Asked if it’s acceptable for a chap to wear his suit trousers and jacket as separates, any traditional Savile Row tailor would give the notion a polite but firm rebuttal. ‘But that’s the way men want to dress now,’ argues menswear designer Clive Darby. ‘The new approach to tailoring is a more relaxed one.’ Hardly a radical statement but, in the heartland of London tailoring, it is certainly a bold one, especially since Darby himself is the former retail director of Kilgour, an esteemed name on ‘the Row’ since 1882.

Darby, now at the helm of a new, tailoring-driven menswear label, Rake, is not alone in his views. A movement of so-called ‘nouveau tailors’ gave British bespoke a more contemporary image in the early 90s and now their scions are generating a second new wave. Thom Whiddett and Luke Sweeney are both in their early thirties and met while working for London tailor Timothy Everest. Their new menswear company, Thom Sweeney, is in the vanguard of what Luke calls ‘tailoring’s next generation, answering to a customer who’s there to get what they want, rather than have the house style imposed on them. The new wave offers a greater flexibility than traditional Savile Row tailors.’

That flexibility may refer to Sweeney’s more directional cut, or Rake’s use of half-lining for lightness, high-twist yarns for maximum crease-resistance, as well as rarely seen tailoring details such as the lap seams inspired by ceremonial military dress. As Darby puts it: ‘We’re at a turning point for London tailoring now,’ adding that a counter-trend to globalised fashion is driving interest in smaller, less well-known but high-quality brands.

If you hadn’t guessed already, London tailoring is undergoing something of a quiet overhaul. Roland Mouret, best known for designing superbly constructed dresses, has a new menswear line called Mr to which he has applied his tailoring expertise. E Tautz, a formal menswear line, founded in London in the 1860s and notable for having dressed Winston Churchill, Cary Grant and David Niven, has recently taken a more directional step under Patrick Grant, its owner since 2005. It was a finalist, alongside Christopher Bailey at Burberry, Margaret Howell and Paul Smith, for the British Fashion Council’s Menswear Designer of the Year 2010 accolade. ‘A swing back towards British menswear is gaining momentum after three decades of Italian dominance,’ Grant says. ‘There is a growing interest in provenance and craft, plus an enthusiasm for the idea of British-made goods, that is creating space for new brands to launch. And for old ones to be relaunched.’

Alongside these new-generation tailoring brands with their fresh attitude comes the revival of some of the most influential traditional ones. Grant has also devised a more contemporary image for Norton & Sons, a Savile Row tailoring house established in 1821. Tailor Ritchie Charlton, who also worked for Kilgour, has been instrumental in the recent rescue from administration of Douglas Hayward, the eponymous label of the iconic 60s tailor who died in 2008 and whose legacy included dressing Michael Caine for the Italian Job. Now a ready-to-wear collection and made-to-measure operation is launching under that name. Hardy Amies, whose couturier-tailor founder was a dressmaker to the Queen as well as designing costumes for the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, was also relaunched last year, following new investment.

‘The younger consumer has a strong expectation of how he wants to dress and is looking for brands - even those in traditional tailoring - to respond to that,’ says Hardy Amies’ CEO Tony Yusuf. ‘The very traditional tailors aren’t making the necessary shift to a more modern style of tailoring, which has encouraged new brands to spring up and some others to re-create themselves.’

The second new wave’s shift in emphasis from classic tailoring to a more contemporary spirit is being matched by a shift in geography too, away from the hallowed ground of Savile Row and into other parts of London’s Mayfair, where Rake, Thom Sweeney and Douglas Hayward are now all based. ‘In a way, that marks a separation from the perceived stuffiness of Savile Row,’ says Charlton. ‘Just as Savile Row saw the demand for a more stylish take on classic tailoring in the 70s, with Tommy Nutter, and again during the 90s, we’re seeing that mood once more. Some older tailors are being re-discovered and newer, smaller tailors are coming on to the radar. Now there’s a great opportunity for tailoring brands with something to say.’