- Norton & Sons
- Fashion
- Branding
A new market for a heritage brand
Founded in 1821, Norton & Sons is a Savile Row tailor with a long and fascinating heritage. Lord Carnarvon was wearing Norton & Sons when he discovered Tutankhamun’s tomb, as was Henry Stanley when he met Dr Livingstone. Each bespoke Norton & Sons suit is unique, immaculately cut – and reassuringly expensive. By 2007, however, Norton & Sons was falling behind in a changing industry, and failing to attract the new generation of Savile Row savants. Our task was to bring the brand into the 21st century and attract a new market, without alienating its loyal customers.
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An identity for a young dynamic market
Having delved into the company’s DNA, we recommended emphatically that the brand identity could be modernised with no damage to its heritage. Once we had assessed the competition and created a customer journey, we began work on a new, contemporary identity that would acknowledge and emphasise the firm’s rich heritage, while appealing to a dynamic, younger market — ‘the Englishman at large’. The identity includes a redrawn version of Norton’s original crest, awarded in 1859 by the German Emperor Wilhelm I. The original, idiosyncratic wordmark was also redrawn and reinstated.
From loss making to full capacity
Beyond the logo, new stationery and retail material, we went on to design the more esoteric fineries of the Nortons experience: the clothing labels, signed by the cutters, tailors, and Patrick Grant and stitched into each suit; passport books that chart the progress of each suit’s creation; concepts for the interior design of the shop; and bespoke storage boxes for all the records, some of which date back over a century, and include invoices and patterns for Sir Winston Churchill.
The business went from loss-making to full capacity, with the Norton & Sons brand becoming a byword for the best in traditional contemporary tailoring.
