R. Newbold | Fashion Engineer

Original R. Newbold Government and Business Statistics Ledger

The history behind R. Newbold is one of my very favorite fashion “heritage” stories.  R. Newbold is a clothing brand with a storied and varied past that is now currently only sold in Japan (please bring it to the USA too, Mr. Smith!), but started as a mechanized clothing factory and shop before the turn of the last century.

Founded by an engineer named Robert Brewster Newbold in Derby England in 1885, R. Newbold created fine shirts and various utilitarian garments for coalminers, military, police and firemen. During the 1970′s designer Paul Smith became closely tied to the factory, utilizing Newbold for his own projects, and later purchasing it in 1991. Being very much about Britain and it’s rich history, Mr. Smith was the perfect soul mate for Newbold’s traditions of quality and handmade craftsmanship.

The original “instruction manual” written by Mr. Marriott for use by the R. Newbold factory employees.

R. Newbold dispatch room desk

The aesthetic of the vintage Newbold factory inspired the initial clothing line’s workwear core items and general look. The line has since evolved quite a bit to a much more fashion-forward streetwear look, with elements that give a nod to the Newbold utilitarian roots.

Mr. Newbold’s strategy and philosophy were all about the production efficiencies. He and his business partner, John Robert Marriott, designed and created many tools and methods to improve quality and speed along the production line- as with the above Speedtrack shirt collar cutting machine templates.The large cutting floors of the Shaftesbury Works- the later name of the R. Newbold factory.

A detail of the workroom in which Mr. Newbold and Mr. Marriott mended and created tools for use in the factory.

A calendar given to R. Newbold by an associate Manchester fabric supplier, subsequently used as an address book.

As I mentioned, the R. Newbold line is relegated to a life only within Japan (although, very successfully selling), the original brand identity was way ahead of the trend for workwear and workwear-inspired denim brands. Brands like Earnest Sewn, Engineered Garments, the revamped Woolrich Woolen Mills, and even Rag & Bone could have easily taken a page out of the R. Newbold history book as their business’s inspiration.