Hand and Lock Embroidery

Golden Shears Award 2009

Congratulations to Andrea Nixon, Hand & Lock Prize entrant who received the Rising Star at the Merchant Taylors’ Company Award Ceremony, on March 16th.

Created in 1974, the Golden Shears initially rewarded the Top Tailor of the Year within the Federation of Merchant Tailors. The Golden shears were awarded to the tailor whose clothes, using non-professional models (often themselves!), were judged for fit, style and suitability to the wearer, in addition to the skills of cutting and tailoring. Over the years, the aim of the competition evolved and the Golden Shears were presented to the business with the best training record. New evolution and changes, led to a new turn in the competition. In 1998, recognising its traditional support for education, the Company decided that the Golden shears should henceforth be focused on students who were on dedicated tailoring courses, as well as trainees in industry.

Last Monday 16th March 2009, the Merchant Tailors’ Company gathered members of the Company, Tailors from the Row and other members of the industry for its annual Golden Shears Award Gala Catwalk Show held at the Merchant Taylors’Hall in London.

26 tailored garments were presented on the catwalk. All the finalists’ work had already been awarded marks for technical skills – design, cutting and tailoring – by some of London’s top bespoke tailors. The final judging took place during the Catwalk show, where a VIP panel marked the style element. Judges of the Show included:

• Executive Producer David Furnish;
• Director of Design for Aston Martin Marek Reichman;
• Fashion Editor Caryn Franklin;
• Journalist James Sherwood;
• Director of Norton & sons Patrick Grant;
• Director of Henry Poole & Co Simon Howard Cundey.

This year the Golden Shears Award goes to the following:

• Andrea Nixon’s Rising Star presented with a special award of Silver Shears and £1000 for a Rising Star. Andrea presented a hand woven green lambswool jacket and skirt
• The Silver Shears and £1,500 goes to Paulo Nicodemi who was just finishing his apprenticeship with Anderson & Sheppard. Paulo presented a tweed shooting jacket with pleats and plus two’s with vestcoat.
• Finally, the Golden Shears and £2,000 goes to Rory Duffy who is currently doing an apprenticeship with Henry Poole & Co. Rory presented a frockcoat and kilt in navy/cream window pane tweed.

All Hand & Lock’s team will like to offer its congratulations to Andrea and the other finalists who dazzled the audience that evening, particularly Rory and Paulo. As the Merchant Tailors’Company would say they are definitely ‘The Master Tailors of tomorrow’.