IT IS an occupational hazard for every businessman and woman, and the best way of embarrassing oneself over a lunch meeting.
But now a Yorkshire tailor may have found the answer to the expensive problem of spilling food and drink on your best suit.
Hemingway Tailors, of Wakefield, has begun offering a high-tec suit which is designed to withstand liquids such as water, c
offee and wine.
The £2,300 bespoke suits, developed using nano-technology, repel spillages causing them to bead up and roll off garments.
The suits use Nanobloc, a stain and water resistant cloth finish, which was developed by a Yorkshire textile finisher and applied to the cloths by a Savile Row cloth merchant and fabric weaver.
Toby Luper, director of Hemingway, which has made suits for presenters Vernon Kay, Davina McCall and Chris Evans and footballer Rio Ferdinand plus trousers for comedian Johnny Vegas, tested the suits' water-resistant qualities by stepping into a fountain in Leeds.
He said: "I got absolutely drenched and within 10 or 15 minutes I was bone dry. It creases but they fall out quickly. It is an amazing fabric."
Nanobloc was created by Huddersfield based textile finishers WT Johnson and Sons. Hemingway said the finish does not affect the soft feel or breathing of luxury cloths.
Holland and Sherry has applied the technology to a wide range of cloths, including worsteds woven at Joseph H Clissold in Bradford and Hemingway Tailors.
Mr Luper's firm, which already markets its products as far
away as Canada, has sold 12 of the Nanobloc suits in three weeks.
He believes that demand will increase in spite of the economic downturn which has forced consumers to reign in their expenditure.
He said: "Clients are buying strongly into this new technology. Nanobloc cloths are ideal for businessmen on the move, particularly in countries with high humidity, and also for our own inclement weather.
"Whenever things are tough financially people like to dress up more smartly – they have to make themselves look smarter and behave in a more professional manner.
"And, in comparison, a Savile Row suit costs £3,500 plus VAT."
The suits are created by hand and each one takes about 55 hours of work.
Mr Luper, who has been a tailor for 36 years, added: "The technology allows us to deliver all the traditional qualities of a bespoke suit in the finest cloth, with the added benefits that it will repel stains, dirt and moisture."
Technical manager at WT Johnson Alan Dolley said: "It is a combination of clever chemistry and old-fashioned fabrics. It is down to the scarring, pressing and setting."
