Hackett was founded in 1983 by Jeremy Hackett and Ashley Lloyd-Jennings from a stall on London's Portobello Road. The first shop, on the "wrong end" of King's Road, in London's Chelsea district, was selling only used clothes. 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. In 1994, Hackett opened a shop on the Rive Gauche in Paris before adding children’s clothes to its collection a year later. In June 2005, Richemont sold Hackett to the Spanish investment company Torreal S.C.R., S.A. Hackett appointed American creative director Michael Sondag, who joined Hackett from Tommy Hilfiger in 2005. In February 2015, Hackett was bought by Lebanese firm M1 Group and by LVMH subsidiary L Capital Asia. Hackett and Pepe Jeans were previously owned by Torreal Funds, Artá Capital, L Capital Europe and its managers. Hackett became the official clothing supplier to the Williams Martini Racing team, from the 2015 season onwards.
Savile Row
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. A news report provided this summary: the "new store... will comprise traditional shop floor space, bespoke tailoring and room for limited edition collections". Jeremy Hackett issued this statement:
"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."
