Brand Machine Group buys London tailor Peckham Rye

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jan 31, 2023

Fresh from creating a key new menswear role by adding a men’s buying head to the business, Brand Machine Group (BMG) has further illustrated the importance it assigns to developing its menswear ops with news that it has acquired the Peckham Rye label.

The company — which owns a number of brands as well as operating licensed labels — has acquired the venerable tailor that was founded in the London neighbourhood after which it’s named as far back as 1795.

BMG said menswear is “buoyant” post-Covid and that the “six-generation family-run tailors have hundreds of years of craft and technical know-how at its disposal. The plan is to maintain this fine heritage but create a brand that is relevant to today’s young, confident guy-about-town”.

And it added that the purchase “comes as part of a strategic move towards developing its menswear and tailoring divisions and expanding on its already impressive growth journey.

The company was behind the recent relaunch of luxury menswear brand Duchamp, and also houses brands including Penfield and US Polo Assn.

As for Peckham Rye, BMG is presenting a pre-collection, to be delivered in May, of pieces that “combine classicism with modern day British preppiness, sartorial elegance with contemporary touches for today’s urban gentleman”.

Tailoring comes in traditional houndstooth check and herringbone but is combined with denim. The jeans too come with tailored touches, such as a higher waist and side adjusters. There are linen blends in soft tailored jackets, and jersey features throughout. Prices start at £50, with tailoring from £299 to £350.

Accessories and ties have a reference to the brand's past with military stripes and there’s also “a strong off-duty narrative” in the form of branded caps, sportswear, and jersey, often mixed with tailoring and smarter pieces “reminiscent of our blended, hybrid working lives”.

The company is clearly aiming to make as much of the unusual heritage of the label as it can. Tailoring brands often talk about a Savile Row heritage but in this case, BMG is focusing on its more left-field history. It said: “For a brand founded over two centuries ago by 14-year-old Tommy McCarthy, who began making army uniforms and was very much self-taught, there is a strong sense of old-school south London cockiness to the new range – in the best possible way. If Tommy were around today, he’d be wearing these pieces around town himself.”

Brand Director Tom Duncan said: “Having successfully launched Duchamp last year, broadening our branded offer further into accessible tailoring has been a considered and deliberate move given the team and exceptional skill set we now have within the group. The sector is buoyant post-pandemic and there is a huge opportunity within most men’s wardrobes when it comes to tailoring and occasionwear, and to work with a brand with such an enviable heritage in the sector is a legacy and story we feel privileged to continue.”