Emma Willis: the shirtmaker on Style for Soldiers charity - Cotswold Life

From Jermyn Street to military hospitals, Emma Willis has redefined what craftsmanship means today. Beloved by royalty, Hollywood icons and veterans alike, her work shows that true luxury lies in detail, dignity and purpose.

Among the pattern books and cutting tables beloved of Savile Row’s sartorial purists, Emma Willis has carved out her own exacting domain in Gloucester, the workshop that feeds her boutiques on Jermyn Street and Mayfair’s Old Burlington Street. Here, bolts of fine Swiss and Sea Island cotton are transformed into shirts hand-cut and hand-sewn with quiet precision. Collars are hand-turned; seams are sewn with immaculate, almost invisible stitching. Real iridescent white or smoked mother-of-pearl add a final note of luxurious discretion. This is not mere shirting but the considered practice of a couturier, translated into something one wears every day. Such meticulous artistry has drawn a following as distinguished as it is diverse.

A glance at Emma’s client list reads like an invitation to an impossibly elegant gathering. HM King Charles III, Eddie Redmayne, Benedict Cumberbatch and style icons such as Angelina Jolie and David Gandy have selected Emma’s shirts for their perfect cut and subtle luxury. HM King Charles III, has even visited her 18th-century townhouse atelier in Gloucester .What unites them all is a preference for quiet luxury over ostentation, a quality at the heart of Emma’s work.

‘I have seen over my thirty-five years in the bespoke world, how people are drawn to something that’s been made slowly, beautifully, and with integrity,’ Emma reflects. ‘Image is important for us all, and we often hear of the quiet confidence our shirts can bring.'

Emma’s celebrated clientele could easily have defined her career. For many designers, dressing British royalty, Hollywood stars and fashion icons would be a professional pinnacle in itself, but her work soon found a deeper purpose. In 2008, during the height of the Afghan conflict, Emma visited Headley Court Military Rehabilitation Hospital intending simply to deliver a bespoke shirt to patients as a gift of gratitude. Confronted with the courage and sacrifice of the young servicemen she met there, she quickly realised that she had a greater role to play.

‘My first visit memorable visit to the hospital was originally just to give a Christmas present of a bespoke shirt as a gift of gratitude for their service, courage and sacrifice as I had heard of the numerous, severe casualties returning from Afghanistan. I didn’t realise but the Commanding Officer was observing me measuring the young men, dressed in combats, and wrote to me the next week to say that I could visit anytime, a letter I treasure. As I drove home, I knew I could not just walk away from these young servicemen and women and had to keep visiting.’

From that encounter grew the charity, Style for Soldiers, which has since supported more than 500 veterans and their families. What began with shirts and bespoke walking sticks expanded into tailored suits, sponsorships into new careers, and reunions designed to preserve the vital camaraderie lost when injury forces soldiers out of service.

Among those helped is David Patterson, injured in Afghanistan in 2009, who credits meeting Emma at Headley Court as the moment that set him on a new path. Today he works with the Newcastle United Foundation, inspiring children through sport, proof of the resilience and transformation Emma’s charity has helped to foster.

Reunions soon became the charity’s most important work. In 2010, Emma hosted a Christmas gathering at Spencer House in London, where over 100 servicemen, women and their partners came together. The evening was made unforgettable by the presence of the then HRH The Prince of Wales (now King Charles III) who had himself visited Headley Court discreetly on many occasions. For those present, his words and conversation offered recognition of a kind that still resonates today.

‘We could not have dreamed of a more important or meaningful guest of honour and speaker as the then HRH The Prince of Wales. We have wonderful photographs of the evening which are now treasured by the servicemen, women and their partners, who met and talked to His Majesty.'

Back at her Gloucester atelier, Emma continues to train young people in the craft of shirtmaking, ensuring that traditional skills are passed on. Whether dressing a king, an A-list actor or a soldier starting again, Emma Willis’s purpose remains constant, to make clothes which bring pleasure to the wearer and create purposeful careers for the young people she trains, safeguarding a wonderful, yet dwindling British industry, ensuring that skills are not lost to time but carried forward with dignity and pride. The appeal of such craftmanship reaches far beyond our shores, as Emma explains, ‘Our Made in England label is internationally admired and desired, and I do believe we can create many more high end clothing businesses as young people are proud to make things again, and technology enables a brand to shine a light on their skills across the world'.

What sets Emma Willis apart is a refusal to compromise on detail, coupled with an instinct for relevance. Her pieces are not about spectacle but about the confidence that comes from wearing something beautifully made. In an age of disposable fashion, such constancy feels especially luxurious. To own an Emma Willis shirt is to carry something enduring, a garment rooted in craftsmanship, integrity and quiet confidence. And for those seeking a thoughtful gesture, it is also the kind of Christmas gift that lasts far beyond the season – understated, personal and made to be worn for years to come. True luxury, as Emma Willis demonstrates, is never loud but lasting.

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