From the Editor
A Note on the Ninth Cycle
The 2026 cycle has been marked, more than any prior year of the Bespoke programme, by the breadth of considered submissions from outside Europe. The chamber received forty-one candidates from East and Southeast Asia, more than double the number registered five years ago. Three of the eight recognitions conferred this year are held by Asian houses, with a notable cluster in Bangkok where successive generations of family-run ateliers continue to uphold construction standards that have grown rarer in their European counterparts.
The Heritage Atelier category, in particular, has rewarded continuity of practice across generations. Of the candidates considered for this citation, the chamber gave particular weight to documented family lineage of practice, the maintenance of in-house cutting and stitching capacity, and the survival of the candidate's standards across leadership transitions. The recipient of this year's Heritage citation passes those tests by a considerable margin.
The Modern Bespoke and Value categories have likewise rewarded a particular form of merit: the candidate who upholds the construction standards of bespoke practice while extending its accessibility, whether through clarity of process, fluency in client engagement, or the deliberate moderation of pricing.
— Edmund Hartley
Editor-in-Chief, Bespoke Programme
