World Cup 2018: Gareth Southgate has personal tailor in Yorkshire where England manager has been buying his waistcoats for four years
William Hunt has dressed a number of football legends including Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi
THANKS to Gareth Southgate, waistcoats have become an unlikely British fashion trend - and Sun Sport can reveal the man behind the look, the England boss's personal tailor in Yorkshire.
Southgate has inspired fans to dress to impress so much that Marks & Spencer - who provide England's suits - is running out of waistcoats.
But for the past four years, the Three Lions boss has shopped at William Hunt in Harrogate, ten miles from his house in Fewston.
William Hunt, the tailor behind Southgate's love of waistcoats, told SunSport: "Gareth's a very important customer of ours.
"He's a lovely man - calm, collected and stylish. He knows exactly what he wants.
"I can't imagine him getting angry about anything or being anything other than straightforward."
Hunt is thrilled that Southgate is sharpening up the nation with his stylish look - even if it is through a rival company.
The 58-year-old said: "Gareth's done a great job. He's rocking an M&S outfit and he's making them look really good, which is brilliant. It's good for British industry.
"Business has been really good because people are in good moods. Gareth is bringing a bit of attention to menswear and style.
"I love that nobody's after him. It used to break my heart when people were tearing Sir Bobby Robson apart.
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"Everyone's backing Southgate and it's brilliant. We're talking about his style, the England manager's style! It's fantastic - almost like the Italians."
Hunt revealed in an interview that Southgate's favourite waistcoat is the round front horseshoe, which he always gets in blues and dark colours, wearing on top of a bright shirt.
William Hunt's top tips for Waistcoat Wednesday
KEEP it classic. Don't go all silly, bright colours and reflective bow ties.
That's what went wrong with the waistcoat in the first place. They got madder and madder. Keep it humble.
The waistcoat is like a breastplate, it should give you really good strength for your torso.
Think what the breastplate used to do – this is a modern day breastplate. That’s what the design is from. It should give you a waist and a chest.
Hunt, who was responsible for Lionel Messi's garish red suit at the 2014 Ballon d'Or awards, insists it is easy to dress the England gaffer because of his "incredible" sportsman physique.
He said: "He's a very fit man, footballers are and have incredible bodies. You can literally put anything on him and he'll look good."
Hunt's impressive work has also attracted the likes of Manchester United legends Cristiano Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs.
United fan Hunt said: "We've worked with footballers for years. Cristiano Ronaldo, Ryan Giggs, mostly Man United players past and present, but we've also had a lot of Leeds players in.
"Ronaldo, when he was at Man United, used to buy a lot of stuff from us and we did a few outfits for him with his Ballon d'Or.
"In 2007, we did the Man United outfits for the FA Cup and I was very privileged to be sat in the photo with the team.
"It was hilarious, I was sit in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt in the middle with Sir Alex Ferguson on the end.
"Unfortunately we got beat by Chelsea that day! 1-0 [Didier] Drogba."