PS re: Miltary Guild of Rural Tailors & Liam Maher

Young Meagher shirt

The Militant Guild of Rural Tailors, a mysterious outfit we recently stumbled across online, seemed to be a cross between an elaborate imaginary historical narrative and a men’s fashion line. After writing about it we were totally delighted to actually hear from Liam Maher, founder of the MGRT, who cracked us up by admitting to “the irresponsible and arcane content related to my Young Meagher project and the Guild of Rural Tailors” and confirming what we’d guessed – the Rural Tailors is an elaborate fictional framework inside which he was able to create extremely well-made clothes while also meditating on the history of military and civilian traditions of tailoring as well as criticizing the waste and disposability inherent in the corporate fashion industry – “to provoke the industry on subjects that irritate me personally,” he says.

young meagher militant guild of rural tailors sign logo

Maher lives in Amsterdam where he currently works as Head of Design for D E N H A M, who recruited him on the basis of Rural Tailors which has appeared at New York Fashion Week and ISETAN in Japan. Denham’s blog now bears more than a passing resemblance to the Rural Tailors aesthetic.  There’s an interesting interview with Liam at the beautiful Digital Temple Magazine and other glimpses into the MGRT project here, here, and here.

young meagher militant guild of rural tailors jacket

We love these clothes for the obvious reason that they are beautifully made and made to last – even through a war, hence the military tailoring methods, always sturdier than civilian clothes. Buttons sewn on to woven tape, etc. The Rural Tailors’ Standards and Ethics (or click below to read it) also show a definite anti-trend, anti-logo stance:

• If the spirit of the maker is INSIDE the garment,
• Then the name of the maker is also INSIDE the garment
• The name of the wearer is NOT NEEDED if men will recognize his FACE
• So never is there ANY NAME on the OUTSIDE of a garment.

and they propose “Meritocracy over Aristocracy, Producers over Poseurs, Damnation over Dandyism, Artisanry over Automation, Manuality over Management, and Natural Sweep over Fretting & Flattery.” Yes, it’s about authenticity and purity, but in a good way.

Militant Guild of Rural Tailors – Standards and Ethics


Herewith We Set Forth the Standards and Ethics of the Militant Guild of Rural Tailors

1. Passions of the Heart

Respect for History – Traditional Garments Carry Roots

Knowledge of the Enemy – We Choose

• Meritocracy over Aristocracy
• Producers over Poseurs
• Damnation over Dandyism
• Artisanry over Automation
• Manuality over Management
• Natural Sweep over Fretting & Flattery

The Tailor’s Spirit is Not for Sale. The Client Earns his Own Reputation.

• If the spirit of the maker is INSIDE the garment,
• Then the name of the maker is also INSIDE the garment
• The name of the wearer is NOT NEEDED if men will recognize his FACE
• So never is there ANY NAME on the OUTSIDE of a garment.

2. Wisdom of the Head

Future Invention is born from Human History – The Science of “Humodernity”

Cuffs Must be Forever Frontward

• Thumbs are Opposable
• Tailorwise Dexterity is the Gain
• Backward Cuffs are For Backward Men (or worse, managers!)

Attend the Art of Soft Joinery

• Embrace the Cloven Collar and exclude them from all Kosher Prohibition
• Traveling Boyos Require Traveling Buttons – A Button Shouldn’t Bust!
• Carriage, Portage & Storage – Close Possessions should be Closely Held
• New Designs when New Designs Ferment: For “Fashion” to Dictate Change is Abomination!

3. Facility of the Hand

God’s Plan is that Cloth Changes Character

• Greasing, Aging, Tearing, Wearing & Sweating is the Patina of a Man’s Garb
• The Touch of Cloth is Sixty-Four Thousand and Eight-Hundred Degrees! (360 Degree x 180 Degree) –
Such is the Mystic Math of a Garment’s True Embrace
• For a Thing to Appear “Worn” – It Must be Rightly WORN – By Men and Not Foul Automata!
• Error that Impedes No Function is a Maker’s Signature

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