| Dents | |
| Type: | Private company |
| Industry: | Retail |
| Foundation: | Worcester, England [1] |
| Founder: | John Dent |
| Location City: | Warminster, England |
| Location Country: | United Kingdom |
| Area Served: | Worldwide |
| Products: | gloves, handbags, small leather goods |
| Parent: | Dewhurst Dent plc |
Dents is a British company that crafts luxury leather gloves, handbags, and small leather goods. Dents is known for its hand cutting, sewing, and stitching techniques, which are still practised today on some limited top-end products, most merchandise being purchased from third-party factories.
See also: History of Worcester and History of Worcestershire. Dents was established in Worcester in 1777 as a manufacturer of fine leather gloves by John Dent (1751–1811). It is possibly Britain's oldest existing fashion manufacturer. Dent's sons, John and William, helped the company expand throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. In 1845, mechanical sewing was introduced to the company to assist craftspeople.[2]
In 1847, the business became Dent, Allcroft & Co. when John Derby Allcroft ran the company. Under Allcroft, annual production quadrupled to over 12 million pairs in 1884 and Dents became the premier glove producer in the world.
Dents is also known for historically providing leather gloves to the British Royal Family, such as George VI and Elizabeth II's coronation gloves. Dents' Museum holds gloves worn by Lord Nelson, and Queen Victoria.[3] Dents' gloves have been featured in several films. Examples include the unlined black gloves worn by Daniel Craig portraying James Bond in the 2012 movie, Skyfall,[4] the black gloves worn by Michael Keaton portraying Batman in the 1989 film, Batman, and the purple suede gloves worn by Jack Nicholson portraying the Joker in the same film.
The company has a factory in Warminster, Wiltshire, having been present in the town since 1937.[5] Since sometime before 1992, the company has been a subsidiary of Dewhurst Dent plc, a maker of fashion accessories based in Bolton.[6]
Since March 2023, Dents' headquarters has been the temporary home of the Fashion Museum, Bath.[7]
The firm exports to Europe, North America, Asia, and Australia, and has expanded to include belts, handbags, hats, serapes, and other small leather goods in the Dents Collection.
The glove patterns used today date back to 1839. Each pair of Dents Heritage gloves is handmade in England by a Dents craftsman. Every glove is individually bench cut. Quirks, which are small, diamond-shaped pieces of leather, are hand sewn at the base of the fingers in order to provide a snug fit. Dents craftsmen also utilise a hand felling technique in which the cuff of the glove is stitched to the lining, improving the gloves' shape and comfort. Dents Heritage gloves are made with peccary skins, North American deerskin, and fine aniline Ethiopian hairsheep leathers.[8] Heritage gloves are available in a handful of stores worldwide with a luxury price tag and should not be confused with the imported gloves sold in most stores.
In 1837, John and William Dent purchased Sudeley Castle which had been the home of former queen Catherine Parr who died in 1548. The castle and chapel were "ruinous" at the time, having been extensively damaged during the Civil War.[9] [10]
The Dents' restoration of the castle was quite sensitive, deciding to not entirely rebuild the castle, rather leaving part of it as picturesque ruins, giving the castle much of its character still seen today. One reliable source states that the restoration was directed by George Gilbert Scott, "working on the western side of the inner court in the style of the existing Medieval and Elizabethan buildings"; Gilbert Scott subsequently began the restoration of the castle's free-standing St Mary's chapel.[11]
When Sudeley was habitable again, the brothers set about filling the castle with artworks.[10] After their deaths, their nephew, John Coucher Dent, inherited the castle in 1855. He and his wife Emma Dent continued the restoration.[12]