Trine Lindegaard SS13

"I make clothes that are bright and have some aspects of playfulness to them" purrs Trine Lindegaard in her soft Danish accent as she stands in in her East London studio and introduces me to her SS13 offering. "I love working with colour and generally like to have fun when I develop a collection." Her words only echo the findings of my eyes as they dart between the frolicsome fabrics. Ever since Lindegaard first came to our attention following her accomplished MA graduate show from the RCA, we've fallen for her sartorial charms thanks to her dynamic palette and light hearted, joyful approach to menswear. SS13 makes us fall that bit deeper.

For SS13, Lindegaard has focused on what she does best; exploring new techniques and textile developments. Lindegaard simply explains the collection as "a colourful collection that celebrates the traditional craftsmanship of Ghanaian fabric weavers whilst adding some sporty elements and of course, the odd bit of embellishment." The collection quickly evolved from an approach from an West African based charity and an introduction to the wonders of their local weavers. Ultimately, the Danish born design talent celebrates their great textile tradition whilst breathing fresh life in their work by mixing it with Western hi-tech materials to achieve a wearable and modern collection.

"It is great to work with in terms of its colour and texture," she explains as she thumbs a sweatshirt. "I try to keep to their traditional patterns but I tweak it a bit in terms of colour combinations and of course using them in an entirely different way." Traditionally hand woven by the Akan tribes in West Africa, the Kenta has a distinctive identity that comes not only from its rich quality, pattern and colour but also its cultural and historical significance. It is an icon of African cultural heritage around the world, Akan Kente is identified by its dazzling, intricate, multicoloured mix of bright hues, geometric shapes, and bold designs. The material is entirely handmade, from the picking of the cotton to the dying of the yarn and ultimately, through to the weaving of the fabrics. Lindegaard worked closely with the Ghanaian fabric weavers for S/S13 in hope to support and raise awareness of this amazing but unfortunately fading craft. "The collection is rooted in these African fabrics. I wanted to take them away from their traditional use, the wraparound dresses and headpieces, and their links to social status. I wanted to make them more accessible but still keep the traditional influences. I've used a lot of technical fabrics and dying throughout to keep it fresh."

On a grey November morning the sight of this collection was just what we needed. We were transported to a different world. It left the pulses of our eyes racing and our enthusiasm was reignited with the recent delivery of the Ivona Chrzastek shot look book. Feast on the vivid visuals of the look book and get drunk from our own detail shots....

 

Look book credits: Shot by Ivona Chrzastek with styling by Naz Di Nicola & Kusi Kub

Dazzled all over again. Given the timing of my visit, Trine Lindegaard's mind was caught between the production of this collection and designing AW13. A designer has to be a multi tasker and with various projects in the works, this Lindegaard is a fine plate spinner. I'll leave you with a glimpse in to the future thanks to the excited words from the designer herself. 

"I'm taking elements of this season forward to next and I've also been working with a charity called Fine Cell Work. They train prisoners in paid, skilled, creative needlework which is undertaken in the long hours spent in their cells. They've been around for fifteen years or so, they do amazing cross stitching with prisoners. All of the guys are young and tough, as you'd expect, but they hand embroider cushions, it's so strange. I'm working on product development with them. It's great working with them and I'm excited to see how it all develops." Her enthusiasm for textile development is infectious. We share Lindegaard's excitement and can't wait to see this design talent continue to develop before our wanting eyes.

Treasured Items... Aitor Throup

Despite existing on the periphery of the industry whilst working on other creative endeavours, few London designers have left more of an impression on contemporary menswear than Aitor Throup. From the moment he graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2006 with an MA in Fashion Menswear with an accomplished collection entitled 'When Football Hooligans Become Hindu Gods,' the industry has salivated over this great talent. But he has made them wait. Throup is a designer that will not be rushed or pushed in to anything. Everything has to be just right before he moves on it. The wait was over and duly explained in a packed presentation at St Martins Lane hotel during London Collections: Men. With a refusal to conform to fashion’s restrictive six month cycle, Tim Blanks, Sarah Mower and the designer himself discussed his philosophy before unveiling the articulated manifesto 'New Object Research' that will guide his design destiny. Parts of the industry might well have been confused but the overriding feeling was that of excitement. Throup has devised a new way of working, a fresh business model that will allow his justified design philosophy to flourish and allow people to buy his designs. Earlier this week I spent an afternoon with the designer at his Hoxton based studio and showroom but before I transcribe our long interview, I wanted to follow the lead of Throup himself by whetting your appetite with an introduction. Now, as a designer more concerned with product design than fashion, I felt the best way to help reacquaint you would be to take a look at his most treasured possession.

Born in Buenos Aires, Throup developed his passion for labels such as Stone Island and C.P. Company whilst growing up in Burnley from the age of twelve. Ultimately, it was this keen interest in the products of Massimo Osti combined with his love of drawing that led him to begin a BA in Fashion Design at Manchester Metropolitan University and on to an MA in Fashion Menswear at the Royal College of Art in London. So, it should come as little surprise that Throup treasures one of Osti's most iconic and rare of creations...

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Aitor Throup and the fibre optic jacket that lights his imagination...

"I believe that this is the first jacket ever to incorporate fibre optics and marked the twentieth anniversary of Stone Island. I just love the simplicity of it and how the light transforms it. Given that it around a decade old, it is a little broken now as some of the optics have snapped but it still continues to excite me. There's a subtlety now. It is almost eerie in a way and reminiscent of garment dying with the tonal differences of a number of fabrics. If it was just a block of blue it could be too artificial and alien to the garment but by going on and off throughout it becomes part of the garment more holistically, there's something really special about that. 

A mate of mine found it, he knew I was after one and one of his friends just so happened to have one. Another friend of mine who is one of the biggest Stone Island and C.P Company collectors and just so happens to be from Burnley like me, has got a few pieces from transformable series that Moreno Ferrari did for C.P Company that he is ready to sell, so I am getting them and I couldn't be more excited. They might not be the best pieces, like the inflatable armchair jacket, but they are awesome. Hey, they are transformables which is fucking cool! 

They are a massive part of why I became a designer, those pieces and items like the Goggle Jacket. It's all about product. If I go in there and put the jacket on, it would be nice but I almost get more enjoyment looking at them to be honest, same with Goggle Jacket I buzz of the fact that it's got a face. It's like a superhero costume. They are more valuable as objects. It is why my whole thinking isn't about styling and fashion but instead about making a cool object, suspending it and looking at it - let's geek out over it."

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Wallpaper* Handmade... Sebastian Tarek

From the promising talent of Tariq Mahmoud explored below we turn our attentions to one of his teachers, Sebastian Tarek. Ever since we encountered the bespoke shoemaker's beautiful, bespoke and handmade men’s shoes in the eclectic surroundings of the NEWGEN MEN and Fashion East Installations AW11 we have kept a captivated eye on the craftsmen. Given his own excitement by the challenge of fusing his traditional skills as a maker of a timeless artisanal product with a more contemporary and relevant aesthetic, it should come as little surprise that he RCA MA tutor was so enamoured with the work of Mahmoud. Tarek has worked on the MA course for some time now and admits that "at times I get jealous of watching the students create in complete freedom, designing when only the sky is the limit." Thankfully for us, Tarek has recently been given such an opportunity through Wallpaper* Handmade. The release of the Handmade Issue signals the culmination of the the design and style publication's annual celebration of creative talent and the story can now be told. 

Each year the project starts with ideas being thrown at master craftsmen, innovative manufacturers and free to dream designers. creative connections are made, problems are solved and wishes fulfilled. Editor in Chief of Wallpaper explains, "Handmade is a testimony to great design, talent and ideas, and the determination to achieve the extraordinary. We are once again celebrating beautiful new friendships and beautiful new things." It is a celebration of new friendships and beautiful new things. 

The Handmade logo that inspired key elements of both of Tarek's shoes, the Handmade issue and a quick look at Tarek's contribution alongside the Stash bag.

Alongside Lernert and Sander putting Brioni on film, Aldo Bakker laying some skin on the ‘Valet’ chair and Paul Cocksedge making a marble bookmark, Sebastian Tarek was invited to contribute stunningly crafted shoes. An extension of his bespoke shoemaking business and approach to design, the project allowed Tarek to push both himself and his peers to create something wonderfully unique. We caught up with the craftsmen at his East London workshop to learn more about the project and to take a closer look at the result of the collaboration...

"The handmade project for someone like me is just gold dust, an incredible platform and the very idea of it being commissioned fits well with what I do as a bespoke shoemaker. I've never considered myself as someone who designs but rather I make items to people's request. Wallpaper originally asked me what I'd like to do and I went away and thought hard about it. I gave them a few ideas and the most suitable was collaborating with two people that I know personally, have worked with previously and whose work I think fit very much within the same ethos and same position, they are peers. Duffy and Claire Barrett are both London based and work within beautifully British styles and techniques."

The two designs.

By recruiting two likeminded craftsmen who marry traditional skills with contemporary design, the results are quite breathtaking. Using the handmade logo (shown above), embroidery designer extraordinaire Claire Barrett applied it to a neat creeper lace up whilst one of Tarek's good friends and master jeweller Duffy embossed it on a buckle to help create a truly special monkstrap.

The first person I worked with was Claire Barrett who runs a company called Hathawne & Heaney and has worked for a number of designers in the past and previously she was creative director of Hand & Lock who are the embroidery firm who deal with most of Savile Row's requirements. Amazing stuff. She spoke to me a while ago about working together and the Handmade project was just the ideal opportunity to do so. I got in touch, explained the project and she mentioned that she'd love to do something with blacked out gold work, the embroidery style that are more common on large military pieces. To tie it in with Wallpaper specifically we experimented with elements of the Handmade logo, deconstruct it and take portions from it. When it came back I was blown away."

"For the overall construction, I had this idea bouncing in my head for some time to make an entirely handmade creeper. I've never been hugely trend led or derivative but you do see brothel creepers everywhere and it is very much one of those shoes that is comes from the post-industrialisation age. They've never been a handmade object, benchmade to a degree but they came in to existence when manufacturing came in to place. I liked the idea of trying to make it a handmade object. It is entirely made out of leather and essentially a welted shoe  with a cork footbent which is wrapped and fixed to the welt with leather and then channelled horizontally to make the ridges."

Have you encountered a finer creeper? Barrett's delicate embroidery work and Tarek's masterful construction embody the real spirit of Wallpaper* Handmade.

The creative coming together with Claire Barrett was a first for Tarek but he has worked with his other collaborator, Duffy, previously. The result is just as special though. Thanks to Duffy's fine metal work and Tarek's touch with leather, the pair have helped reimagine the monkstrap...

"In many ways the idea evolved from an initial conversation with one of my regular collaborators, Duffy. I'm not a massive fan of the monk shoe, it is neither a real classic yet still feels a little stuffy and odd. We wanted to make it feel more contemporary and modern. I know for a fact that there are only about three buckles in circulation across British footwear manufacturing that are used for monk shoes, just another indicator of the demise of the industry. I just couldn't use one of them. Given the relative simplicity of the shoe itself we wanted to make it really decorative. Duffy took the banding that goes around the logo and reimagined the cross hatching on the buckle, there's a sense of movement throughout which I love."

The fruits of Tarek's collaboration with Duffy.

Examining the fruits of the collaborations and listening to Sebastian Tarek talk about the Wallpaper* Handmade project in general it is easy to see that the shoemaker enjoyed the creative freedom and working with like minded specialist craftsmen. Each were given the freedom to really express themselves. The resulting cocktail of traditional skills and true innovation ultimately delivers objects of great beauty. I'll leave you with Ignore This Film's documentation of Tarek making the shoes...

RCA MA Showase... Tariq Mahmoud

Approximately one month in to my Law and Sociology degree (or perhaps even before I sat down in my first lecture) I knew deep down that I didn't want to pursue a career in the field of law. The course itself was enjoyable enough but I soon understood that the profession just wasn't right for me. That moment now feels like a lifetime ago and I've pursued a very different path. A similar realisation happened to Tariq Mahmoud, albeit a little later than mine. Whilst training as a solicitor at a large law firm in the City he, thankfully for us, opted for a complete change in direction and set his sights on a career as a shoe designer. Then came the nine year journey of preparing and learning that has culminated in an MA at the RCA. "I quickly realised that it wouldn't be a job that I would find satisfying or motivating ten years down the road," admits the recent graduate fresh after his acclaimed presentation. The catalyst was an ES Magazine feature that showcased six aspiring young women's shoe designers who had all recently graduated from Coardwainers at LCF. "Not only did the light bulb go over the idea that there were actually opportunities out there as a shoe designer but I thought, 'hang on a minute, why isn't anyone paying attention to men?' I was frustrated by the lack of choice compared to the women's market. It seemed to me that men's footwear hadn't moved on in to the same expressive territory as men's apparel (these were the days before the likes of Mr. Hare), so the decision was a combination of a long standing appreciation, spotting an opportunity and ultimately a desire to find a job I thought I would really enjoy." Having spent the last nine years honing his craft, Mahmoud confidently moves in to the spotlight and deservedly steps closer to realising his dream.

Tariq Mahmoud's nine year journey gathered pace following a diploma at Cordwainers and valuable industry experience at Lodger and Pointer. It was during his stint as junior designer and operations manager at Lodger where I first encountered the enthusiastic shoeist. Looking back now, Lodger's mix of continuous design, in combination with cutting edge technology and traditional craftsmanship was the perfect place for the emerging talent to grow. During this time he worked closely with Annejkh Carson, a RCA men's footwear graduate and it was only a matter of time before he followed her path. "The quality and integrity pf her designer approach underlined to me the strength of the course. One of the things that sets footwear at the RCA apart is its unique positioning as a specialism within the fashion menswear course. I've learned so much from being among the fashion students and from the guidance of the fashion tutors" he admits, looking fondly back over his time at the RCA.

"The ability to combine new materials and technologies with classic shoemaking skills and heritage because I want those invaluable skills to survive," purrs the design talent. Whilst inspired by the elegance and simplicity of classic men's footwear, he wishes to breathe fresh life and excitement a more modern gentleman by experimenting with combinations of materials and finishing techniques. "The collection starts from my love of classic men's shoe styles - the Derby, the Longwing, the Chelsea boot - from their elegance and simplicity. The challenge was to make them relevant and contemporary in terms of shape." To accomplish this, the designer examined the foot and its relation to the last which led to much experimentation with silhouette and the pattern line. Mahmoud explains his inspiration and shares a few of the images that graced his mood board...

"I looked at the shape of the heel bone which is far sharper and angular than the soft tissue around it and translated this in to the faceted shapes at the backs of some of the shoes. The classic rounded toe shapes are retained but the silhouette is sharpened (literally) by the heel. I continued this approach with the patterns for the uppers by breaking down the curves from traditional shoe patterns in to a series of diagonals and corners.


I also thought about the beautiful contour that runs along the base of the last from the tow down to the joint and then swooping up in the arch and heel. Initially I used clear perspex for the heels with the ideas that they would 'disappear' on a profile view. Of course, with the way the prisms reflect and refract light they became features in their own right. I collaborated with Lily Kamper, a mixed media student at the RCA, who used dip-dye techniques to create smoked effects on the perspex. Lily also machined lathed the cores of some of the heels to make modernist cut out patterns which create optical effects inside the heel. The opportunity to work with such talented people from a huge range of design disciplines is another invaluable feature of the RCA course.


In terms of colour and material, the oil installations of Richard Wilson and the abstracts of Gerhard Richter really got me thinking about classic back as a texture rather than merely a colour." 

A look at Mahmoud's inspiration and a sketch of the full collection.

Drawing on biology, art, architecture and the beauty of nature, Tariq Mahmoud's graduate collection showcases unexpected silhouettes and combinations of materials to stunning effect. His is a talent that strives to works create modern statement shoes for men who want to express their confidence and individuality. Here he explains the coming together of a few innovative techniques and introduces us to the collection itself...

"There are several different techniques at work on the uppers, my favourite is the mink fur beneath clear pvc. The pelt is compressed to produce fluid marbled patterns which, from a distance, look almost as if they are printed. I love that such a precious material is put tantalising out of reach, making it even more luxurious in a sense. I have also hand applied droplets of resin on to leather, either in place of a brogued medallion or in a more organic way to look like raindrops. Also, there is a white untreated chrome tan leather which is dip-dyed black, the dye disappears in to a band of purples and greys.


For me, in a truly great shoe there is an almost mesmeric harmony between the contours of the last, the lines of the pattern and the proportions of the sole and heel. Millimetre changes make a huge difference so finding that harmony is a very satisfying moment."

A look at his graduate presentation and a closer look at the collection itself.

I can't recall encountering a more accomplished and considered graduate collection. The combination of his appreciation of classic footwear and his thirst to innovate is a magical one. The cocktail of classic and modern, expected and surprising, age old techniques and technological innovation is a heady and seductive one. So what does the future hold in store for the design talent? For Tariq Mahmoud, the goal is to design for a house that has the the resources to allow him to continue to experiment and develop his vision of men's footwear. The following admission sums up this shoeist perfectly, "I just love the design process and love seeing beautiful shoes at the end of it so I'm not sure having my own name on them would make me any happier." I'm certain that we'll be seeing (and no doubt wearing) the fruits of Mahmoud's footwear experiments and development for years to come. Thank goodness he made that career change.