A master tailor who learnt her trade in Epsom has become the first woman to open her own store on London’s historic Savile Row.

Kathryn Sargent, 41, studied fashion at the University for the Creative Arts’ Epsom campus, and after years honing her craft, opened her own store at 37 Savile Row on April 6.

Ms Sargent, who now lives in Ealing, west London, said: “I am thrilled to be making history, although for me being a woman is incidental, I am a tailor first and foremost.”

Surrey Comet:

Originally from Leeds, Ms Sargent studied at UCA’s Epsom campus between 1994 and 1997.

In her final year she spent weekends and holidays shadowing cutters and tailors.

It was during this time that she found her inspiration for her final collection in her degree, which earned her an award at the college’s Graduate Fashion Week.

Surrey Comet:

Ms Sargent said: “Before I came to UCA I had never even used a sewing machine.

“All the other students on my course were studying womenswear, but I liked the craft of pattern cutting behind a good suit.

“The course gave me an insight into the industry with the masterclasses and visiting lecturers making the course real.”

Ms Sargent started as an apprentice trimmer at Savile Row tailor Gieves and Hawkes after graduation, and was appointed as head cutter there in 2009 – becoming the first woman to achieve this position on the Mayfair street.

Surrey Comet:

She told BBC Radio 4: “I have been very welcomed. Savile Row is very much a community and women are welcomed into the business.

“I make suits for both men and women but I’ve noticed there are lots of women who are keen to have something made.”

Savile Row was home to the headquarters of the Royal Geographical Society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, but is more widely known for being a hub for bespoke tailors.

Ms Sargent’s shop on Savile Row will be a sister store to her established atelier – or workshop – in Brook Street, and tailors for both men and women.

Surrey Comet:

William Skinner, managing director of Dege & Skinner and chairman of Savile Row Bespoke Association said: "It's fitting that the first woman to be appointed as a head cutter on Savile Row is returning, to open a shop of her own and is testament to the continued appeal of Savile Row as the sartorial home of high-quality, hand-crafted tailoring.”