Established in 2005. Steeped in Yorkshire tradition.
In 2005, Toby Luper made the decision to set up his own business, Hemingway Tailors, with the aim of creating the ‘Savile Row of the North’. However, Toby’s tailoring experience stretches back over 40 years – while his family's illustrious tailoring heritage dates back even further.
In the 1940s and 50s, his grandfather Isaac (Ike) Black worked as a master tailor in one of the finest workrooms in Leeds. A city built on clothing manufacture and textile innovation.
And then there's Black & Luper. Toby's uncle, Norman Black, and father, Stanley Luper, employed hundreds of staff at their Kirkstall Road site – the largest single-storey tailoring factory in the country – making garments for high-profile customers like Burtons and Burberry.
The Master Tailor
Toby acquired an eye for tailoring from a young age, helping in his father’s factory at weekends and during the school holidays. He started in the family business at the age of 19, selling his father’s redundant stock from a small rented warehouse by the River Aire.
By the age of 23, Toby had sold his own business and joined his father and brother John at the factory. It was here, as part of the Black and Luper family, that Toby developed a mastery of tailoring, an eye for textile detail, and a firm belief: quality lasts.
Classic styles. Exceptional quality.
In 2005, Toby Luper made the decision to set up his own business, Hemingway Tailors, with the aim of creating the ‘Savile Row of the North’. However, Toby’s tailoring experience stretches back over 40 years – while his family's illustrious tailoring heritage dates back even further.
In the 1940s and 50s, his grandfather Isaac (Ike) Black worked as a master tailor in one of the finest workrooms in Leeds. A city built on clothing manufacture and textile innovation.
And then there's Black & Luper. Toby's uncle, Norman Black, and father, Stanley Luper, employed hundreds of staff at their Kirkstall Road site – the largest single-storey tailoring factory in the country – making garments for high-profile customers like Burtons and Burberry.