Private White VC founder defends Andy Burnham's £695 jacket as British-made

Less than a fortnight after Andy Burnham walked into 10 Downing Street, the founder of the brand that makes the prime minister’s jackets has found himself fighting a media storm rather than celebrating a high-profile endorsement. James Eden, who runs Manchester-based Private White VC, has launched a vigorous defence of his clothing after tabloid front pages and online commentators branded Burnham a hypocrite for wearing expensive casualwear while households struggle with the cost of living. The Daily Mail ran a front-page story headlined “‘Man of the people’ Andy Burnham’s down-to-earth outfits are all actually designer – including an £80 T-shirt … that’s more than he cut electricity bills by,” triggering what Eden described as a slew of online hate.

“There should be no cynicism or criticism about a British PM promoting British goods,” Eden told the Guardian. “There’s nothing to debate. He is the premier spokesperson of British trade and industry. Of course he should be wearing British-made stuff.” Burnham’s wardrobe, which mixes dark polo shirts, casual jackets and trainers, has been a point of difference since his time as mayor of Greater Manchester and has followed him into the highest office.

His Private White VC waterproof Harrington jacket retails at £695, with “marine” jeans at £295 and a zipped polo shirt at £195. “I don’t believe we are expensive at all,” he said. “We offer a world-class product. We don’t compromise on quality. We work with the best of the best, including the best weavers and the best finishers.”

Speaking from the 173-year-old mill on the River Irwell, Eden stressed the economics behind the price tags. The factory employs about 100 people, with 90 per cent of its products made on site and the remaining 10 per cent sourced from small independent suppliers, including cashmere from Scotland. Workers are paid an average of £20 an hour, not “the €2 you’d get in a factory in eastern Europe or 20 pence in the far east”, Eden said.

His longest-serving employee has been with the family’s companies for nearly 60 years. Eden pushed back against a throwaway culture he believes has been normalised by fast fashion. “I understand there is an affordability issue with many of the items we sell,” he said. “[But] if you spend £10 or even £50 on a piece of clothing and it collapses after one wash, that suddenly becomes a very expensive piece of clothing.”

He estimates that 99 per cent of the money from an £850 jacket stays in the UK economy, flowing to local suppliers, staff and Manchester-based creative talent. The person who maintains the mill’s boiler started as an apprentice in the 1980s, and every photographer, stylist and makeup artist for the brand’s shoots is Manchester-based.