Simon Cundey’s family have been tailor-making men’s suits for seven generations, taking 37 measurements from every customer through the Great Depression and two world wars. The tailor’s arsenal of chalk, scissors and thread were put to work every weekday since the company was founded in 1806, until March 2020 when the government ordered almost everyone to work from home.
“If there’s one thing you can’t do at home, it’s measure people for suits,” says Cundey, who has worked for his family firm, Henry Poole & Co, tailors on Savile Row in London since his early 20s. “The pandemic is, by far, the worst crisis the business has ever faced. It is far worse than the Great Depression or the wars ever were.
