About Us

  


Heritage

We are creators of the World’s Finest Knitwear. Established in 1784, we are the oldest manufacturing factory in the world, crafting beautiful, high-quality garments that are designed to last, made in England and distributed the world over.


Our History

The John Smedley story began during the infancy of the Industrial Revolution at our factory in Lea Mills, Derbyshire where you can still find us, over 230 years later.

In 1784 our factory started life producing simple muslin fabric and spinning cotton and in 1825 we moved on to producing more complex garments using one of the first ever fully fashioned knitting machines, creating the original “Long Johns”.

Moving onto 1914 we began exporting to the far reaches of the globe and over time established ourselves as one of Britain’s most famous clothing brands.

Within the 1950s and 60s we became the brand of choice for many famous faces, including Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and the Beatles amongst many others and by 1980 we had established ourselves as the go-to knitwear brand for British designers such as Dame Vivienne Westwood and Sir Paul Smith.

The year 2000 saw us open our first store on the iconic Brook Street in Mayfair, London and in 2012 we cemented our style credentials by presenting at London Collections: Men, the first-ever British Men’s Fashion Week. The following year we were granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment as a “Manufacturer of Fine Knitwear” by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, a testament to our trusted quality.

Today we continue to innovate and recent triumphs include the re-launch of our womenswear line at London Fashion Week in 2015, and our contemporary new unisex capsule collection ‘Singular’ being the first ever unisex knitwear collection launched within the UK.


Made in England

We’re proud to have “Made in England” on the tag of every garment we make. John Smedley has remained a British, family-run business, now managed by Ian Maclean an 8th-generation member of the Smedley family.


World Renowned Quality & Craftsmanship

John Smedley will deem goods to be faulty if they are received damaged, or where a manufacturing fault occurs within six months of purchase. Any items that are damaged as a result of wear and tear are not considered to be faulty. Where appropriate we will offer to repair any faulty items. If you would like to exchange your item, please be aware that we can only replace it for the same product in the same colour, subject to availability. If we cannot fulfil this replacement, you will receive a full refund for the item or a suitable replacement.


Our Style

Our iconic style spans from our “Mainline Collection”, including our best selling polo shirt, unchanged since 1932 right through to our recent unisex capsule “Singular”. We strive to produce the highest quality garments with a contemporary look that will transcend generations.


Company Information

Company Name: John Smedley Ltd

Registration Number: 40,000

Registered Address: Lea Mills, Lea Bridge, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 5AG 

 

 

Careers

Please use this page for all information regarding careers.

Affiliates

John Smedley are currently accepting affiliate partners via the Rakuten Linkshare Network. We are looking to work with interesting and complimentary publishers who meet our expectations of quality. We closely monitor our programme and all requests will be looked into individually.