneur of the Year reflect her pioneering spirit.

Alongside her, Rosie Holden heads up the atelier, working hand in hand with clients to design each piece from scratch. Having honed her craft in London’s leading fashion studios — creating red-carpet gowns for A-listers and samples for Fashion Week — Rosie brings deep technical mastery and an instinctive understanding of fit. She’s passionate about helping clients uncover their “wardrobe persona,” translating their lifestyle and confidence into bespoke cut and cloth.

Completing the trio, Jemma Hunt blends creativity and strategy, leading both client design and the brand’s marketing and operations. With a background in fine silk work and experience at some of the UK’s most respected fashion houses, her attention to detail is second to none. Her philosophy is simple yet resonant: to create garments so loved you miss them whenever they’re at the dry cleaners.

Introducing the All-Female Gormley & Gamble Team

We know a bit about Phoebe’s early start interning on Savile Row and Jermyn Street from age 15. How did that training and early professional experiences shape the vision for this brand?

Gormley & Gamble, founded in 2015, became the first women-only tailor in the history of Savile Row. Phoebe’s journey began as a teenager, shadowing cutters along Savile Row and Jermyn Street, where she fell in love with the artistry of tailoring. After enrolling in bespoke costume design at university, she quickly realised that her one hour of lectures a week left plenty of time to dream up something bigger. By the end of her second year, she made the bold decision to leave and invest her tuition fees into starting a tailoring house of her own. Her parents agreed on a Friday — by Monday, she was back in London sourcing suppliers. The name Gamble nods to the leap she took, swapping academia for entrepreneurship.

That early immersion taught her the reverence of hand-finishing and precision cutting, but it also revealed a gap: women deserved the same ritual and respect as men in tailoring, without the intimidating environment. This conviction became the heartbeat of G&G — creating a space by women, for women, where confidence is stitched into every garment.

To this day, the vision is shaped by clients. Everything, from fabric sourcing trips to Italy to the fine-tuning of silhouettes, is done with individual women in mind. The team curates fabrics and designs tailored to clients’ lifestyles, body shapes, and ambitions — so each piece doesn’t just fit, it empowers.

Rosie, how did you come into the picture? What experience, skills or passions do you bring to the business?

I joined G&G five years ago and honestly fell in love with it from the very beginning. My favourite part of the job is that first bespoke fitting — watching a client see themselves in clothing that finally fits and flatters. For many women, it’s the first time they feel truly seen in their clothes, and the confidence that brings is electric.

Our clients often come to us feeling defeated by the high street (and even Bond Street!), but they leave knowing we have the perfect pattern block for them. From then on, it’s as simple as sharing what they’re dreaming up next — we’ll send swatches to their home or office, and six to eight weeks later, they’ve got a new piece in a cut that makes them feel unstoppable.

One client even nicknamed her first commission “The Gateway Suit” because it opened the door to a whole new way of dressing. Since then, she’s built an entire wardrobe with us and climbed right to the top of her career. We can’t take all the credit… but the suit certainly didn’t hurt!

What made you decide to build a women-only tailoring house ?

At its heart, it was about one simple truth: women deserved the same rituals and standards as men, without the intimidation. Two things really crystallised that vision. First, women had so rarely been given access to a space designed entirely around their needs. And second, we kept hearing the industry say that women were “too difficult to satisfy.” That only fuelled our determination to prove the opposite.

From day one, we wanted to solve real problems with clever, beautiful engineering: modesty buttons that stop blouses gaping, pockets that actually work, extra seam allowance for life’s changes, waistcoat adjusters for the perfect cinch. We design for the wearer, not the hanger.

Women’s bodies are wondrous and ever-changing — through babies, hormones, menopause, surgeries, and new silhouettes — and our tailoring embraces that. We’ve dressed women returning to the boardroom after baby number two, mothers of the groom wanting to feel fabulous after a double mastectomy, and women navigating the shape-shifting world of menopause. Whatever the chapter, our promise stays the same: tailoring that’s beautiful, thoughtful, and powerful — clothing that helps women walk into any room feeling ready to own it.

How have your individual backgrounds influenced how you run the business — from design decisions, to customer experience, to company culture?

From the start, we knew we wanted an all-female team — the foundations were always going to be infinite amounts of girl power. Just as importantly, we wanted to stand apart from other tailors serving women on the Row. Our vibe is warmth and friendliness — like a really good mate who has your back — not some stuffy traditional space that makes you feel less than the extraordinary woman you already are.

Our fittings begin with listening. We ask about the pieces you love and reach for most, the ones that sit unloved in your wardrobe, and the colours that make you feel alive. From there, we co-design garments that live in your top 5% percent, not your bottom drawer.

Our backgrounds in fashion, fine fabrics, costume design and couture sewing all feed into how we design and deliver clothes that work with women’s lives. We collaborate with British, Scottish, and Italian mills, plus a UK silk printer for custom linings, so every piece performs in real life and feels quietly extraordinary on the inside. The result is tailoring that isn’t just beautiful — it’s uplifting, empowering, and deeply personal.

What strengths do you each bring?

Phoebe brings pattern philosophy and a future-first vision for womenswear on the Row. Rosie brings fit intuition and a gift for translating lives into looks. Jemma brings styling clarity, wardrobe building and that final eye that makes clients say “yes, that one.” Together, decisions feel calm and collaborative, which is exactly the point.

How Does it Work?

What is the design ethos of G&G?

Clients work closely with our fit consultants to design garments that are unique to their lifestyle and aspirations, choosing from an extensive catalogue of fabrics and samples. A crease-proof mohair blend is perfect for the seasoned traveller, while a stretch wool offers just the right amount of give for life on the go. It’s these small details, combined with a masterful eye for cut and fit, that make a G&G piece so enduringly stylish. Our tailored classics are an investment for every day — luxurious yet completely wearable.

Where do you source from and why?

From the finest mills in Britain, Scotland and Italy, plus a UK silk printer for custom linings. It keeps quality high and close to home, with cloth that ages beautifully and feels at its best in Scottish winters and London boardrooms alike.

What are the influences that you bring to the designs?

Our clients are the biggest influence — it’s all about them. Cut always comes first, and then we add subtle wit: a Liberty-lined blazer, hidden embroidery, pockets that actually work. We’ve dressed CEOs commanding the boardroom with their children’s nicknames stitched into their linings, solicitors walking into their very first day in court, Saudi princesses preparing for weddings, thought-leaders taking the stage, TV presenters under the lights and even celebrities stepping out in style. Each woman’s tailoring has to be as remarkable as she is, and that’s what inspires every detail we create.

Who do you design for or appeal to?

Quite simply, we design for women of all ages and stages. Our youngest client was 13, our oldest 96 — and everything in between. Founders, lawyers, creatives, diplomats, brides, and brilliant women in public life all trust us to create tailoring that works as hard as they do, while making them feel wonderful.

We’ve dressed women stepping into their first day at a FTSE 100 company, standing tall at state occasions, and running some of the biggest companies in the world. We’re lucky to have groundbreakers and thought-leaders on our books, but it’s often the personal stories that move us most. Like the mum who gifted her daughter a suit to celebrate her first big job supporting the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street, or the dad who wanted his daughter to look razor-sharp for her first day at Harvard Business School.

At its core, our tailoring is for women who want clothes that reflect their power, their personality, and their place in the world.

You work with women globally — how do you make that work and get the same results as an in-person appointment?

We host trunk shows and private consultations in key cities, and when travel isn’t possible, we run remote fittings that deliver the same precision and care. This year will be our very first time in Edinburgh and we honestly cannot wait!

Once we have a client’s patterns and measurements on file, future commissions become wonderfully simple. Many women come to us for a full wardrobe fit — we’ll measure them for jackets, trousers, silk shirts, coats, dresses, skirts, even t-shirts — and from then on they can reorder effortlessly from anywhere in the world.

For our VIP clients, we’ll even travel out to them (we have a minimum spend for this service!). At the end of the day, our clients and their wardrobes are our main priority, wherever they happen to be.

Why do you think it has taken so long for a women-only company to come through in this sector, and what benefits does it have for your female customers?

Savile Row is an exceptional place, but it was historically built around menswear. Tradition runs deep, and when we first started out it could feel a little unwelcoming. But we believed it was time to carve out a space for women — especially as women are now dominating in fields once considered “male.” Why shouldn’t they have outfits that empower them to match?

There’s no better feeling than slipping on a custom-made piece, catching your reflection, and thinking, dayum, I look good! For too long, women were seen as “too tricky” to tailor for — with bodies that shift month to month and stage to stage. But that’s exactly what makes it exciting. We design with that in mind, building in details and flexibility so garments evolve with our clients.

What has been the feedback?

The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive — just read our reviews! Clients describe the experience as the warmest and most enjoyable shopping they’ve had in years. We pride ourselves on being the friendliest, most unintimidating tailoring house, and that energy shines through in the clothes.

Our aim is always “precision with warmth.” The garments we create are designed to become everyday staples, the kind that take the stress out of the morning what-to-wear dilemma. Clients often tell us they feel taller, calmer, and more themselves in a G&G piece.

Many women return to build full wardrobes because the clothes quietly solve problems they’d long accepted as “normal” — from gaping shirts to trousers that never quite fit. Once you’ve felt the ease of clothes tailored perfectly for you, it’s almost impossible to go back to off-the-peg. Our repeat order rate speaks for itself.

What are your pinch-me wins so far?

There have been so many moments that have made us stop and pinch ourselves. Early on, we were recognised with national awards and we were profiled in features that helped tell our story to a wider audience. Phoebe’s selection in Apple’s Behind the Mac celebration of British creators was another very special milestone.

But the real pinch-me moments are always about the women we dress. From outfitting the CEO of the London Stock Exchange, to helping a recent divorcee feel unstoppable in a knockout suit for negotiations, to dressing women reclaiming their bodies after health battles — we’re often our clients’ secret weapon.

Launching our trunk shows internationally was another huge step, as was receiving an Innovate UKRI grant to push innovation in tailoring. The list goes on, but what ties it all together is the privilege of empowering extraordinary women, one garment at a time.

Discover Gormley & Gamble in Edinburguh

The Gormley & Gamble team will be in Edinburgh for a limited time — and trust us, appointments are set to fill fast. As a Hood reader, you’ll receive an exclusive perk: a complimentary silk lining upgrade (worth £100) from their in-house 100% silk collection when you book your bespoke piece. Simply enter HOOD25 in the “How did you hear about us?” box when booking your consultation to claim your upgrade.