25/07/03
By William Geogiades
Ever-escalating competition for highflying first-class passengers is spurring airlines to outdo one another with an array of decadent services. Virgin Atlantic’s “Upper Class” already offers flyers limo pickup, drive-through check-in, airport clubs amounting to tiny spas, and a full bar and a masseuse onboard. This month it added two more perks: bespoke tailoring in the Heathrow clubhouse and new seating on their aircraft.
A few months ago,Virgin’s dapper billionaire owner, Richard Branson, 53, had a navyblue suit made by Dress 2 Kill, a four-yearold tailor shop based in South London with a reputation for fine craftsmanship and low prices. (Indeed, Dress 2 Kill’s relationship with the traditional Savile Row tailors could be seen as a parallel to Virgin Atlantic’s relationship to staid British Airways.) The suit was made after only one fitting, which gave Mr. Branson another business idea — he invited the tailor to set up shop in the Virgin clubhouse at Heathrow Airport to offer made-to-measure suits, with a single fitting, which would be sent to customers anywhere in the world four weeks after the measurements were taken. The Virgin lounge at JFK will begin offering the service in February 2004.
Last week, having already had two lunches, a round of drinks, a massage, and a facial in the Heathrow Virgin lounge, I visited Dress 2 Kill’s curious space at the clubhouse, located beneath a spiral staircase. Consultant Victoria Stebbings, who works for James Hibbert and Shirley Biggs at Dress 2 Kill,sat surrounded by fabrics and patterns and told me that after being at the clubhouse for just three weeks the tailoring service was averaging four suits a week. Mr. Hibbert later added that they broke even within the first month of business there.
It’s not hard to see why — the entire process involves only 20 minutes of measuring, which I was assured is done with great discretion. Should your body shape change drastically in the four weeks it takes for the suit to show up, alterations can be made by sending the suit back to London and having it sent back to you wherever you may be.
Suits begin at $520 and go up to $1,268 for cashmere, which is surprisingly economical. The same morning that I visited Dress 2 Kill, I had been looking at ready-to-wear suits on Savile Row that were selling for $789, including a 40% discount.
What kind of a person decides to get a suit made while waiting for a flight? So far, they tend to be bound for New York, London, and Philadelphia. Ms. Stebbings told me that Dress 2 Kill’s business in general tends to get “sort of wedding-y” around the summertime, with “quite a few [bride]grooms” ordering morning suits and dinner jackets. Of course, a lot of people drop by out of curiosity, occasionally dressed in tracksuits. Last week legendary Savile Row tailor Ozwald Boateng happened by (he was not wearing a tracksuit) and had a look around, wishing the venture good luck.
In another bid at upping its luxury quotient,Virgin also introduced new fully reclining seats this month in its Upper Class, the largest seat, according to Virgin, of any airline worldwide (including rival British Airways). I asked Ms. Stebbins whether one’s suits could be measured while in transit, sitting in the 79.5-inch bed — the measurements could then be transmitted to the passenger’s destinations and he could exit the plane entirely rested with a brand-new ensemble awaiting him as a part, say, of the Upper Class service’s amenity kit. Ms. Stebbings considered this for a moment. “Not just yet,” she said.
The new seating was installed at a cost of about $80 million in conjunction with PearsonLloyd and Softroom, two design agencies based in London. The reclining position can now be retained for take-off and landing, and a new configuration gives everyone aisle access.
Last Wednesday, Mr. Branson announced the improvements (which will debut on flights between New York and London in August and will be on all the airplanes at Heathrow by next spring) with a typical flamboyant gesture: slicing a British Airways seat in half with a chainsaw at Gatwick airport.
For the stunt, Mr. Branson was outfitted in denim overalls and a hockey mask, taking the “dressed to kill” ethos rather literally.