The Irish economy may be booming at the moment, but because of lean times in the past there are few clothing companies in this country with a history of more than a few decades. One of the longest surviving is Henry White Ltd, which this year is marking 70 years in business. The company has only carried the name of its founder since 1952; before that date, it was known as Sty-lex. But right from the start, it carried the stamp of the forceful Henry White, who clearly knew how to maintain a business through the vicissitudes which marked the first years of this State.
White was born in Dublin in 1909 and seems to have been a natural salesman; at the age of 13, his family reports, he was cycling around houses in Co Meath selling pencils and notebooks. Later, he started to travel around the country in a pony and trap offering a wide range of items including clothing. Clothes were soon to become his primary business - in 1929, at the age of 20, he opened his first factory on Abbey Street, moving to Clarendon Street five years later. One of White's friends and associates was Jack Clarke, who started Richard Alan in 1935 and was also involved in clothes manufacturing for many decades.
Both men were keenly aware of how changes in the country's economy and political circumstances could affect their respective businesses. Among the stories told of White is one describing how, immediately after the conclusion of the second World War, he loaded a van with Irish tea and butter and took these to Paris, where such foodstuffs were scarce; in return, he bought bales of quality fabric unobtainable in Ireland and used these to manufacture a new line of clothing. Both White and Clarke were keen exporters of their products to the United States and, once tariffs were lifted after the 1965 Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement, to Britain.
As a result, during the 1950s and 1960s, the Henry White label became well-known overseas. Today, exports continue to account for half of the company's business. But the home market has never been ignored either. Older readers will probably remember the Henry White shop which stood at 69 Grafton Street until its closure in June 1984, when the company decided to concentrate on the wholesale rather than retail business. White retired from the firm in 1977 (he died in September 1990) but it has stayed in family hands thanks to the presence of his two sons, David and Bernard.
The former has been responsible for designing each season's collection since 1955, while the latter looks after marketing and associated responsibilities. Bernard says that in recent years, the company has seen a steady annual growth of five to seven per cent, although this was upset earlier in the 1990s when sterling was particularly weak against the Irish punt. Wholesale turnover is now in the region of £3 million per year, and some 35 people are directly employed at the Henry White premises in Dublin's Liberties area.
As for the clothes, these can be divided into two categories: urban and rural wear. The first of these focuses on coats and suiting made from relatively lightweight fabrics from Italy and France. Typically, the current season's line of coats comes in blends of wool, cashmere and alpaca, tends to be mid-calf or longer (although there are swing models above the knee) and has generous wide sleeves and collars, the latter sometimes in fur.
Colours are in shades of grey, black, navy, burgundy, toffee and camel. These are comfortable, efficient and hard-working clothes for professional women who live in cities - they are neither radical nor excessively conservative. They take note of changing tastes but do not pander to the extremes of seasonal change. Over the months ahead, Henry White is unlikely to be offering customers fringed ponchos, for example.
The company's country range tends to use more traditional fabrics in a familiar way. Irish tweed continues to be central to this clothing, seen either in strong checks or solid colour blocks, with shades of green especially popular at the moment. There are knubbly knit sweaters as well as waterproof coating in neutrals and mustards and all the familiar accoutrements of rural dressing. Clothes of this character tend to be classified as classic because, in response to customer requirements, they scarcely alter from one season to the next.
While the urban line is carried in Dublin by Arnotts, the more country-style pieces may be found in Blarney Woollen Mills and House of Ireland. Meeting another stockist's proposal, the company began to produce a line of casual outerwear jackets for men - "the Japanese wanted us to offer them a his-and-hers garment" explains Bernard White - and this is now another advantageous division of the business.
What Henry White's continued existence shows is the importance of adaptation to changing circumstances and the need to see the clothing industry as being in a state of constant evolution. To remain still is to risk fossilisation.
Looking back at the company over earlier decades, it becomes obvious that answering client demand promptly has always been an imperative. Fabrics and forms have come into favour and then been dropped; in the late 1970s and early 1980s, for example, Henry White became known for its use of Alcantara, a washable suede much in vogue at the time but now no longer to be seen.
Will it remain a family-owned company well into the next century? David White has three sons and Bernard White two daughters. As yet, none of the next generation has expressed an interest in joining the firm, but there is plenty of time. All being well, Henry White should be able to celebrate its centenary in the year 2029.
