WORDS
Mark Mackenzie
When you celebrated your 50th anniversary in the 1920s, a decade that gave the world the Jazz Age and the Great Depression, it’s hard not to see yourself as historically significant. But that would run entirely against the leathery grain of the philosophy at Connolly, the luxury goods manufacturer for whom understatement is key.
To mark that anniversary, in 1928, the company commissioned the artist Heath Robinson – he of the cartoonish contraptions– to create a series of sketches showing Connolly’s products in action. And they’ve seen plenty of it. The company built its reputation on leather goods in the early 20th century, during the golden age of classic cars. Highly regarded in both touring and racing circles, park your bum in a vintage Jag, Bentley, Ferrari or Aston and there’s a good chance you’ll be sitting on Connolly leather.
It was Connolly who upholstered that most Aston of all Martins, the DB5 first driven on to our screens by Sean Connery in the 1964 Bond film, Goldfinger. Connery’s Connolly – say that with a mouthful of martini – was a grey “Vaumol” leather used for the car’s interior; the same Aston, in fact, in which Daniel Craig’s Bond makes his bullet-ridden escape from the Italian hilltop town of Matera in No Time to Die.
Founded in 1878 as a saddler, Connolly leather has addressed some of the most famous seats in the land. The coach that carried the Queen to her coronation in 1953, for example, or the slimline seats of the now defunct Concorde; also a certain Eames chair, the designer’s recliner. And even, according to legend, the naked bottom of Joan Collins (‘You haven’t lived until you have sat your naked butt on Connolly leather’), and the (thankfully) trousered posterior of Boris Johnson; Connolly leather furnishes the benches of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Connolly moved into clothing in 1995, driven by Isabel Ettedgui, wife of Joseph, the late founder of the eponymous fashion chain. Buying the company outright in 2000, the Ettedguis’ expanded business was, like all the best brands, born in a stable; not Bethlehem but Belgravia, on Grosvenor Crescent Mews.

Today the company operates from a converted Georgian townhouse on Mayfair’s Clifford Street. Ettedgui’s regular presence in the store is proof that, though online shopping may have steamrollered the high street, we remain a nation of shopkeepers. ‘I’m not necessarily a great salesperson,’ she confesses, when we speak ahead of the launch of Connolly’s new autumn/winter collection, ‘but the personal touch is important.’ Ettedgui is of the opinion too many luxury brands are run by men, not only in suits but also from silos. Meeting the owner in person is rare in the age of globalisation but it remains a key part of the Connolly experience.
“Remain” is an important word in Connolly’s day-to-day operations. ‘I’ve been in retail for a long time,’ Ettedgui explains, ‘and thanks to Brexit and the pandemic, the current conditions are some of the most challenging I’ve seen.’ Which is where intimacy wins out. ‘We have to be close to our manufacturers as what we make often involves quite a lot of persuasion. Our quantities are small, so that means we’re often asking a lot.’
On the upside, it makes for a tight-knit community, which in the luxury sphere is no bad thing. ‘In our leather products, we always start with the best raw materials,’ Ettedgui explains. ‘We don’t over-process; rather, we emphasise the quality of the grain. It’s the same for our clothing, where we aim for a very tactile experience.’
Highlights for AW22 include knitwear made from the only cashmere goat herd in England, and from which Connolly secured the entire harvest, or “clip”. Another standout is ahoundstooth coat modelled on a version worn by Edward VIII, the famous dandy. The collection is designed by Marc Audibet, and Ettedgui explains that pieces are intended to be timeless. ‘What we do is very considered, so there’s an emphasis on hand-finishing,’ she says. ‘We want to create outfits that will be here for a long time, not just a season.’
Another benefit of small-scale production is that Connolly operates as something of a design laboratory. ‘We get a free hand to create a few things beautifully,’ Ettedgui says. The new collection, for example, includes couture evening dresses made in nearby Pimlico, of which just eight are available; or a snow coat, limited to four or five pieces. ‘It’s filled with cashmere threads from our factory floor,’ Ettedgui explains.