The uniforms

I hadn’t thought much about uniforms when one Saturday morning I walked with a friend into Maureen O’Doherty’s eclectic and inspirational shop, Egg, in Knightbridge. I knew Maureen from her visits to Petersham and I was always pleased to see her because she is so full of life and energy. I explained that I was opening a restaurant in Somerset House later in the year. Immediately she offered to do the uniforms, or rather, she insisted. I was thrilled and excited but nervous too… that the budget wouldn’t stretch to bespoke uniforms.

Before I knew it I was swathed in metres of calico. Boxes of shoes were brought from the storeroom for me to try on, swatches of fabric were handed to me to feel, and an intriguing wooden box full of tiny glass vials was opened before my eyes to reveal a colour palette so beautiful, pure and ethereal. Each little vial was filled with a different coloured, dusty and delicate powder. The colours were exquisite: vermillion, crushed raspberry, amber lime, charcoal, bruised plum, sherbet, saffron yellow and buttered cream. I was smitten. I knew that, whatever the cost, there was no going back. The uniforms would be designed by Egg.

Working on the uniforms with Maureen and her great team has been one of the most exciting parts of the project. Her relentless enthusiasm and utter commitment breathed life into Spring (which was still in effect just drawings on paper) and made it feel real and alive. Our meetings were fun, creative and always exciting. It did, however, take several months and a lot of hard work to get to the final design.

The uniforms had to look beautiful, of course, but they also needed to be practical and comfortable. Maureen began with the design of the apron, then moved on to the other uniforms. There are many different roles on a restaurant floor: general manager, sommelier, head waiter, bar manager, receptionist, plate runners and bar backs. All their uniforms needed to be slightly different in order to make them identifiable, but also because their roles have different requirements. Much thought had to go into the functionality of the individual attire but, most importantly, the overall design needed to feel fluid and coherent.