By Aleks Cvetkovic.

In bespoke tailoring terms, Tom Arena (above) has pulled off a clever trick. From his chic St James’s studio, he’s created a brand that is quietly enigmatic, sought after by all manner of high-powered creatives including Iwan Wirth, Hamish Bowles and Stephen Graham among others.

When you visit Tom, it’s easy to see why. His space is a discreet, lower-ground-floor workroom on St James’s Place (just around the corner from Duke’s and The Stafford), with hessian carpets, smart white walls and rails bursting with intriguing and unusual designs – including pigskin blazers and raglan coats.

A montage of old photos, post cards and sketches is arranged on the wall above his cutting table, showcasing style luminaries including Serge Gainsbourg and Charlotte Rampling. You can sense this is a space inhabited by a tailor with a particular sense of style.

“From the very start, I wanted to do something a little different,” Tom explains. “The mood board is mostly references from the late ‘60s to the late ‘70s – style-wise, that was the era I admired growing up. Artists, actors – it’s just a mix of people who inspire me.”

How does this come across in Tom’s clothes? Well, there are a few details that subtly reference these decades. His lapels are broad (four-inches-wide is his go to, though he will go narrower or wider) with an angular quality and sloping gorge that feels quite ‘70s. 

His jackets are also reasonably long and waisted, elements that come from his training. Arena left school at 18 and saw a newspaper advert for apprenticeships at Huntsman. He applied and secured a role as a trainee cutter, learning under the late, great Brian Hall.

It was there that Arena learned to cut the Thornton System, a cutting methodology developed at the turn of the 20th century that takes its cues from equestrian tailoring. Jackets are cut with small, high armholes, a higher waist run and distinctive darts that run through the front pockets and skirt, to keep the coat sitting close to the body. The result is a clean-looking jacket with a handsome silhouette. 

This method is not uncommon on Savile Row and elements of his cut remind me of both Huntsman and Richard Anderson, but Arena’s take feels more expressive than Huntsman’s house style (to my eye, at least) and a little more balanced than Anderson’s, the lines of which can be quite straight. Tom’s silhouette is slightly more fluid, and seems very nicely balanced.

His own house style is a one-button, single-breasted coat with jetted pockets and chunky turn-back cuffs (as per my suit, above). It’s subversive in its own way, replacing pocket flaps with cuffs – creating a garment that feels distinctive but not shouty. 

Tom also uses a relatively lightweight canvas and lovely, breathable linings. Unusually for a London tailor, even his fully lined garments feel comfortable in warm weather (more on this, below).

Following five years at Huntsman, Tom became the head cutter at Paul Smith bespoke and was there for 18 years before he established Atelier Arena in 2021. Setting up his own studio gave him the freedom to experiment with different designs and to introduce bespoke suede and casualwear – something he’d always wanted to do.

Today, Tom offers bespoke goat’s suede blousons, pigskin blazers, suede or sheepskin coats and recently introduced a bespoke Jungle Jacket. The latter are available in a wide range of cloths, but Arena’s go-to is Solbiati’s Art du Lin (which, incidentally, is the fabric we chose for my suit), which has the drape to do the jacket justice. 

“I’ve always loved the M65, but wanted to do a luxury version. These look great with a pair of neat, grey fresco trousers or with dark denim,” he says.

Each of these casual designs reflect Tom’s style philosophy in different ways. The sheepskin coat feels quite Mod in flavour (Paul Weller is a fan), while the pigskin blazers have a ‘70s or even a louche ‘80s edge with Tom’s confident lapels in evidence, plus patch pockets and a slightly shorter, boxier silhouette. You might go so far as to say they feel a bit Brian Ferry.

I’ve worked with Tom twice, first on a single-breasted sports coat for summer, cut in his house style from deadstock Loro Piana wool/silk/linen that he had in his archive. The suit you can see here, in midnight Art du Lin, followed the sports coat about a year later. 

The only change we made between the two commissions was to make the lapels a quarter of an inch wider. The suit’s trousers are also in Tom’s house style, with a mid-high rise, flat front and parallel legs, which fall dead straight from the knees for the subtlest hint of flare when you move.

Both times I’ve worked with Tom, I’ve enjoyed how straightforward the process is. I would recommend him to readers who are looking a for smooth, informal experience, and the kind of garments that mix Savile Row pedigree with creative and intelligent design touches.

I have yet to try his bespoke casualwear, but I’ve tried on pieces like the pigskin blazers and new jungle jackets, and both are handsome designs. (Below is a sheepskin design made for Paul Weller.)

With ‘classic’ tailoring, Tom’s fitting style is straightforward, and I’ve been surprised by how quickly my garments have come together. He’s worked through basted fittings with a minimum of fuss and then proceeded to ‘fin-bar-fin’ fittings, where we’ve only had to tweak sleeve length or make a few minor adjustments, before proceeding to finishing. No easy feat. 

The only niggle I can report is that having tried side adjusters on my suit trousers, I’d choose belt loops next time – simply because my hips never seem to work with side adjusters. But, let’s face it, this is my own hang up more than anything else.

I’ve also been genuinely surprised by how both the pieces Tom has made me have worn. I ‘run hot’ in the summer, and the taupe wool/silk/linen is very cool to wear. It might even be the coolest structured jacket I own. 

Part of this is thanks to Tom’s canvases – which aren’t at all thick or heavy by London standards – but also thanks to his preferred linings. He uses a Venezia cellulose lining that feels almost like silk taffeta. It’s breathable with a pleasing, gauze-like finish. I find these particularly comfortable on hot days.

The Art du Lin suit is a slightly different proposition, thanks to the cloth’s weight, but I love the drape and body of it. I find the suit copes well on all but the warmest days in London, and it’s become a useful transitional piece for spring and autumn. It comes out in April and is worn continually through to October.

The midnight colour is a real winner too – it’s as easy as a classic navy to wear, but smarter and, I think, more sophisticated.

Tom, in his own words, has worked hard over the last four years to create “a relaxed, comfortable experience, where someone doesn’t feel like they need to be on best behaviour and understands what I’m trying to do for them”. If this idea appeals, Atelier Arena is well worth a visit. It’s also worth noting that Tom makes regular trips to New York and LA, and will be there in September.

Two-piece suits start at £5,000 (including VAT); pigskin blazers from £3,000; suede blousons from £2,000, atelierarena.com