Meet Joanna Spreadbury, Huntsman Apprentice Coatmaker and the esteemed winner of the 2025 Golden Shears Award. This prestigious competition was established to inspire skilled young tailors and nurture a new generation of makers. Joanna’s winning garment was a striking cobalt blue, double-breasted trouser suit that earned its commendation for both aesthetic and technical precision.
Continue reading for our Q&A with Joanna.
What does winning the Golden Shears mean to you?
It's an absolute privilege to receive recognition and reward for a project that pushed me to see my potential with what I was capable of creating.
What inspired your garments?
I looked at the incredible art that was all around me as we work sandwiched between Hauser & Wirth and the Royal Academy, and I wanted to create garments that were artworks in and of themselves. I wanted to make a statement piece that empowered the wearer to take up space.
Can you share a little bit about the design of your garment?
There were three key elements: colour, shape and texture. I wanted a bold and playful outcome, so I worked on large lapels, dramatic folds that move with the wearer and a strong cloth that was rich in colour and would make well for a striking silhouette.
Were there any challenges you faced in the preparation for your submission that you were proud to overcome?
Figuring out the folds in the trouser pattern. For a while, I was working on creating a pleated trouser pattern, but these would usually disperse over the thigh, and I was determined to have them continue to the hem. After many discussions, it became clear that I needed to create a plain trouser pattern that had folds inserted into it in a concertina fashion. After this point, the dots all connected, and it was onto the prototype stage for fold testing!
Are there any lessons you took away from this experience that surprised you?
I don't like sewing buttons on, haha, but surprisingly, I actually quite like making buttonholes! Aligning each stitch one by one like the teeth of a comb became a little win every time.
If you had a message for other young aspiring tailors, what would it be?
Resolve to be a sponge to absorb as much training and advice from the highly skilled people around you. There is so much skill and wisdom all around, and people often want to share their experiences with you if you are able to listen. Ask questions, work hard, get it done.
How does it feel to win the GS?
Incredible, the finalists' work was exceptionally strong, and it was such a fun experience to see our work on display and share it with our friends, family and mentors.
How did you come to be on Savile Row?
I wanted to learn how to sew to the highest standard and figured the best in the world was on Savile Row. In truth, I walked up and down Savile Row with my CV, prayed about which shops to go into and after meeting lots of different people, someone asked me if I could use a thimble and pad some canvases. That was 5 years ago, and it's taken time, but after being a trimmer at Huntsman for some time, I am now 2 years into a coat-making apprenticeship here.
What's your experience of the GS been like?
I had a tight deadline, as I knew I was going away 3 weeks before the final submission date, so I would say the experience has been intense, challenging and rewarding. The best advice came from my mentor, Dave, who said to front-load as much as possible, so I spent a lot of time, in the beginning, working on the areas I knew would be most challenging to me, and then I was able to really get going with the areas where I was most confident.
Why womenswear?
It was an opportunity to ask the questions I wouldn't usually get to ask some of the most highly skilled tailors in the world. The project began with a very plain two-piece suit idea, which then grew as I became more confident in asking questions and realising the potential of my skillset. I knew this opportunity wouldn't likely come around again so I went out of my comfort zone wherever possible in order to learn and grow, and I think that's evident in my final garments.
Why folds?
Good question, I like the shadows cast by light changing over frames and walls in a gallery, particularly with natural light as it travels during the day. I wanted to incorporate seven folds as a nod to the length of a full week and orchestrate the folds to ripple from waist to hip as the wearer strides through the day
Did you always want to be a maker rather than a cutter?
I always knew I wanted to understand the making. In this trade, one helps the other, and I appreciate that now more than ever. Understanding why or how someone else does the corresponding part of your job helps with the overall make and finish of the garments.
Why do you want to make coats?
For me, it's the construction of the garment that is most interesting. At one point I thought about going into engineering, and I think the methodical process of creating an outbreast welt pocket or attaching checked facings is so satisfying to me it makes me want to learn more.
What does the future look like for you?
Aha, well, only God knows; I very much want to see my apprenticeship through and continue to learn from the fantastic talent and wisdom at Huntsman. I couldn't ask for a better training experience, and I know there will be many others who will continue to champion the craftsmanship of bespoke tailoring after me, too.