With the optimistic glamour and eccentric style of the 60s in full-swing Nutter’s of Savile Row threw open its doors on Valentine’s day 1969, and Edward’s work had never been in more demand; he had become the master craftsmen for which the great and the good would queue around the corner to commission a suit; with Mick and Bianca Jagger, Twiggy, Justin de Villeneuve, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney being but some of his loyal customers. The flamboyant, exaggerated and yet perfectly poised shapes Edward cut became the stuff of legend; clashing oversized checks, rich velvets, huge kicked-flare trousers, eccentric sweeping lapels and extended concave roped shoulders were all in-demand. Edward’s work introduced Savile Row to a new generation of creative and commercial high-flyers (Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdock were also customers) who until then had not understood the appeal of the stuffy bespoke tailoring offered elsewhere on The Row. Furthermore, Edward has retained this identity as a ‘celebrity tailor’ throughout his working life.
With this reputation firmly established, from the early 70s onwards Edward embarked upon a series of consultancy roles with luxury ready-to-wear fashion brands. Having made clothes for Sir Hardy Amies, Edward collaborated with the brand, producing a luxury ready-to-wear menswear collection. He then collaborated with the American store Wilks Bashford in 1987, and with Sax Fifth Avenue in 1988. In 1995, whilst studying at Central St. Martins, Stella McCartney served an apprenticeship at Edward Sexton. Edward himself helped McCartney to develop her graduate show, with clothes modeled by Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Yasmin Le Bon. In 1997, when Stella became the Creative Director at Parisian couturier Chloe, she “relied on” Sexton to curate her first collection. Edward continued to tutor McCartney in the art of cutting, tailoring and fabric selection for the next two years, playing an instrumental role in her early success.
