Jewish immigrants and the early history of London Wholesale Couture

London wholesale couture, as a sector of the fashion industry, did not come into its own until the 1930s. However, the trade had earlier antecedents with many company directors working for, or, establishing tailoring firms earlier in the 20th century. The industry was unquestionably transformed by Jewish immigrants who arrived in London to escape the Nazi regime in the 1930s. However, an earlier group of emigres, who had largely arrived from (what was then) Russia or the Austro-Hungarian Empire, laid the foundations for the establishment of the trade prior to 1930. This paper focused on two immigrant families who established business in London prior to 1930. Firstly, the Brenner family, who established their ready-to-wear clothing business c 1921 and secondly, the Masoff/Massey family who were working in the tailoring trade from c 1910. Using the trade journal The Drapers’ Organiser as a key source, this paper will explore the types of garments created by the firms these two families were associated with, and how such garments fit within wider narratives of fashionable tailored clothes in the early 20th century. Furthermore, looking particularly at evidence collected from the 1921 census, this paper considered the significance of Jewish immigrant networks for the London women’s tailoring trade. It also questions why this was a prescient moment for the upheaval of the trade away from the East End to the West End of London and the upwards social mobility of some Jewish families involved within the trade.