Crew Clothing
Crew Clothing is a UK-based clothing retailer that specialises in luxury British casualwear for men and women. The company sells clothing through its 76 stores (6 outlets) across the UK, website and via mail order, with over 3.2 million catalogues mailed every year.
History
Crew Clothing was started in 1993 by Alistair Parker-Swift. In the early 1990s he spent the winter months training as a member of the England freestyle ski team in France and the summer months running a windsurfing school on Salcombe high street in Devon. During the summer of 1993 he created some navy and white rugby shirts with the original Crew Clothing 93 patch, sourcing the materials from a local supplier. The rugby shirts were sold in the shop of the windsurfing school and sold out within ten days. Subsequently Alistair decided to turn his attention to sourcing more clothing to sell in Cowes Week on the Isle of Wight, the longest-running regular regatta in the world. He opened a shop in Cowes called Cowes & Salcombe from which customers could browse and buy high quality casualwear. The Crew Clothing brand was born.
The first London store opened on the New King’s Road in 1995 and shortly afterwards the first hand drawn catalogue was mailed to 2000 customers.
Products
Crew Clothing sells luxury casualwear for both men and women. Men’s clothing includes polo shirts, rugby tops, knitwear, shirts, t-shirts, shoes, shorts, trousers, denim jeans and accessories. Womenwear includes knitwear, dresses, skirts, loungewear, jeans, polo tops, t-shirts, coats, gilets, shoes and boots, swimwear, bags and other accessories. The company also offers a sailing-inspired range called GBR Atlantic Series which specialises in high quality sweatshirts, rugby tops, polo shirts, gilets and jackets.
Events
Crew Clothing has sponsored the Volvo Ocean Race (formerly the Whitbread Round the World Race) and Masters Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall. In addition, the company has been the official clothing supplier to the England Polo Team since 2005 and continue to provide their kit for both national and international matches including the Cartier International Event.