Inspired... Kit Neale AW13

"Fashion East Installations give the newest of the new in London menswear the chance to prove their worth in a group show of delicious controlled anarchy," proclaims Charlie Porter in the recent press release for autumn/winter 2013. Ever since they were introduced to the London fashion week schedule back in 2009, I've excitedly bounced from room to room inside its various incarnations uncovering the beautiful alongside the wonderful and even the unusual at every opportunity. The platform provides discovery at every turn for us whilst offering invaluable exposure for the designers themselves and often acts as a springboard for them. Nothing quite represents the diversity of London menswear design talent quite like the Fashion East Menswear Installations. Returning to the impressive and ornate Georgian townhouse in the heart of St. James’s alongside Meadham Kirchhoff, Bobby Abley, Joseph Turvey, Nasir Mazhar and Maarten van der Horst, Kit Neale will once again be a noisy neighbour to Buckingham Palace for the day.

Ever since I first stepped in to Kit Neale's dazzlingly printed world,  a cultural kaleidoscope that reimagined suburban and multicultural Britain, I've been eager to return. Despite being just over two weeks away from London Collections: Men, I couldn't resist popping by his new showroom cross studio located just off Shoreditch High Street for a sneak peek at how the new season is taking shape. Moving on from his Dad's allotment and the ever eccentric great British seaside, the emerging sartorial chronicler of our age looks to his design heroes and ends up sozzled in his local. Reviving him with the rustling of a bag of pork scratchings, Kit Neale talks us through his mood board and allows us to take a sip from his heady cocktail of influences...

"The real starting point was looking at three of my design heroes of Michael Clark, Ray Petri and Ernő Goldfinger. I'm always researching them. I'm obsessed. Ray Petri's 'Buffalo' book has pride of place in the studio, it's our bible and I always look through it and I know many other labels look to it as well. I'm really drawn to those Buffalo days and often look through my old issues of The Face and Arena Homme Plus. I think Petri, Goldfinder and Clark all have a level of influence over or appear in some way in every season but I wanted to delve a little deeper and fuse all three in to this collection but it wasn't possible to look at all three due to this being such a short season so I chose to focus on Clark. It's been a bit tight this season and this shows in the fact that the prints have just come back, the Friday before Christmas but I'm really pleased with them.

There's a film that Michael Clarke did with Leigh Bowery called Hail The New Puritan. It's a fake documentary, a mix of narrative, performance and fantasy. If you've not seen it, you really should watch it on youtube. The vivid colours of the film really inspired the prints for this season. There's one particular scene where they are in a typical British, slightly run down pub and the contrast and clash with these colourful characters is so intriguing. It led me to think about the role of the pub in society, they're a place where all types congregate and it also directed me to all of the pop references. I looked at so many names, signs and details of pubs but in the end we concentrated on The White Polar Bear and The Queen's Head. The prints combine the pub detailing with the vivid colours of the film and the movements of Michael's Clark's dance."

A few snapshots peering in to Kit Neale's mind.

Much like looking at Martin Parr's photography which can at first appear exaggerated, Kit Neale's plentiful prints fuse the familiar with the strange, the mundane with the extraordinary. Entering his presentation space last season I was instantly transported back home to the sandy beach of Margate and I'm looking forward to going off on a jaunt to one of the designer's locals to share a pint with his design heroes. What's your poison?

Matthew Miller Backstage at MAN

Thanks to the support and sponsorship of Topman and Fashion East, MAN has helped created a whole new momentum in the London menswear scene. With each season it evolves in profile and importance but the SS12 lineup marked something of an energised beginning. The talent showcase is dedicated to heralding what’s new in menswear but this most recent cast of designers was one of the most exciting to date. With expectations running, the trio of Martine Rose, Shaun Samson and Matthew Miller did not disappoint. The show was without doubt one of the real highlights of the hectic day. In particular, the sight of Matthew Miller's models marching across the stunning Royal Oper House setting left me feeling strangely proud and wildly happy.

Regular readers will know that Miller is no newbie in our eyes. Ever since, Matthew Miller first came to my attention with his standout RCA MA graduate collection which explored notions of masculinity with a somewhat jovial approach to the macabre, I have kept a close on Miller's continued development and rise to prominence. His work has impressed us for a number of years now and after capturing the collective imagination with his AW11 presentation, his addition to the show lineup marked a much deserved step forward for the design talent. A step the design talent took in his stride. To help document his on schedule catwalk debut, Miller enlisted the help of Miha F Kalan to record backstage as the finishing touches were applied to his analysis of function and necessity in the masculine wardrobe. A quiet Sunday afternoon could not be further removed from the fevered chaos that goes on out of sight during fashion week, so it seems like the perfect time to watch on...

Illustrating Menswear Day SS11: E. Tautz

Two weeks have passed since Menswear Day but there is still so much left unsaid. Presentations, catwalk shows and film screenings all celebrated the exciting diversity of menswear design talent which uniquely exists in this capital of ours. It was exciting to see stalwarts of Savile Row sit so comfortably alongside high street regulars, established designers and exciting new talent alike. The entire schedule helped cause a sartorial stir or two whilst collectively flying the flag of menswear and tiring me out in the process. One of the most enjoyable experiences was the salon style presentation at E. Tautz in the Navy Board Rooms. It was perfectly fitting of this particular Savile Row tailoring house: a highly intimate, personal service whereby Patrick Grant introduced each look in a wonderfully personal and engaging manner. 

As you should all know by now, E. Tautz is a label which champions the notion of dressing properly and of men taking pride in what they wear. It creates simple cutting paired with bold accents of colour and pattern - cloths with scale and texture; big checks, fine flannels, and stripes. For SS11 they continued to present a modern and elegant aesthetic while fondly glancing back in time. They've cut their cloth with a modish sharpness in crisp wool fresco's, hopsacks in wool and silk, a selection of crisp linens and stiff drills. Last summer, Patrick an his team were inspired by the idea of the Englishmen on holiday but for this season they looked closer to home. There are hints of Brighton Rock with the clipped drainpipes, full collared button downs, pin tight knots and harrington coats. Both Gordon Richardson and Patrick Grant have seemingly been inspired by Greene's novel. While a stripe or two remind us of the British seaside in the height of summer. The collection manages to encapsulate all that is charming about spending the warmer months by the English coast. For me this collection celebrates a quiet but stylish summer in Blighty where you can 99s, sandcastles, beach huts, surprisingly chilly seas and so on. Of course there are moments where a North wind might blow a chill your way but Grant has taken that in to account and offers a navy fresco wool trench teamed with a cobalt blue sea island t-shirt and denim blue trousers. Just lovely. Perhaps I'm biased because I've spent so much time by the English coast but Lauren Macaulay manages to capture the essence of collection with her illustrations... 

Illustrations by Lauren Macaulay

One of Patrick Grant's main reasons for relaunching E Tautz was because he felt that there was nobody creating beautiful, chic, English menswear. He identified a desire for something handmade, beautifully cut and with English cloth at its heart. The label offers simple tailoring with a little something extra added, a bit of pomp, a bit of colour. This collection once again demonstrates chic menswear but with a sense of Englishness that has been lost over the years. The revived house strives to make stylish clothes to which a wardrobe can be built from. Grant's ultimate aim for E Tautz is to secure a position close to the one it held in the 1910s, when Europe and America knew E. Tautz as England's finest sporting tailor and their salons in London and Paris were dressing the world’s most elegant men. With each season, Grant edges closer to his goal.

Illustrating Menswear Day SS11: James Long

For SS11, James Long presents a hallucinogenic inducing assortment of psychedelic rebels, rich in colour and texture. Referencing iconic drifter and anti hero films such as Midnight Cowboys and My own Private Idaho whilst mixing in recent experiences at Woodstock, the collection celebrates a relaxed time of psychedelic living. Long offers a bright and bold collection, where the man who wears it stands alone on a deserted stretch on a highway, nonchalantly flicking out his thumb for a ride.

Long's juxtaposition of references and fabrics gives us a collection that is both sharp and clean, yet loose and elongated. Realistic but at the same time colourful, creative and almost dreamlike. Texture is always an important facet of Long's creations and there are a number of items here that begged to be stroked as they hitchhiked their way past on the catwalk. The abundance of fabric patch worked together works as a representation of the myriad of different youth cultures that make up the character of the collection. For example, we see trippy knitted patchwork in silver grey wools worn over acid bright silk and chiffon tailored shirts, paired with cobalt blue cotton and lightweight indigo mohair. Elsewhere we see hints of liquorice and tobacco coloured leathers against desert dried denim. This cocktail of fabrics and textures lead to a hazy state of mind and feeling for SS11. Now, I have spent a significant amount of time admiring the backstage shots over on Dazed Digital following Menswear Day but even they could not fully translate the true beauty of the collection. Thankfully for us, Lauren Macaulay has spent the day with paintbrush in hand and the resulting artwork manages to capture the collections wondrous sense of texture. Light mohair, trippy patchwork knitwear and acid bright silk shirts brought to life by watercolours.

Illustrations by Lauren Macaulay

Illustrating Menswear Day SS11: Topman Design

Showcased in the beautiful surroundings of the Royal Opera House, Topman Design's SS11 collection took its inspiration from the bustling backstreets of Brighton. Richardson and his design team looked to the varied shop fronts and the pieces are influenced by the bounty of vinyl and vintage stores that can be found behind the facade of this classic British seaside town. The result is a collection with duality, think Brighton Rock and Quadraphenia. Super sharp tailoring combined with attention grabbing printed shirts on the one side and a selection of colourful casual wear on the other.

Now, I have to confess that there were the odd looks that left myself and Lauren scratching our heads (the high waisted belted shorts were of particular concern) but the eclectic colour palette, ranging from apple green to dark burgundy which featured throughout playful knitted sweaters and light coats were something to get excited over. The real highlight was seeing graphics of old vinyl, Polaroid cameras and foxes applied to the bold knitwear. Everyone wants a fox on their jumper, don't they?For those of you who are unsure, let Lauren Macaulay's illustrations persuade you.

Illustrations by Lauren Macaulay

Illustrating Menswear Day SS11: Christopher Shannon

Christopher Shannon's SS11 collection references a feeling that is all too familiar. Inspired by the nostalgic feeling of never getting to go anywhere on holiday. Having waved off countless colleagues and friends as they escape the city for a few days in the sun I have instead spent the holiday season beavering away in the capital. In the midst of my own cabin fever I can truly appreciate Shannon's wanderlust of trips he is yet to take.

Holiday and festival snaps taken by friends and family combined with images from his parent's adventure to Nairobi all form the backdrop. Subtle nods to Passa Passa raggae videos, knock off ethnic tourist trinkets and raggae artist Dillinger collide to create pieces rich in depth and texture. Shannon's signature graphic prints and bold colour palette are omnipresent, be it through his experiments with camo prints on jersey and denim or the juxtaposition of optic white against sunshine friendly pastel shades. As the crowned Prince of London sportswear, the collection showcases breathable fabrics and nylons against crisp cotton shirts, while mesh shorts sit over dyed denim. Multi-textured knitwear in odd proportions sits alongside block coloured anoraks and the latest incarnation of the hugely popular Eastpak collaboration. Lauren Macaulay once again picks out everything that caught my eye during the show and brings back a real sense of the show with her illustrations...

Illustrations by Lauren Macaulay

Details... Flag waving

Here's Daniel Jenkins wearing his heart on his sleeve, chest and back in a celebratory outfit of London designers for Menwsear Day. Polka dot shirt by Martine Rose, tuxedo trousers by Omar Kashoura and zip detailing jacket by Lou Dalton.

Menswear Day SS12 Illustrated

Just over a week ago I was curled up in front of the computer in a foetal position slowly rocking and talking gibberish about designers and collections to myself in a darkened room. Once more I was overcome by the menswear sights seen and indeed unseen during an extremely hectic and action packed Menswear Day. The entire bulging schedule helped cause a sartorial stir or two whilst collectively flying the flag of great British menswear and tiring us all out out in the process. Over the last few seasons the day has continued to grow and evolve. Now, it close to outgrowing itself as presentations, catwalk shows, both on and off schedule and screenings all celebrated the exciting diversity of menswear design talent which uniquely exists in this capital of ours for SS12.

Now that the dust begins to settle on the day itself and I've suitably recovered from fashion flu, it is time to take another look at the day. Over the coming weeks we will take our time to explore and examine our favourite collections but first we'd like a quick visual reminder. Now, going to the shows is a wonderful experience but looking over catwalk photos afterwards can be a bit mind numbing. So, to help bring the day to life we enlisted the help of recent graduate Anne-Marie Jones (check out her blog if you can) to illustrate our favourite moments from LFW. From Lou Dalton managing to create wearable beauty from the harshness and desperation of the 1984 Miner's Strike and Matthew Bourne's menacing male ensemble in Swan Lake  to Patrick Grant introducing each of his wonderfully cut sportswear clad gentleman in the opulence of The Savoy. From the best MAN show ever to b Store's voyeuristic presentation of their idealised wardrobe of a modern English privileged colonial. There were so many highlights to choose from. After a great deal of thought, we selected our favourite looks and the talented Anne-Marie spent the weekend reimagining them in paint. Let the beauty of the season wash over you...

The immediacy of Anne-Marie's artwork brings back a real sense of each show and captures just why each look was selected. The day might have flashed right before my excited eyes but these moments (in addition to many not illustrated) confirmed how special the day was. If this has whet your appetite for more detail about the collections, prepare for more meatier posts in the coming weeks.  

Unpicking the seams: Shaun Samson AW11

Remarkably, this season will be MAN’s thirteenth season at London Fashion Week. Now, we should all know by now that the talent showcase is all about heralding what’s new in menswear but this lineup is one of the most exciting to date. For the SS12 roster, Martine Rose is joined by two newcomers, Matthew Miller and Shaun Samson. Both newbies are deservedly winning plaudits, competitions and buyers for their style and innovative garment techniques. In today's piece I'd like to focus on Shaun Samson's needle punch felting technique.

The International Talent Support (ITS) has been a platform for emerging designers from all around the globe. This year’s stand out was from the California born and now London based designer Samson. He only graduated from the MA course at Central Saint Martins back in February but his modern sportswear stole the show. Sponsored by Woolrich, his seamless fabric manipulation saw chunky knitwear, denim and wool all fuse harmoniously together in oversized t shirts, cigarette trousers and accessories. Samson might have been studying various forms of fashion design for almost a decade but he is ready to take centre stage at London Fashion Week. Before he does, I'd like to learn a little bit more about his technique. Here we sit down with the design talent and chat through his design process before taking a closer look at his craft...

CSM MA shot thanks to catwalking.com

SS: What first drew you to the effect of needle punch felting?

Shaun Samson: I had known about needle punch felting for a while, I can't remember the first time I encountered it but I had it my head for some time but didn't start working on it until my MA. As I played around with the technique, I started off with solids and then found old garments and through a process of experimentation, I soon began to understand what worked best. My earliest samples show a more obvious process, where you can see one fabric sitting on another but I wanted to make it more subtle, cooler. I paired them with woven, knits and cashmeres, experimenting with weights. Finally, I decided the best way to show off the technique was to have a wooly fabric with a linen because the fuzzy fibres of the knit help it to mingle. From there I came up with a fabric and colour story and it is here that I first contacted Woolrich with 'Hey, you're an American company and I'm an American student living in London, let's show show them what we can do.'

SS: How was the working relationship with Woolrich?

Shaun Samson: They were so responsive and helpful. Straight off, they sent me a stack of archive fabric examples. It was great to be able to go through everything and immerse myself in the variety of plaids. There was one fabric that I needed to be sent overnight and I pensively asked them, didn't hear anything and thought I had soured the relationship with my excessive demands but low and behold, it arrived the next day. They were just so nice to work with and helped me so much. From this point on it was just a case of building the collection.

SS: Is it a partnership that you'd like to continue?

Shaun Samson: I hope so. I'm just afraid of over using it but I'm keen to slowly build on the relationship in the coming seasons and beyond. I'm so happy that a company liked Woolrich believed in me and supported me as much as they did. When I first approached them I showed them samples of the technique I had in mind but

SS: Needle punch felting is certainly a labour intensive process. Were they any other difficulties that you encountered?

Shaun Samson: This process is like embroidery, you have needles going in and out the fabric until it is done. There is no quick, or short cut way of doing it. To do it, I feed it in to the machine on the reverse so there is no way of knowing exactly what it will look like until I've taken it out of the machine and turn it forward. There is a lot of experimentation while I try and figure out the process and each piece will be subtly different. When you're introducing thicker knits, the process has to be slowed down even further because there's a significant chance of breaking needles. I also had this problem when I was felting denim, it is just a matter of understanding the fabrics that you are working with and changing elements of the process accordingly so that it looks the best it can.

SS: How long does it take to make one piece?

Shaun Samson: The felting process itself takes around three to four hours. To finish the piece, the entire process is done by hand. Hems and linings are tacked down by hand. So to complete a whole piece it takes around a day in total but that's when I dedicate an entire day to it. I enjoy the process and the more I do it, the more acquainted I get and ultimately the better I get.

SS: As production grows, would you pass this process on to a factory?

Shaun Samson: There are some amazing factories out there. I've been told it can be done but I've not seen it work well with pattern fabrics, only solid fabrics as yet. With the pattern fabric you have to ensure that the pattern continues and matches exactly. If it is out, even by the smallest of margins, it gets punched and the appearance is crooked. The lines have to match precisely. This is where the advantages of doing it by hand come in because you can really follow the needle. I'm sure a machine exists that could replicate it but I've just not encountered it yet.

SS: The collection explores an over sized silhouette. Now, I've seen the t shirts in particular referred to as many things, would you call them t shirts?

Shaun Samson: That's how I viewed what I made from my MA collection, they were oversized t shirts rather than tunic tops or man dresses. It is nice that people think that t shirt is new but I've been wearing them large like this since I was a little kid.

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As Samson talked me through his award winning MA collection he brought the described techniques and creative processes to life by flicking through his sketchbook and rifling through his draws of fabrics. To attempt to replicate this luxury, I'd like to share a selection of studio shots accompanied by the designer's own musings....

"I was drawn to Woolrich even before I knew that I'd be working with them. I've been a fan for so long" 
His sketchbook contains catalogue shots and a cocktail of fabric swatches.


Woolrich catalogue images are cut and sewn together like Frankenstein's monster.

"Woolrich sent over an archive of tartans and plaids to choose from"
A selection of Woolrich tartans

Samson's sewing machine

"My earliest samples show a more obvious process, where you can see one fabric sitting on another but I wanted to make it more subtle, cooler."



"I paired them with woven, knits and cashmeres, experimenting with weights."

"After a process of experimentation with the needle felting technique, I decided the best way to show off the technique was to have a wooly fabric with a linen because the fuzzy fibres of the knit help it to mingle."


"Initially, my first drawings concentrated on button up shirts and coats but along the way I opted to simplify them to make a stronger statement."

The Statement.


A work in progress


...and another.


The lineup


A close up the mingled fibres of the tartan and linen.


A heady mix of chunky knit and wool.
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Whilst so many young designers explore fabric manipulations in their work, it is rarely achieved with the finesse and skill that can be seen throughout this collection. Having taken a close look at his process, all that's left is to showcase his look book imagery (and impatiently wait for Menswear Day)...

Look book credits
Art Direction by Rob Meyers and photography by Pelle Crepin.
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During my studio visit, in addition to finalising his plans for MAN, Samson was collating and packing off a number of key AW11 pieces for his first store. The buyer of Cement in Japan was quick off the mark and Samson's much coveted designs will soon be available. Following his London Fashion Week show, I'm in little doubt that buyers closer to home will soon be picking up this young talent. We'll certainly be hearing a lot more from Shaun Samson. Roll on Menswear Day.