Jeff Banks

Jeff Banks PPCSD (born Jeffrey Tatham-Banks, 17 March 1943) is a Welsh fashion designer of men's and women's clothing, jewellery, and home furnishings. Born in Ebbw Vale, Wales, Banks co-founded the fashion chain Warehouse in the late 1970s. He later created and presented the television programme The Clothes Show, broadcast on BBC One from 1986 to 2000.

Biography Banks was born in the Welsh town of Ebbw Vale, which is located in Blaenau Gwent. His sheet metal worker father left his mother when Banks was eight, and she consequently decided to move to London.

He was offered a scholarship to independent public school St Dunstan's College, in Catford, south London, but his mother could not afford the uniform. He went to Brockley County Grammar School instead, but still without a uniform. In order to afford a uniform he set up his own business buying paraffin at the bottom of the hill, then pushing it up in an old pram, and selling it for a penny more at the top of the hill. By 13 he was employing a man to drive a lorry-based tanker, and at 15 he sold the business.

Banks holds honorary degrees from the University of Lancaster, University of East London, Newcastle University, University College for the Creative Arts, and the University of Westminster, and is a Doctor of Arts.

In 2009 Banks was appointed as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours.

Career In 1964, with money saved from the paraffin business and from his father mortgaging his own home, Banks opened the boutique Clobber in London, led in 1989 to the first "Clothes Show Live" event at the NEC Birmingham, as well as the launch of the Clothes Show magazine.

Having been asked to create corporate design wear for many organisations Jeff Banks created his own corporate clothing company in 1996. Incorporatewear is now one of the largest companies in the United Kingdom producing corporate clothing. With partners Rob Pollock and Brian Lamb the company produces a wide range of clothing for various types of companies.

In 2000, he signed a deal to design clothes for the UK chain Sainsbury's. The installation of Jeff Banks stores within Sainsbury's outlets proved successful, but a dispute led to the early termination of his contract. The resulting lawsuit was resolved with Sainsbury's agreeing to pay a reported settlement of £1 million, plus a box of truffles every week.

In April 2007, Banks mocked Kate Moss's design range for Topshop, saying: "Can Kate sharpen a pencil, do an impression of a cow or draw a matchstick man? I would put money on it, though not very much. I'll bet [Kate Moss] just grabbed one of her many Prada bags, rifled through her wardrobe ... and turned up at Topshop's head office in Oxford Street for a quick hour's briefing with the in-house designers and buying staff."

Banks has continued to work as a designer with designs for the Guide Association, the England football team, and for London's 2012 Olympics bid, which were modelled at the launch by Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Steve Redgrave and Denise Lewis. Banks continues to be heavily involved in corporate clothing and uniform. In May 2010 he offered to design the match-day 'walk-on' suits for the cash-strapped Portsmouth F.C. team for their FA Cup final appearance.

Banks's own fashion design influences are Hardy Amies, Giorgio Armani and Alice Temperley. an amateur under-23 squad having British National 'Elite' team status.

Banks accepted the honorary position as Lord Lieutenant of the Ben Gibbons charitable Society of Farnham in March 2024.

In October 2025, Banks announced his support for Reform UK, describing its leader Nigel Farage as "a good man". In a Facebook post on 10th January 2026, Banks called for Farage, Rupert Lowe, Ben Habib and Tommy Robinson to "get round the table, settle your differences, stop throwing bricks and lawsuits at one another and come together for the collective good."