Tom Riley
This week Oliver Grand visited the opulent showroom of Sydney’s leading bespoke tailor. We asked Mr Tom Riley about his journey as a leader in his field, the key to kicking goals and the struggles.
On how P Johnson Tailors come to life.
P Johnson started as a travelling tailor about 7 years ago between Sydney and Melbourne. Patrick recognised a need for great value custom suiting with a strong understanding of styling and how to wear ‘sartorial’ clothing. He felt the need to bring this back to his home from his time and experiences in Europe, particularly the more approachable and relaxed approach from Italy which is a strong source of inspiration in the way we dress ourselves. We felt Australian guys needed a little understanding from European’s feeling’s towards dressing. We’d visit homes and offices and build our base of clients through a more intimate approach to service.
On life before P Johnson Tailors.
Patrick and I studied winemaking together in the very early noughties in Adelaide. It wasn’t his kettle of fish really, but we bonded over the art of dressing ourselves and this underlying passion for clothes, and life in general. Patrick was Adelaide born and bred with some earlier years on a merino producing station and I grew up in country Western Australia. Perhaps our less than cosmopolitan backgrounds meant that we approached our passion with a lighter heart. From the beginning we never took ourselves too seriously. Rather than the average view of tailoring being something strict and stuffy we really enjoyed the fun in it.
On P Johnson’s suiting philosophy.
Suiting is still very relevant and everything we do in terms of construction and our approach to dressing suits is always about making them more relevant. You hear the word elegance a lot in the suiting world, but I think we’re about more than that. We believe it should be more dynamic, more sportive and more fresh. Technical improvements in cloth and construction will always push things forward and broaden the wearability in different contexts where sartorial wear can be used and accepted.
On the art of balancing business and creativity.
We always think that passion and excitement should lead the charge – the indomitable energy that will make the business successful, a fire under the creativity. Business after that is just logic. Our staff are what constitute our ‘business’ so we aim to make them as best as we can and then stick to goals of producing the best value suits. We also strive for the best possible approach to servicing our clients needs and development in dressing themselves.
On the biggest perk of having your own business/working for yourself.
Travel! We get to Italy a lot. It’s inspirationally so important to us. It’s the home of ‘how to wear a suit’ and it never fails to impress. We work hard and have to remind ourselves to enjoy the ride sometimes but whenever we reflect it’s not really work. I love my staff, I love being part of their life. This means a lot to Pat and I.
And the challenges.
Eyes on the goal! Always… Most problems you can figure out, we’re usually the cause after all!
Any advice for others starting their own business?
Make sure you’re doing it for the right reason and that shouldn’t be to make money (hopefully that happens as a result), but to make a change in something, to enlighten someone, provide joy, or relief, or a new perspective. If you do this I’m sure it will work.
On the secret to staying focused and innovative.
Don’t forget what you like, it’s easy to get distracted or overly influenced and affected. But at the same time always be open to change in yourself and your perspective. Innovation is a requirement like any other, it’s just a course of events derived from a need somewhere. If you don’t do it you just don’t really do anything I guess!
There is a definite stiff association with suiting. What are your thoughts on this?
I don’t think there need be any stiff associations with the suit or being a “gentleman” as it is sometimes suggested. Being a gentleman is simply “being good”, and wearing a suit doesn’t make you a “gentleman”. I feel it’s a bit of a pity there is a renewed stricture around the idea for some. I think it’s about the comfort of the person and their ability to be themselves and get on with life. It should be a secondary concern in our lives. We want to take care of it for guys, and allow for all types.
On the differences between US and Australian customer.
So far our US customers are perhaps just a little more cautious with us (they want to know more as we are new there), as they should be too, having some Australian guys suggesting how they should dress is a leap of faith! But i think the reality is that anywhere on earth there are a collection of men who invest thought in this approach to dressing and they are who come to us at the outset. We really try to understand our customer and build a strong picture of who they are before we attempt to make them anything, so we feel the same applies in the US as it does in Australia.
What can we expect next from P Johnson Tailors?
In the pipeline is some ready to wear outerwear and some ‘resorty’ knitwear. Very exciting. We will always make incremental additions so we can complete the process for more of our clients. We’re not in any rush.
All photos Trevor King
