UPCYCLED PUB CULTURE: An introduction to Adam Jones
London based designer Adam Jones is quickly gaining traction for his up-cycled garments bringing pub culture to the fashion crowd.
His pieces, which feature repurposed upholstery from the vast amount of old-school bars that were once present on every street in the nation, are eye-catching and brilliantly unique.
Still on the up, Jones used to manage 50M, a central London stockist of a diverse crop of designers and more established names. His free time was consumed by the fabric sourcing, design and creation of garments.
Most recently Jones showcased a collection on Instagram Live which saw beer mats, tea towels, scarves and flags repurposed into vests, jumpers, shorts and an incredibly charming pair of earrings made of dart flights.
Adam thrives working with limited materials, saying in the past that he found traditional fabric shops overwhelming with the amount of choice. Collecting scraps, blankets and sheeting from his University through its refurbishment, Adam became aware of the possibilities in up-cycling and has hugely developed this over the years.
His label is a polished extrapolation of this ideology; denouncing fabric shops and limiting his fabric selection, it is far more rewarding to Adam to create from materials that’d otherwise be unwanted and forgotten. The British pub’s aesthetic is from a bygone era, something his brand manages to conserve perfectly while morphing tea towels to clothing.
Sabukaru sat down with Adam Jones to talk about his label and its influences, and to weigh in on questions facing the upcoming designers in today’s fashion scene.
Have you always been creative? Coming from a small town in North Wales can’t have exposed you to a lot of fashion design or textiles; is there anything in particular that coaxed you into the space?
I’ve always been creative yeah, from a very early age, I was always making things out of old cardboard tubes etc, there was always a ‘making box’ in the house with old jars and egg boxes and bits. I have always drawn as a child, I can remember being obsessed with drawing Disney’s Pocahontas, drawing her in her outfits over and over. As I got older I would build tree houses, and make dens, you had to really play make-believe growing up in Wales, there was not much to do. My grandma really encouraged me to draw, and taught me about clothes and the history of clothes, she’s an artist and would get me to paint and watch old films and I would dress up in her old clothes and put on pantomimes with my cousins. I had a good art teacher in school too which always helps, I used to be the only one in art club after school, having someone who really encourages you early on is incredible.
You’re constantly inspired by pubs, boozers, townhouses, in fact, I’d probably be hard-pressed to find a designer so in touch with pub culture and its aesthetic; where did the obsession begin?
Growing up in Wales the pubs haven’t been touched since the 70’s they’re stuck in a time warp due to lack of funds and business, and I guess the people are happy with what they’ve got. I resented not having anywhere a bit more exciting to go as a teenager, but then when I moved to Manchester and then London I found myself drawn to these old man pubs and really missed their aesthetic and the characters that you would get in wales, then going home I would really appreciate my local pubs again in a fresh light.
Was there a natural progression, like finding some scrap material from a beer mat or something similar and realising ”Hey, there’s a lot of this stuff kicking about that I can make some good shit from”, or was there some kind of eureka moment where you dreamt this all up?
Yeah, it was just like that really, I was always drawn to them in the pubs, but then I found some at a car-boot sale back home, then the pub opposite my studio had thrown some out, so I picked those up, I began buying in bulk on gumtree and eBay, and then became fussier like a real collector, looking for specific ones.
You're fresh from the show for your new collection, which aired on Instagram live and was set in a pub, very fittingly. What was it like, having to produce and orchestrate a show in such an unconventional format?
It was a lot of hard work, but I’m not scared of hard work, and it’s something I’m obsessed with doing, no matter how hard the process is. It was at the Peckham Liberal Club, which I think I’m going to have to become a member of. With my way of working, I never know when I’m going to do a show, or when the next collection will be ready or if I can afford to do one, so if I’m putting one I want it to be the best it can be. I have a great team, my right-hand women Verity and Kat, friends who help me out. I don’t have the funds or capability to do a big digital 3D thing, so for me, it had to be semi-physical, a show but with a very small select press audience, it was more like a salon show of the 1950s, intimate and a little more slow-paced which was nice. It was touch and go whether we could pull it off, but I had some great models willing to give up their time, and the venue and all the covid safe regulations in place, it worked.
We've seen the likes of LVMH and Kering group announce their future on Tiktok, do you think that this is the reality for fashion for the foreseeable future?
Oh god, I really hope not, I have never been on Tiktok, I’m too old to understand or have the time to look at it, which can be scary to feel I am out of the loop, falling behind, I just want things to be a little simpler and more old fashioned.
From the perspective of an upcoming designer, and in such unprecedented times for fashion itself, how much room do you think there is for Adam Jones to influence the fashion world as a whole with respect to shows in particular?
I don’t think I am going to influence anyone, I like the idea of encouraging young aspiring to designers to give it a go, but I am honest about how hard it is and how I work, you really have to be obsessed with doing this, it’s not about profits, because there isn’t much, it’s a joy for me as well as a business.
You've spoken in the past about your desire to stay away from conventional vendors, mainly due to the 1of1 nature of your pieces, and that you'd rather host a "market stall" of sorts; have you developed this at all, and where does the inspiration come from?
There are only a couple of designs each season that are 1 of 1, I can re-produce most pieces, I just don’t know when, which is an element I find exciting, it all depends how many of a certain tea towel I can find how many pieces I can produce, or when I can get hold of said tea towel, I may be able to make 5 of a shirt or just 2 and then I might be able to make another in a month or maybe it will take 4 months, which makes my stock drops exciting I think. I am looking to hold personal shopping appointments at my studio where clients can come and try pieces on and have them made to order, made to fit, Nasir Mazhar is a big inspiration to me business-wise.
People in 2020 are becoming more and more conscious of their carbon footprint and sustainability (or lack thereof); as an up-cycler yourself, are you currently seeing, or do you predict to see a shift away from the likes of fast fashion?
Oh definitely! There has been a big shift in the past say three years, it’s on everyone’s mind, even if it is not in their nature to work in such a way, there is a pressure from industry insiders press and customers to be sustainable, which is a good thing. I am hoping to see big department stores embracing designers who work more in limited quantities or one of a kind pieces.
Thank you very much for your time !!
About The Authors:
Samuel Le Roy is a 21-year-old chemistry graduate based east of London. At any moment he’s tapped into multiple subcultures with a particular interest in streetwear and fashion, Sam aims to travel to Tokyo to immerse himself in Japanese culture once completing his studies, and continue writing pieces like this.
Credits:
Studio Photos: Jon Wallner
Modeling Shots:
Photography: Verity Smiley Jones
Styling: Katharina Uhe
Creative Direction: Verity Smiley jones & Katharina Uhe
Hair: Sol Harding
MUA: Alice Dodds
Shoes: Donnant Donnant
Hats: Benny Andallo
Models: contact.agency, crumbagency
