John Smedley - Men

Known as the creators of the World’s Finest Knitwear, John Smedley was established in 1784, and maintains the oldest manufacturing factory in the world. They craft beautiful, high-quality garments that are designed to last, made in England and distributed the world over. The John Smedley story began during the infancy of the Industrial Revolution at their factory in Lea Mills, Derbyshire where they are still located, over 230 years later. In 1784 the factory started life producing simple muslin fabric and spinning cotton, and in 1825 moved on to producing more complex garments using one of the first ever fully fashioned knitting machines, creating the original “Long Johns”. Beginning in the 1950s, John Smedley became the brand of choice for many famous faces, including Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and the Beatles amongst many others and by 1980, had established themselves as the go-to knitwear brand for British designers such as Dame Vivienne Westwood and Sir Paul Smith. The year 2000 saw the opening of their first London store and in 2013, the granting of the Royal Warrant of Appointment as a “Manufacturer of Fine Knitwear” by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Today, the brand continues to innovate and recent triumphs include the re-launch of their womenswear line at London Fashion Week in 2015. Proudly displaying “Made in England” on the tag of every garment they make, John Smedley has remained a British, family-run business, now managed by Ian Maclean an 8th-generation member of the Smedley family.