‘I bought Andy Burnham his £80 T-shirt, right here is the important thing element everybody received flawed’

While the Labour Party revels in the ‘Burnham bounce,’ the manufacturer of the Prime Minister’s favourite clothes is enjoying the best free advertising it’s ever had. For when doubters criticise Andy Burnham for spending £80 on a T-shirt or £295 on a pair of jeans, Manchester’s Private White V.C’s sales rocket.

As the former Mayor of Manchester vows to “bring back hope,” the 150-year-old business, responsible for the understated quality of the PM’s wardrobe, has its own campaigning motto – ‘saving Britain, one raincoat at a time.’ Mocking the PM – although she undoubtedly envies his approval ratings and probably his style – Kemi Badenoch dubbed him “a pair of eyelashes and a black T-shirt.”

But, as James Eden, CEO of Private White V.C, the great grandson of the brand’s founder, Private Jack White V.C – a First World War hero – made clear to The Mirror, it’s actually very dark navy and is no ordinary black T-shirt. Whenever Mr Burnham pops into their Manchester store, as he did last Saturday to buy their wool peacoat, he is buying a beautifully crafted garment, made using fine British fabric.

The PM also owns their £695 Harrington jacket, £295 jeans and a made-to-measure suit – all paid for himself. And, with his salary boosted from £118,267 as Mayor of Manchester to £174,039 as Prime Minister, James, 43, a former investment banker, hopes he will be buying a lot more.

He says: “Andy’s been a fan and loyal supporter of our brand for three years now. There have been no freebies – he has purchased all his pieces himself.”

The company’s red brick mill, which steps off the River Irwell, in Salford, just north of Manchester City centre, is in an area steeped in industrial history, just a 26 minute walk from Heron House, the new No10 North.

James, who lives in nearby Altrincham with his wife and three children, describes the PM’s most recent half hour visit, saying: “He drank builders’ tea and ate chocolate Hobnobs and Jaffa Cakes, while picking out pieces. He’s the most authentic man. He’s incredibly proud to be Mancunian and keen to support our local British brand.”

Marketing executive Harrison Heaton, 21, agrees, saying: “You wouldn’t think you were serving the man in charge of the country, he’s so down to Earth. And he certainly looks good in our clothes.”

The deeds to the Private White V.C. mill date back to 1853, but the brand’s story began with Jack White V.C. A private in the First World War, Jack won the Victoria Cross by jumping into a river under heavy machine-gun fire in 1917, tying a copper telephone wire to his boat and towing it to safety after everyone else in the vessel was killed or wounded.

James adds: “We include copper detailing on a lot of our clothes as a nod to his bravery.” Mr Burnham’s Harrington jacket, for example, which he wore to celebrate his win in Makerfield, has a copper zip.

When Jack returned to civilian life, he was employed as an apprentice at his local raincoat factory in Salford, training as a pattern cutter. He became factory supervisor, general manager and, eventually, factory owner.

After his death in the 1940s, the business moved through different guises and family members. And in 1996, aged 13, James began working in the factory to earn some summer money. He says: “At the time, the factory was a private label company, making garments for ostensibly the best brands in the world. As an impressionable teenager, I was always quite seduced by the Burberry check or Aquascutum patterns.”

Upstairs, in the tardis-like mill, an archive room houses one of almost every garment made in the factory over the years. During our tour, James showed me a coat the factory made for the World Cup winning England National Team in 1966, dubbed the Ramsey Raincoat.

But James worked in banking during his 20s, surviving the 2008 financial crash, but taking redundancy in 2012 and investing in the factory – switching things up to make their own label garments, instead of manufacturing clothing for other quality brands.

And so, the Private White V.C. of the modern age was born. The Mancunian menswear label now employs more than 100 people and has dressed celebrities including David Beckham, Liam Gallagher, Tom Hardy and Pierce Brosnan. James notes: “We make custom clothes for women too, and Princess Anne is a fan.”

Entering the mill through a large red door, a stylish ground floor shop has lured in customers including the Eagles, Coldplay and Daniel Craig. There’s a large floor-to-ceiling Victor comic, depicting Jack’s First World War heroics in cartoon form.

A wartime trench coat stands proudly on a mannequin, oil marks still present at the bottom. James says: “That coat has seen some things. It was made for the Allied forces in the Second World War.”

Burnham’s Harrington jacket is displayed nearby, next to a poster emblazoned with the brand’s ‘saving Britain, one raincoat at a time’ motto.

James says: “The story of our Harrington begins in World War II when Winston Churchill called for a fabric to protect downed RAF pilots in freezing waters. You land in the water, you get wet, you get cold, you’ve had it. The result was Ventile [a 100% cotton, high density fabric] invented in Manchester, down the road at The Shirley Institute in Didsbury. It remains unmatched today.” The Harrington is seamed with copper, to avoid water being let in by minute stitch holes.

In the belly of the factory upstairs, Derek Hughes, 65, a fabric cutter who has been with the brand for 26 years, says: “We’re a family and very proud of what we produce.” In the centre of the floor, two 100-year-old Manchester-made cutting machines are still used today.

All the clothes are cut, stitched and finished by hand. Private White V.C.’s garments are made on site, using 90% locally sourced materials (with the exception of Scottish cashmere and Swiss hardware). James says: “We are a true British brand and a circular economy, buying from local businesses.”

He shows off a reel of wool used to make a coat worn by Ethan Hawke. The label reads “woven in Delph, Oldham, Lancashire”. Explaining why their clothes are expensive, James says: “We pay for the best materials – and source them locally.

“We pay our workers well, and as a result there are people who have been with the brand for decades. You’re not paying for a machine to mass produce a garment, you’re paying a highly skilled artisan to make something by hand. We don’t compromise on materials, on yarns, on labour.”

James hopes Mr Burnham who has been to the store about half a dozen times, will spur others to buy from them. He says: “We currently export more clothes than we sell here in the UK. Our biggest market is the US, who seem to have a greater appreciation for British clothing than the Brits do. We’d love for that to change.

“If people spent their money on British brands, it would boost the economy, increase opportunity. We have such a rich history of textiles in this country and we are incredibly proud to be flying the flag.”

*For more information see privatewhitevc.com