An Audience With Royalty David Shreeve MBE
Recently, Marc Oliver had the honour of working with David Shreeve ahead of his MBE Ceremony at Windsor Castle as part of the King’s Birthday Honours.
<span style="font-size:18px; display:block; opacity:0.7;"> An Audience With Royalty </span>David Shreeve MBE
The Co-Founder and Director of the Conservation Foundation, and the Environment Advisor to the Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England, David Shreeve has long been a champion for conservation.
So much so that on February 7 at Windsor Castle, he received an MBE from his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in recognition of more than 40 years of service to the environment.
For an audience with the Prince of Wales, it’s important to look the part. While plenty would have plumped for a brand new outfit, Mr Shreeve – ever the environmentalist – decided to enlist the help of Marc Oliver’s Wardrobe Alteration Services.
What an absolute honour it was. And what a fine promotion for the benefits of tailored clothing, and a tailor who cares about the lifespan of garments.
Note that in the picture above, Mr Shreeve’s dapper suit was far from brand new. But it was refitted and spruced up to be as good as brand new – as were all the suits in his wardrobe.
Food for thought – Savile Row Tailoring by Marc Oliver might well be the last word in luxury clothing and customer experience, but it’s also a wonderful antidote to fast fashion’s impact on the world around us. Savile Row tailoring epitomises timeless elegance, emphasising quality over fast, throwaway fashion after all. Our approach aligns with principles of sustainability not only by crafting garments that last a lifetime, but that can be refurbished and altered, refreshed and reimagined.
Indeed, we also worked with Mr Shreeve to completely recreate an old favourite shirt. One of the finest he’s ever owned, tailored from Egyptian long-stranded cotton and made quite uniquely, with a distinctive semi-cut away collar. Though his own had aged over the years and was getting a little worse for wear, Mr Shreeve had tried many times to find the same style of shirt, but to no avail. Another great reason to hire a tailor who knows what they’re doing. We were able to recreate it exactly, cut by hand, to match his old favourite.
As for the old one? No need to worry – that was reclaimed, recycled, and the fabric will be going into somebody’s next new favourite shirt.
As Mr Shreeve donned his suit at the awards reception ceremony, we felt immense pride not just his award symbolised for him and his work, but for what his outfit symbolised – a dedication to conservation, to treating one’s own clothing with the respect it deserves. Witnessing Mr Shreeve receive one of the highest honours, clad in a suit refitted by Marc Oliver, underscored the significance of tradition, style, and sustainability.
Check out our shop page, or get in touch to arrange a truly special moment for someone.
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