Fit for a King | A Helen Moore Bespoke Story
I’m going to take you back a couple of years.
I received a call from Vivienne at Renaissance Textiles, one of the most respected names in historic fabric conservation in the country. She had a problem, and she believed we were the people to solve it. King Edward’s fur throw at the Tower of London needed replacing. And she wanted Helen Moore to help do it.
I’ll be honest, this was not wasn’t on our vision board.
But this is exactly the kind of project we love. The unexpected. The brief that arrives out of nowhere and asks something of you that you’ve never quite been asked before.
We have built a reputation for working with the very best faux furs, but it’s not by accident. We work hard to find the best and dismiss anything that doesn’t meet our standard. You can see it. And of course, you can feel it, but better than any of that, we are known for our craftsmanship, our attention to detail, and our obsession with getting it right.
Renaissance Textiles knew that. And they trusted us.
Over the following weeks, we got to work with the most beautiful woven silk fabric, attaching a faux fur lining entirely by hand. Every stitch. This wasn’t a shortcut we chose; it was the only way to ensure that the historic silk was never compromised. We were trusted with something irreplaceable, and we took that seriously.
This is where we come alive.
It’s not just about the privilege of working on something this beautiful. It’s about being part of something, however small your contribution might seem in the grand scheme of history. With most projects like this, you don’t get your name attached. We can’t even talk about many of them (There was one very high-profile wedding), but we know we were there. We contributed. We made something with our own hands that will last.
I took my children to see the bed at the Tower of London. They were so proud and made absolutely sure that everyone in the room knew that Helen Moore had made it.
And a final thank you to Vivienne at Renaissance Textiles, her knowledge of and love for historic fabric is something to behold. It was a privilege to work alongside her.
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If you have an extraordinary brief, expected or otherwise, we’d love to hear from you.
Find out more about our bespoke work at helenmoore.com/bespoke
