Max Freeman, tailor

Max Freeman, who has died at 93, was a dresser to the stars, a renowned tailor whose mastery with the cloth scissors made him a favourite of celebrities, politicians and stylish types in his home city of Leeds.
Max Freeman with his wife, Ella.Max Freeman with his wife, Ella.
Max Freeman with his wife, Ella.

Among those who stepped out in his suits were the jazz legend Louis Armstrong and the entertainer Frankie Vaughan, as well as the ambassadors of Japan and Syria.

Upon taking delivery, Armstrong was said to have described Max’s clothes as “the greatest”.

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Raised in Chapeltown, Leeds, he set himself up in business after service in the Navy. In a career spanning six decades, he maintained premises in Roundhay Road and Armley’s Park Mill House.

“In those days in Leeds we had the finest cloths available and traditional tailoring, where the cut was everything and the devil was in the detail,” he recalled on his 90th birthday.

“He was certainly a character,” said his daughter, Michelle Hirst. “He loved his job and he loved people. He was at his happiest holding court wherever he went. The local paper shop had a chair ready for him when he popped in most evenings on his way home.

“He loved music and had a fabulous singing voice. He never really saw himself as being old and kept his sense of humour to the end.”

He is survived by Ella, his wife of 65 years, and by two children and three grandchildren.