I first met Chris Coleman in London at our local Monmouth Coffee shop in Borough Market. Chris runs Copperfield Tailor in Moorgate with his wife Anne and son, Dean.

Chris is a consummate professional and radiates enthusiasm for the craft and tradition of fine tailoring. I would often go to work late on a Friday in order to stop by Copperfield to learn more about classic clothing and dress. .

Here Chris describes the design of the suit that will make the trip to Iceland.

Note: This is an earlier version of the suit - which has been subsequently fitted and kitted with fabric buttons. The shirt, tie and braces were worn for the video shoot. We have since replaced these with the actual accessories that will make the journey.

Many thanks to Hugo Tyer for shooting the film. I did these edits so any faults are mine.

Yvette and I have coffee with Chris Coleman nearly every morning.

We are both regulars at Monmouth Coffee and I did not know he was tailor until just a few months ago. Chris is passionate about his work - about the marriage of rigorous quality and complete service that goes into running his business. It is inspiring.

In all likelihood he will help me make decisions about The Suit; fabrics, construction and care.

Yesterday we spent the evening with fellow Monmouth ritualist James - on his 73 year old WW II MBT gunship. It is moored along the Thames and James has retrofitted it to become a houseboat. The giant engine room has been ripped out to accommodate a kitchen, the communications room is his study and he has converted the officers' quarters into his bedroom.

We spent the evening on deck in the best approximation of naval gear that we could muster. Basically Yvette and I wore striped shirts.

The leisurely evening gave me a chance to speak with Chris about suits and I asked him one of the questions that will likely play a role in how this project is shaped;

What was the peak year for the suit?

In other words, when was the suit at its height in relation to ubiquity, fashion and quality?

I had predicted Chris' answer to be 1964. I was off by two years... According to Chris it was 1966 though his reasons for this were much different than what I expected.

I had assumed the suit to peak in '64 due to several factors

Mass communications were sufficiently developed to create a nearly singular Western ideal for The Suited
Post-war industrialisation meant that there was enough wealth returning to society to drive demand
The counter-cultural movement hadn't yet arrived to celebrate individuality and a (return?) to casual freedoms...(bell bottom jeans and paisley T's)

I am going to capture Chris' response so you can see his reasons why '66 was "peak suit" Chris is a great storyteller and my question led to a long soliloquy on 1960's London, poverty, pride and "watching the street". It is too good to put into words so I am going to try and film it.