Remembering Charlie Watts
As Told By Huntsman Head Cutter, Dario Carnera
Dario was Cutter for Charlie Watts at Huntsman, contributing significantly to the wardrobe for which Charlie was celebrated. Together, Charlie and Dario explored all manner of styles, cloths and designs, even reviving vintage styles from the Huntsman archive. As is the case for so many Huntsman clients, theirs was a relationship built on trust, respect and a passion for craft, skill and tradition.
Ahead of the Concours event, Dario took time to reflect on his relationship with Charlie, and what it meant to be responsible for contributing to his iconic tailoring wardrobe:
Mr. Watts was a true gentleman and one of the most stylish individuals I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Charlie recognised and appreciated the art and craft of bespoke tailoring and, with every commission, imbued his own iconic sartorial flair, a testament to both his good taste and vision. He possessed a love for the signature Huntsman cut, which, coincidentally, lent itself so naturally to his own cool, elegant style.
Charlie was very fond of English tailoring, but as I soon came to learn, he also had an appreciation for classic Italian styles. His wardrobe was really an amalgamation of both; taking British standards and executing them with European nuances.
Being a slim man, he never wanted to feel that his suits were either engulfing him or cut too close. He favoured a soft shoulder line, and as he told me on numerous occasions, that he wanted a straight cut with “less silhouette”. We reflected this in his jacket patterns, with a less-waisted style. Whilst Charlie had several Huntsman signature single-button jackets, his preferred style was a three-button jacket that would roll to the second button. We call this a ‘three show two’ style jacket closure. He was very particular about where his lapel would roll, always rolling just below the top button, and over time this became a unique feature of how we would construct Charlie’s suits.
What Charlie loved most was tweeds, it’s really what originally drew him to Huntsman. Famously he’d love to find a tweed that would match his fabulous car collection, then commission a suit that he could wear whilst in a particular car.
He was particularly passionate about tweed, which is what made him such a natural fit for Huntsman. He appreciated how in tasteful application tweed could be incorporated in so many ways into one's wardrobe. From powerful and punchy designs, through to very subtle, classic styles of tweed, Charlie found a place for each within his wardrobe.
Every commission with Charlie was a collaboration. For him, visiting Savile Row and Huntsman was a whole day out. His favourite thing was to go down to the basement and the workshops and explore all of the vintage and out-of-production cloths stored. He’d find something he liked, and we’d discuss what we could create; if there was enough meterage left for a jacket, or a vest for example. This is exactly how he discovered the vintage cloth that inspired ‘The Springfield Stripe’.
The Springfield Stripe is a contemporary recreation of a length of vintage length of cloth discovered by Charlie. It’s unique for its broken, mottled stripe, so we spent a significant amount of time with Huddersfield Fine Worsteds to perfect this in the recreation. Upon reissue, the Springfield Stripe became an instantaneous best-seller, in both blue and grey, which is again a testament to Charlie’s good taste.
It was always a pleasure to make suits for Charlie, because he understood the time and labour required for a bespoke suit, and so he was never in a rush for anything. He was a very discerning client, but he’d rather wait for perfection than push to get an order hurried along. I think part of what he enjoyed so much was the anticipation of that next fitting, to see how his garment was progressing. As soon as we were due to complete a garment, he’d be ready to discuss what came next. He already had his eye on another cloth, or another style.
Whilst most clients have a single suit pattern that we will alter, adapt and amend through the course of their life, because Charlie was such a long-standing client, and given the breadth and diversity of his wardrobe we actually have several different patterns for Charlie, each created to incorporate the little nuances he liked to see in his finished clothes.
Charlie always liked suits, but also really enjoyed mixing and matching sports coats and waistcoats. His preferred waistcoat was a classic post-boy vest, that could be paired with his signature three-roll-two sports coat. Whether he knew it or not, the origin of the post-boy vest was a waistcoat that could be worn comfortably when seated on a horse.
With the gracious generosity of the Watts family, bespoke garments Charlie Watts wardrobe will be on display in Huntsman during Savile Row Concours 2024, on the 22nd & 23rd of May.