Borovick Fabrics

Borovick Fabrics has traded from 16 Berwick Street since 1932, which makes it the oldest fabric shop in Soho and one of the last of the specialist textile merchants that once filled the street. Now in its third generation, the family business has dressed everything from West End stages to Hollywood productions, and the costume designers it has supplied have gone on to win Baftas, Emmys, Tonys and Oscars.

The shop is owned by Simon, who bought the business in 2016 after nearly thirty-four years working behind its counters. Under three generations of the same family it has kept going through the Second World War, the Swinging Sixties and every change of Soho since, holding a large stock of bridal, theatrical, fashion, silk, technical, dancewear and suiting fabrics.

What to expect from this fabric shop in Soho

Borovick is a working supplier rather than a boutique. The range spans everyday dressmaking cloth to specialist theatrical and technical fabrics, and the staff are used to helping both professional costumiers and first-time makers find the right material. It is the kind of shop where you go in with a brief and leave with exactly the metreage you need.

A Soho survivor

Berwick Street was once lined with fabric and textile shops, and Borovick is among the very few that remain. Its longevity has made it a genuine Soho institution, championed by local business campaigns and written up in the neighbourhood press, and it sits alongside other long-running Berwick Street independents such as the record shop Reckless Records. You will find more of the area's shops in our Soho shops listings.

How a visit works

Borovick Fabrics trades as a traditional cutting shop, so you come in to browse the rolls and buy by the metre. Its current stock and specialisms are set out on its official site, and its story has been told in features such as My Soho Times.