For hundreds of years, a slender London street has represented the cultural epicenter of tailored men’s wear. Savile Row’s famous district of tailors dates back to the 17th century, when it outfitted young aristocrats embarking on the Grand Tour of Europe. World leaders from Winston Churchill to Napoleon Bonaparte have relied on the district’s world-class finery.
At the turn of the 20th century, when industrialists began fleeing polluted cities for adventures in the Alps, they often turned to Savile Row to make sure they traveled with the best duds available.
That history resonates deeply with gear outfitter Alasdair Leighton-Crawford. His family descends from French Huguenots, a skilled, literate class with a generational connection to craftsmanship and deep roots in England.
“I think it’s in the blood,” Leighton-Crawford told GearJunkie.
Now, Leighton-Crawford is bringing his experience as a Savile Row-trained tailor to his London-based gear brand Cimoro. A former professional rower, Leighton-Crawford had his sights set on the Olympics when a serious back injury changed his plans. That led him to a Savile Row apprenticeship — and a new dream of becoming a “master tailor.”
He founded Cimoro to offer ultralight backpacks and running vests, combining cutting-edge materials like Dyneema with his holistic approach to design.
‘When the Innovation Happens’
Most of Cimoro’s gear is stitched together in a small London workshop, either by Leighton-Crawford himself or someone from his small but growing team. He likes to work with athletes who make specific requests or changes to gear, which is “when the innovation happens,” he said.
Leighton-Crawford would know. After his apprenticeship on Savile Row, where he learned the measuring, fabrics, and patterns of classical tailoring, he leveled up further by earning a degree from the London College of Fashion. While still a student, he worked with several big brands, including Nike.
After graduating, he did projects for McLaren, Sony Ericsson, Skunk Works (the classified and exotic aircraft development division of Lockheed Martin), and a Swiss company called Development Never Stops.
“What I realized is that I really wanted to do stuff with my hands,” Leighton-Crawford said. “I’ve got a knack for making things that look nice. That was my skill.”
After working with Canadian brand Norda, he developed a backpack fit system with greater versatility. Using Velcro, Cimoro’s pack straps can be adjusted horizontally and vertically, allowing for a personalized fit regardless of the width of your shoulders.
Leighton-Crawford was also unimpressed with existing compression systems, so he built his own from scratch, focused on greater comfort and flexibility. Even the teardrop shape of his packs aims for efficiency while running or fastpacking.
The designs continue to evolve as customers make specific requests. That could be side zippers for easier access, compression straps for skis, or internal pouches just for dog treats. One outdoor photographer requested a camera bag version of Cimoro’s ultralight pack so they could run comfortably while carrying multiple lenses. “The affinity for custom gear is growing,” Leighton-Crawford said.
Cimoro’s Ultralight Gear: Tailored to the Customer
The brand’s focus on comfort and bespoke design has resulted in increased interest from athletes at the cutting edge of their sports.
Professional runner Mike “Mikey” Kratzer used a Cimoro running vest while tackling the brutal conditions of The Speed Project. Outdoor athlete Samuel Novey brought along a Cimoro pack for an epic, 34-mile linkup of Utah’s Wasatch Mountains.
Cimoro’s gear has even found a large audience among several East Asian countries, where ultrarunners have used the running vests in 100-mile races. And there’s currently a waiting list for Cimoro’s Dyneema down jackets.
Part of what separates Cimoro is its commitment to tailoring its packs and vests to each consumer. Many of Cimoro’s products include optional tailoring and offer customers a questionnaire to figure out the correct sizing. Leighton-Crawford plans to implement 3D body scanning to improve that process, and he’s even toying with Midjourney for accelerating design ideas.
But those high-tech upgrades will always be balanced by a human attention to detail, he said.
That’s apparent in gear like the UL Running Vest V1 or Duffel V1. With price tags of $365 and $392, respectively, the bags are already packed with features. But Cimoro still invites customers to make requests or alterations to the pack (for an additional fee).
“You can do a lot with a computer, but it does take away an element of humanity,” Leighton-Crawford said. “It’s too perfected. There’s opportunity for both. I don’t want us to turn into Skynet.”
Future Master Craftsman
It’s hard to keep up with Leighton-Crawford. He speaks in a rapid stream of consciousness, constantly referring to various design ideas, boutique brands, and emerging technologies.
This self-described “madman of design” seems equally fascinated by both abstract concepts and hard-nosed details. In one moment, he’s speaking in awed tones about the lightweight strength of Dyneema, while the next, he’s thoughtful about the move away from traditional tailoring techniques.
“I’m not here just to take your money,” he said. “I see my customers as investors in a company trying to go in a different direction. I don’t want to do mass production. I’m scaling up, but it’s driven by the market and taste … I’m trying to basically move away from telling people what they need. Instead, I’m trying to work out what they want and make it available to them.”
That focus is reflected in the brand’s motto: Future Master Craftsmen. Stitched onto every piece of Cimoro gear, it represents the “elite athletes, bespoke tailors and professional designers who converge in our pursuit of excellence,” the website says.
Leighton-Crawford has no plans to slow down his own pursuit of bringing Cimoro to more outdoor athletes. He’s looking at expanding his manufacturing and has started some partnerships for bringing the brand’s gear to shops in the U.S. He’s even working on bringing his design approach to apparel and developing a new belt system.
“We need to use traditional techniques as well as new materials,” he said. “That’s where I see the future.”
Check out all of Cimoro’s gear on the brand website.
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