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Too cool for school?

Helen Tither
26/ 8/2008

HOW low can the price of a school uniform go? With the credit crunch in mind, there's a price war raging over which high street chain or supermarket can produce the cheapest possible package.

Asda came out all guns blazing with a value uniform for just £4 - only for rivals Tesco to undercut them for a measly £3.50.

Welcome news to cash-strapped parents. But surely it's only a matter of time before an ethical campaigner follows in the footsteps of Jamie Oliver's protest against cheap school dinners to do the same for uniforms.

Expensive

One north west company bucking the trend has gone to the other extreme by unveiling their new school blazer - for a whopping £2,500. Thought to be the most expensive in the UK.

Modelled here by Hartford High School pupil Oscar Reed, aged 12, complete with bodyguards, it's being billed as an antidote to cheap chic. Designed by Prince Charles' former tailor, Savile Row suitmaker Tom Mahon of English Cut, it features unique buttons, handfinished stitching and a fine silk lining.

"Basically, you get what you pay for," he says. "It is important how you dress your kids for school. By dressing them in something cheap you are saying going to school is only worth that much too." Kirk Robertson, of Runcorn-based sports kit and uniform makers Sportwear International, commissioned Tom's design after also becoming frustrated with the lack of quality on the market. "There was no real style in the blazers that were out there," says Kirk. "We wanted to make it practical but fit better.

'No comparison'

"If parents want to pay a very small amount of money for other goods, fair enough. But is it worth paying just £4 for a whole uniform? How do these companies do it - it's shocking they are able to get such low prices."

Giving Tom carte blanche to create the ultimate in blazer chic, they set about assessing the wares already on the market. "Fortunately for me there was a lot of bad stuff - which gave me ammunition to improve," says Tom. "We produced this garment that in theory might look like the school blazers you could buy anywhere else but really there was no comparison at all in quality."

Using only the best fabric, Tom created a hand-made version, resulting in the £2,500 prototype modelled here. Of course, not every parent will want to splash out such a princely sum. And, as this is just a prototype, it will only be available to one lucky bidder. It will, however, be the model for a range set to retail from £30.

And, hopes the clothes-maker, spark a change in the way we look at schoolwear.