Photo Credit: Horst Friedrichs

Editors' Notes

Lock & Co, the oldest hat maker in the world and founded in 1676 by Robert Davis, is one of the companies included in Horst Fredrichs' new book, Best of British (Prestel).

Photo Credit: Horst Friedrichs

Editors' Notes

The historic wood-paneled John Lobb store, included in Best of British (Prestel), is located on St James's Street, London.

Photo Credit: Horst Friedrichs

Editors' Notes

A last at John Lobb, makers of bespoke boots and shoes, included in Best of British (Prestel). The craftsmen must pull the leather upper over the wooden last and nail it gradually in place. Getting the right tension and making the upper perfectly straight is not easy.

Photo Credit: Horst Friedrichs

Editors' Notes

The Walthamstow factory, included in Best of British (Prestel), where menswear, leather goods and accessories maker Dunhill is staffed by skilled artisans like Tomasz, the senior leather craftsman who handles all bespoke leather goods.

Photo Credit: Horst Friedrichs

Editors' Notes

James Smith & Sons, makers of umbrellas and walking sticks, included in Best of British (Prestel). James Smith founded the umbrella maker James Smith & Sons in 1830 in Foubert’s place, off Regent Street.

Photographer Horst Fredrichs—seeker of all that is artisanal and achingly mod—has trained his lenses on the factories, storefronts, workers, machinery, looms, endless bolts of fabric and spools of thread of 14 storied British makers in his new book, Best of British (Prestel). Aside from visiting heritage companies in London, he traveled to South Shields to the Barbour factory (known for coats with a signature wax finish), to Scotland to photograph knitwear maker Johnstons of Elgin, to Derbyshire for a visit to wool mill John Smedley, to Wales for a look at argyle sock maker Corgi, and to other such locations where legendary UK brands still employ traditional production techniques. A series of essays and extended captions for the images penned by Simon Crompton, of the blog, Permanent Style, who was also along for the ride, provide a running narrative linking the origins of these businesses to the present iterations of each company. Fredrichs, a Frankfurt-born photographer who has already chronicled the looks sported by Londoners who travel by bicycle in his 2012 book, Cycle Style and recorded their denim proclivities in 2014’s Denim Style, captures both the machinery, the labels, and the workers, in equal measure, depicting a fascinating visual history of British style. There’s even a map of the British Isles dotted with company locations and addresses. At these brands, provenance is quite clear.

By Elizabeth Varnell

Pictured: Lock & Co, the oldest hat maker in the world and founded in 1676 by Robert Davis, is one of the companies included in Horst Fredrichs’ new book, Best of British (Prestel).
Photo by Horst Friedrichs