Hackett London

A Hackett shop in El Corte Inglés department store in Vitoria, Spain

Hackett was founded in 1983 by Jeremy Hackett and Ashley Lloyd-Jennings from a stall on London's Portobello Road.[3] The first shop, on the "wrong end" of King's Road, in London's Chelsea district, was selling only used clothes.[4]

The company gradually expanded over several years, increasing the number of branches and moving from acquiring and selling second-hand clothing to designing and selling its own items. International expansion began with the 1989 opening of a Spanish branch in Madrid.[5] In 1994, Hackett opened a shop on the Rive Gauche in Paris before adding children’s clothes to its collection a year later.[5]

In June 2005, Richemont sold Hackett to the Spanish investment company Torreal S.C.R., S.A.[3] Hackett appointed American creative director Michael Sondag, who joined Hackett from Tommy Hilfiger in 2005.[6][7]

In February 2015, Hackett (part of the Pepe Jeans Group) was bought by Lebanese firm M1 Group and by LVMH subsidiary L Capital Asia. Hackett and Pepe Jeans were previously owned by Torreal Funds (31 percent), Artá Capital (16.4 percent), L Capital Europe (11.5 percent) and its managers.[8] Hackett became the official clothing supplier to the Williams Martini Racing team, from the 2015 season onwards.[9]

The company's flagship store at 14 Savile Row in London was previously a Hardy Amies shop from 1946 until March 2019; the space was taken over by Hackett in June 2019.[10][11] A news report provided this summary: the "new store ... will comprise traditional shop floor space, bespoke tailoring and room for limited edition collections".[1] Jeremy Hackett issued this statement:[12]

"I am so thrilled that Hackett will be opening on the world-famous Savile Row, where I once worked when I first came to London back in the early 1970s. I was immediately besotted by the idea of handmade clothing and when I first opened Hackett it was inspired by Savile Row – albeit ready to wear. I remember serving the great Hardy Amies, who was a true gentleman. Little did I think that all these years later I would be opening a shop in his old premises, alongside such esteemed tailors. It is the most renowned street for men’s tailoring and I feel honoured to be part of the wonderful tradition that is Savile Row."

• Official website