 The Paris extension was operated as a couture establishment while its other branches functioned primarily as tailors and importers.John Redfern (11 November 1820 – 22 November 1895) started out as a tailor in Cowes in 1855, following in the sartorial footsteps of his father, also John Redfern, who first opened a Cowes specialty clothing shop in 1811.With the support of sons Ernest Redfern and Charles Poynter Redfern (1853-1929), John Redfern opened tailoring houses in London and Paris in 1881, followed by two shops in New York in 1884-85, one for tailoring, the other for furs.