THE BIG INTERVIEW
must perform in his assigned costumes . An answer can sometimes be one word – like the immediate but judicious choice of a garment . In a recent email I sent him asking whether he objected to something or the other , the answer flew back . ' None ,' he said as if to continue a sentence when even the odd pleasantry would be wasting time .
When it comes to a choice of simple clothes , he cites the indispensable but often elusive black T-shirt he has yet to find with a neck “ the higher the better ”. It is the kind of basic T shirt that many Japanese designers ( like Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto ) and label Cop Copine understand so well . He here also speaks admiringly of Uniqlo ' s underwear – “ Fantastic !” he enthuses . Such garments are basic but important foundations . And this reminds of the ultimately architectural nature of clothing . The basics are ideal elements for those who are too busy to fret over details . Put your clothes on with care – and then forget all about them opined Sir Hardy Amies . It really is a perennial lesson for all .
How times have changed . He recalls the norm of rehearsing a play in three-piece suit , similar to the unseen
announcers of Radio 4 , even up to the 1950s who donned black tie behind the mic . Even unseen , formality was regarded as essential , the better to deliver a voice with gravitas .
Callow , with a lifetime of costume memories , loves and has always done the effortless revolutionary style of Mario
“ My favourite suit ? The one I was married in – oatmeal flecks , beautifully cut . It is transformative ”
Fortuny and Paul Poiret . “ I ' ve always liked flow ,” he says . “ Oh and Coco Chanel of the 1960s for women was amazing but whether real human beings can wear it is another matter .”
Callow worked with the designer , Jasper Conran on My Fair Lady and found the experience compelling .
“ Jasper , at the time , was at the height of his existence as a couturier and famously dictatorial – and mercurial – which is always a tricky combination ,” Callow remembers . “ He was an emperor in his own sphere . He would be pushing people about the place and yanking bits of cloth . The costumes were exceptional . When we talked together , we got exactly what I wanted . Jasper and I understood each other immediately .”
When it does come to suiting ( and apart from the chic ensembles of Zegna ) Callow hugely admires tailor Tom Lutwyche . “ He made a most exquisite suit for me when I played Oscar Wilde . I love watching the art of the cutter . My grandmother was a seamstress – wonderfully good – and used to make fancy-dress for me .”
So , as might have been suspected all along , threads are part of his performing DNA . And as to the suit he would choose if he had only one choice ? “ The suit I was married in – oatmeal flecks , beautifully cut . It is transformative .”
And that is surely the essence of any element of fine tailoring . Indeed , it does transform but without subsuming any of the individuality of the wearer . Q
48 SAVILE ROW STYLE MAGAZINE