When I called Patrick Grant at his South London studio, he was in the middle of styling the E. Tautz runway show, which opens day two of London Fashion Week Men’s tomorrow. We would forgive him some distraction—after all, it was the eve of yesterday’s U.K. election, which came less than a week after England’s most recent terrorist attack. But Grant is keeping his wits about him. He had sent in his ballot weeks before and was, despite Labour’s late surge in the polls, almost fatalistically resigned to a Tory victory. (Which, given the huge Labour upset, we now know was all too pessimistic.) It wasn’t the first time he’s prepared a show amidst political upheaval; last year at this time the U.K. was bracing for the Brexit vote, and Grant wore an oversized t-shirt emblazoned with an emphatic “IN” for his bow, which he tucked in to similarly enormous jeans (more on those proportions later). So this year, Grant seemed preternaturally relaxed, pausing only a few times to fuss with looks on a fit model over the course of our leisurely 45-minute conversation.

E. Tautz is by far the smallest heritage high-fashion brand showing at any of the coming fashion weeks. The label is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, and its history mirrors the rise and fall of Savile Row and traditional dress. Partly thanks to the business-degreed, clothes-obsessed Grant, E. Tautz was revived in 2009. And Grant, who bought E. Tautz parent company Norton & Sons in 2005, has since turned E. Tautz into one of the most-watched labels out of London. By taking the Savile Row suit—expert construction paired with uniquely gorgeous fabrics—and blowing it up, Grant has remade the E. Tautz proportion enormously, both literally and figuratively. But this is no Balenciaga business-square, normcorporate look. The suits cling to you in the right places, draping from the shoulders, hugging the arms, and gathering at the waist. Everywhere else, the fabric avoids the body in a lovely shapelessness.

And plenty of guys have gotten on board, as we found at the brand’s 150th anniversary kickoff. We also got a sneak preview of tomorrow’s show at Grant’s final fittings, a process stressful for seemingly every designer but him. (“You know we don’t get into a last minute panic.”) Read on for Grant’s explanation of his uniquely zen design process, why he got bored with tightly-tailored suits, and why he probably won’t be making a political statement at this year’s show.