Making The Cut Again in 2022: Marc Oliver & Wentworth Golf Club
It gives us great pleasure to announce that once again, Marc Oliver has been chosen to create the Wentworth Club Captain’s jacket for the fourth year running.
Making The Cut Again in 2022: Marc Oliver & Wentworth Golf Club
For the last 15 years, Marc Oliver has worked closely with Wentworth Club – the illustrious, members-only golf club based in Surrey where icons like Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Rory McIlroy, and even the late, great Seve Ballesteros have all gained major victories.
In a journal post late last year, we went into detail on the fascinating history of the club itself, and the more recent honour Marc Oliver holds in tailoring their captain’s jacket as well as their club neckties. It’s been a fruitful and fun relationship – one which has allowed us to tailor clothing for the club leadership, the CEO, and some of the world’s leading PGA players.
It gives us great pleasure to announce that once again, we were chosen in late 2021 to create the Wentworth Club Captain’s jacket for the fourth year running. As usual, the process of meeting a newly elected captain, and creating a blazer that brings out the best in him was a keen reminder of why we love the craft of luxury Savile Row tailoring.
Ally Hunter, a typically warm-hearted and proud Scotsman, was elected Wentworth Club Captain out of a pool of staunch competition. So narrow and drawn out was the race for captaincy that our own tailoring timelines had to be pushed to the limit!
That said, it was with the utmost pleasure that we were able to welcome Mr Hunter to our Savile Row studio to be measured for his captain’s blazer.
No Run Of The Mill Request
As well as being an amicable person to be around, we quickly noticed that Ally maintains high standards and possesses an incredible eye for detail. It was clear from the moment we met, that the blazer he wanted us to make would be no run of the mill request.
So to open up the field of ideas, we reached into the cupboard for a bottle of our 15 year old cask-conditioned Single Malt, poured a dram apiece, and relaxed into the flow of things. A leading question here and there from us, a gentle opening up of an idea, an exploration, a new direction. Then a lightbulb moment and a swift decision – so sudden that it seemed to have been waiting for Ally to uncover it all along.
The clubs’ colours demand that we make the Jacket form a luxurious Fine Super 100’s sage green wool, however the linings, detailing and personalisation are where we start to see the character and personality of each year’s club captain.
During our conversation Ally asked us if we felt his family tartan – Hunter Modern – would complement the green-based outer fabric of his blazer. We know from experience that there are as many as 7,000 tartans, and so there was a danger that it might not work. Sometimes a big part of being a tailor is helping clients realise what won’t work and why, as much as what will.
But to our delight, we studied the pattern, impression and detail of Hunter Modern Tartan, and realised it was absolutely perfect. We mutually agreed and instructed our master lining makers in Milan to design, create and dye an individual length lining from our finest lining materials. The process would have to take place over the Christmas holidays, given the time crunch, so a touch of patience would be required to get the very best results.
Patience Allows Perfection
While we love a client that knows what they want and when they want it, and enjoy the pressures of the job, any experienced tailor will tell you how pleasurable it is when a client is willing to wait to allow perfection.
Fortunately for us, Ally was prepared to wait just a little bit longer over the holidays to allow our craftspeople, logistical providers, and our head tailor to get everything just right – just as he wanted it to be. He knew he would be wearing the Blazer at some of the world’s finest Golf clubs – Augusta, St. Andrews, Bay Hill, and in the company of Golfing Royalty. He needed to look impeccable.
…And he did.
The Wentworth Club Captain’s Blazer, 2022, worn by Ally Hunter
Let’s take a closer look at the personal touches that went into the making blazer. It’s these details which mark a bespoke jacket as a true one-of-a-kind work – one of deep, personal significance to the owner.
We used a Half Canvas Construction which incorporates the finest horse hair – perfectly balancing durability and shape with mobility and weight (read more about half canvas and full canvas construction here). With a half canvas interlining, Ally could quite easily arrive at the 18th hole on a Spring day without breaking a sweat or harming a fibre of his jacket.
The revered Wentworth club emblem was expertly weaved using a metallic golden thread that beautifully offsets the sage green of the outer Jacket, before being hand sewn onto the breast pocket. To add that extra special panache, we brought in specialty cast gold-gilded blazer buttons embossed with the same club emblem.
The final flourishes came through the hand-made monogram and our own 2022 Wentworth Captain’s Label.
All in all, it’s a work we’re proud of, and a piece that Ally Hunter can wear with great pleasure.
Allow another to experience the last word in luxury tailoring with a Savile Row Gift Experience By Marc Oliver.
Check out our shop page, or get in touch to arrange a truly special moment for someone.
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