NICHOLAS DALEY: A TALE OF TWO WORLDS COLLIDING
As people, we’ve become accustomed to presiding over events that have shifted paradigms in many forms, so much so that listing them would be a task verging on the impossible, or at best, an incredibly exhaustive affair.
The point is that, whether it be those Tesla’s taking over highways across the globe or the Uber that just shuttled you to your rendezvous – pretty much every industry has experienced a seismic event or two.
And indeed, the fashion industry is no exception for it has also found [and still finds] itself directly in the crosshairs of upheaval. Though this certainly came as no surprise for it was only ever a case of when, not if.
SS21 Stepping Razor shot by Piczo
The customary way to think about the fashion industry is no longer through the lens of a Parisian elite hellbent on pushing a preconceived idea of what clothing ought to be. In other words, an industry once synonymous with sartorial excess and hit book The Devil Wears Prada is now a remnant of the distant past since we essentially came to the realisation that the clothing in a flagship Louis Vuitton store and those mink coats criss- crossing runways were not accurate depictions of who we truly were. So naturally, we became increasingly less receptive to an industry that didn't bother to have its gaze on us to begin with.
Unsurprisingly then, a new school breached the gates of Champ-Élysées, one that focused less so on getting its garments on the front cover of VOGUE and more so on reaching the people. There are innumerable names to list, the UK itself is home to an incredibly eclectic roster that includes Martine Rose, Grace Wales Bonner, Paria Farzaneh, and a man to whom this body of writing is about - Nicholas Daley.
Alongside the aforementioned contemporaries, Nicholas Daley has his hands firmly on the steering wheel for a journey less focused on its destination but more on the people it brings along for the ride.
Ever since his breakout collection Culture Clash in 2015, Daley has embarked on a quest to symbolise the essence of contemporary British Identity. An identity that rightly warrants a recalibration - so who better to bring us commentary on a Britain becoming ever the more diverse than a man with Jamaican-Scottish heritage?
THE MAN
“When you’re spending all the money, energy, and time on these projects, you really want to make sure it has that ripple effect which transcends beyond the moment itself”
Daley is more than six- feet tall with impressively maintained dreads that are matched in length only by the accolades he has amassed over a career that’s effectively justbegan, and you’ll often find him sporting one of those oversized baker boy hats that are now deeply embedded into collections and by extension, the label’s lexicon.
Before all this however, the first chapter of the Daley tale ironically begins directly without him and in a region that wasn’t host to his birth nor his upbringing - Scotland. Instead, the region was formative in the sense that it was Dundee where Jeffrey, a man of Jamaican descent, had first met a lady unequivocally Scottish, Maureen. But crucially, it was here that Daley’s parents had put the onus on themselves to shed light on a reggae culture completely overlooked in a 1970s Scotland characterised by a burgeoning Punk scene and unemployment rate. So, the executive decision was then made that “Reggae Klub” would be the vehicle for which they’d do so.
Scotland’s very first reggae event certainly did not disappoint, a four-year run that saw the event hosted around the region and etch a significant cultural contribution defined by unparalleled hospitality, Jeffrey’s very own vegetable curry, and a vast list of acts that include the Reggae-meets-R&B group, ASWAD. Though the event closed its doors in 1982, the spirit of community, music, and craft remains aglow in the Daley family since the torch had just merely been passed onto Nicholas who relived the club night’s potency through the SS19 SLYGO collection.
Leicester came next and with it a whole host of events beginning with Nicholas’ birth and including his first ‘official’ foray into the realm of fashion via a stint at Well Gosh where he was able to dabble his feet in an industry that he would soon be a vanguard of. Liking what he saw, his gaze was now firmly placed on his next move – London.
A city with a population of well over ten million, a city that is at the forefront of so many industries, a city antithetical to the very idea of a ‘minority’, and a city brimming with leading schools of thought. It is therefore unsurprising that London functions as a magnet for sucking in luminaries across the globe, and it was in 2010 that a young Daley made the leap by partaking in Central Saint Martin’s BA Menswear course - a de facto lab that lists some of the most impactful designers to date as alumni, including contemporaries Craig Green and Ding Yun Zhang. And an institution that allowed for Daley to obtain the building blocks for constructing what is now a prodigious design language.
Additionally, his time at CSM bestowed him with opportunities to break bread with the industry through internships that saw him learning the sartorial ways in Saville Row and immersing himself with the flow of contemporary staple Paul Smith. Daley’s last supper at CSM came through Culture Clash, his end of year show that was hand-picked alongside a few other collections by the top brass to represent the institution’s best offerings for that year: a truly going-out-with-a-bang moment.
And people certainly took notice, Beams JP purchased the entire collection which initiated dialogue with the Japanese market, serving as a rather poetic unfolding of fate given the magnitude of reverence Daley has for all things Japan which manifests itself through multiple avenues: The incorporation of Japanese approaches to production and fabrics into his collections, collaborative endeavours (more on that later), his inspirations (Yohji Yamamoto is a favourite), and according to Esquire, he even ranks Tokyo as his favourite place on earth (after London, of course).
The post CSM period entailed further devoting time to the industry by working retail for Dover Street Market (Nicholas Daley now lists DSM as a stockist) and in assisting Nigel Cabourn, a veteran who has logged more than four decades in an industry well known for its fickleness. In doing so, Daley dived deeper and familiarised himself further with the nooks of British Manufacturing and the mundane operations that are vital in ensuring a ship’s steady trajectory. In effect, what Daley was doing - whether he realised it or otherwise – was putting the pieces together to embark on a vessel made entirely by him, for him.
THE CLOTHING
The Harmony between note one and note two note one - Craftsmanship
“Attention to detail and craftsmanship in general is what I really want to highlight and to then make it feel contemporary, putting my own spin on it”
Delineating a section entirely devoted to clothing is well, not exactly possible since Daley’s entire premise towards ‘fashion’ is so much more, dissecting a show for example – while you will see incredibly diligent, thoughtful, and fresh approaches to sartorial convention, you can’t help but gravitate towards the music, the venue, and towards the story.
And in fact, this is the very essence of the Daley story, he wanted it to be this way as for him success lies in his ability to spark intrigue through a playful approach that vehemently pays dues to his past – the eclectic music he grew up listening to, British craftsmanship, Jamaican identity, and the UK he grew up in.
Rest assured however, the clothing is not a periphery thought for him, behind each garment and every season (out of the thirteen in total), lies meticulously deliberated decisions on what fabric is used, where the said fabric comes from, what function it provides, and how it coalesces into a whole.
The answers to these questions themselves are products of relentless research. Take his quest to voraciously uplift the stature of British Craft in line with contemporary expectations: To do this, Daley commits each season to using a wide array of UK Based manufacturers as well sourcing incredibly high calibre jute textile and tartan from Scotland and bespoke fabric finishes from England. Moreover, his unfettered dialogue with British artisans allows for the creation of beautifully refined articles of contemporary clothing entrenched in the processes of old.
This all makes his aspirations of transcending British Style seem less abstract, and more mission accomplished.
Now to a region six thousand miles away - Japan.
A man who has manufacturing and craft at the very heart of the brand would inevitably cross paths with a nation whose approaches to them are held in high regard.
Recognising this, Daley has throughout the seasons worked with a plethora of Japanese artisans to create bespoke fabrics that are then fused with the pedagogy of home.
This was most recently put into effect in the SS21 Stepping Razor Collection, where he incorporated Japanese woven piece-dried beach shirts, and in AW20’s The Abstract Truth where he experimented with a Japanese marbling technique named ‘Suminagashi’.
His links to Japan go even deeper and include an incense collaboration with Japanese maker, Kuumba, and also feature a COVID-19 tale that could’ve ended horribly wrong - As the virus wreaked havoc on just about everything, Daley’s plans included, he was left with little options regarding SS21’s Stepping Razor production. Japan however, came to the rescue and produced the majority of the collection’s clothing.
note two - Sound
“It is about highlighting the wealth of British music and the talent at large that we have here”
Culture Clash was Daley’s first true opportunity to play with the very notion of what a fashion show could be, an event that superimposed a plethora of thoughts into centre stage (quite literally). Spring Summer 15 functions akin to the Executive Summary section you find on a FTSE 500 company website: A concise condensation of what to expect from a Daley show.
So, what can you expect?
Well, as is the case with them all, they’re thoughtful commentaries on subcultures. The title, Culture Clash is a reference to polymath Don Letts’ book, a man who holds to his name a bevy of vocations that include being a film director, DJ, and musician. But also, a man deeply entrenched in cultural movements that we can only look back on in awe. Not only was he the principal videographer for revered rock band, The Clash, but he was also a proprietor of the bridge that accommodated the reggae and punk scene of the 70s and was responsible for uniting them ever the closer. Moreover, through his filmography, he himself logged innumerable hours documenting British subcultures (there exists a six-part series dedicated to shedding light on them). So no man seems more tailor-made in embodying Daley’s idea of what a modern man is. And yes, of course he walked the show!
Another paramount constant in each show is the music, for this one there exists a ten- track playlist hand-picked by Letts and its brilliance lies in its ability to make you envision yourself directly in the epicentre of a 1970s England, and the moment the
spectacle concludes it somehow makes you yearn for an era you likely weren’t even a part of.
The interplay between the sonic experience and the clothing merits comment, they both work in tandem and each indispensable to the other. Whether it be SS18’s Madras or SS20’s Astro Black, you can’t help but sense that there exists a huge didactic component that Daley has worked tirelessly to package up, a component that looks at the parallels and differences between both mediums and then allows for them to commingle at the show. The result is a release of energy incredibly difficult to match, but incredibly easy to feel.
The sensory also spills over to the tangible - Consider AW18’s Red Clay collection (named after Freddie Hubbard’s fusion-jazz album), where the cover’s rising sun and prominent Blue Note jazz cover sleeves inform much of the colour palette of the show; burnt orange, greens, and blues.
Just as it is unthinkable and outright absurd to think of a fashion show without clothes, for Daley this principle extends itself to include the music. Every collection must have a corresponding body of music that not only stylistically informs the collection, but also one with a personal connection. It is not up for debate. This approach is what has held the collections to such high esteem and gives it a scale of depth that is instantly grasped the moment we take our seats, embrace the music, and then fix our gaze on the intricately woven check jackets, the billowing trousers, those tie-dye tees, or the reinterpreted workwear. Regardless of whether it is the fifteen looks in AW19’s Black Ark, or the twenty in his most recent collection, Stepping Razor, every look transcends any preconceived idea of what clothing ought to be. So essentially, under the aegis of nobody, Daley has conceived of a definition and approach utterly novel and hence, it is only when we begin to see the music and the clothing as equal that we truly begin to see house Daley in its fullest form.
Collaborations are another key branch of the tree, and this is eloquently exemplified through The Abstract Truth collection (that cites - among many other things - the black Abstract Art movement of the 1970s as reference). Where you’re pretty much able to concoct an entire outfit by cherry-picking an item out of each collaboration. Fancy one of those ubiquitous baker boy hats? They’re made by the venerable British milliner Christy’s. For the upcoming winter season, there are those beautifully curvaceous quilted jackets and scarves that are from his collaborative endeavour with godfathers of British-made outerwear, Lavenham. You can even plunge into the extensive full capsule collection with Fred Perry, one of the primary faces of British legacy brands. Need not worry, even footwear doesn’t get neglected, for that there’s several you can mull over – the accessory draped Adidas superstars, or alternatively you can opt for the grain leather Monkey Boot produced by George Cox, whose footwear is a key stylistic component of British subcultures, past and present.
In a world where we’re so accustomed to seeing those run of the mill collaborations that by and large consist of spinning a colour wheel and tend to be borne out of astutely deliberated corporate strategies to capitalise on the hottest creatives, Nicholas Daley’s collaborative endeavours are therefore a breath of fresh air in a space
becoming increasingly asphyxiated. In regards to the aforementioned collaborations, you recognise that there exists a cohesive thought process behind them - each one falls in line with an imperative Daley principle of putting the spotlight back onto British craftsmanship.
THE MESSAGE
The Ensemble of Community
“I’ve been having these long conversations about representation to try to highlight Black excellence in different worlds. Shabaka for example, is one of the best sax players of the generation and Jordan [Thomas] is that equivalent in the martial arts scene. Highlighting that excellence is the goal”
By now, you should have a pretty good idea that what really matters for Daley isn’t cashing in a cheque at the end of each season nor producing garments intended to be well received by buyers and press alike. His shows are truly anathema to this transactional discourse, for every fleeting show lasting no more than two minutes you will have Daley’s at the complete opposite end of that spectrum - it isn’t an oddity for them to last well over an hour in part due to the infamous live performances where he enlists wide swathes of talent including Yussef Dayes, Sons of Kemet, and Dennis Bovell. And where industry convention entails filling front row seats with fashion aristocracy and the most sought-after celebrities, Daley’s are more preoccupied with them functioning as incubators for artistry - a place where talent is exposed to more talent. By doing this, He is telling us that a Nicholas Daley show is also a show for the musicians tapped to perform, the muses for the collection, the visual artists, the contributing poets, the long-term collaborators, the stewards of craftsmanship, his family, and you.
And in classic Daley fashion, he recently teamed up with frequent collaborators Fred Perry to birth a grant initiative with the goal of providing support to the music industry (singer and songwriter Aden was announced as its winner) which has been massively afflicted by the epidemic, and this is despite himself being in an industry entirely upended. These displays of selflessness really drive home the a-problem-shared-is-a- problem-halved message frequently promulgated by the Daley team and serve as a refreshing counterpoint to those ‘diversity hires’ and virtue signalling acts that the industry has increasingly turned to as of late.
The message is also disseminated through the exhibitions he’s hosted in locations that are truly home – Scotland (V&A Dundee’s Michelin Design Gallery) and London (London’s Now Gallery). For the London folk, you can catch the latter, Return to SLYGO, soon (COVID-19 permitting) where you’ll be able to amass knitting skills from polymath Maureen, deep dive into his rich Scottish-Jamaican heritage, design vinyl sleeve covers, bolster your music catalogue, enjoy two films that feature a bevy of artists, listen to some mixes, and engage with like-minded people.
Come to think of it, it does in fact sound a whole lot like a community.
THE CONVERSATION
Here in the UK, the second month of 2021 feels in many ways like an extension of the final stages of 2020. Another lockdown enforced and with it, the modus operandi of working from home and its key protagonist, Zoom. The conversation with Nicholas Daley is no exception since now talking all things Daley gets the virtual treatment though to the surprise of no one, the moment Daley connects from his studio in London, even the limitations of an online video call cannot contain his style as the pixels on the screen are sufficient to capture the glowing blue details on the shirt he is wearing. Daley lets us know that it is part of the latest collection. ‘SS21’s Stepping Razor?’ I ask. ‘Nope’ with a subtle smile on his face, he looks down, grabs the shirt with both hands and informs me that ‘it is from the upcoming collection, Forgotten Fury’.
Now to the conversation.
In regards to this almost new school of fashion, Nicholas Daley is always a name that pops up especially in relation to your inclusivity. Do you acknowledge your role as one of the faces trying to create a new definition for British Identity?
Yeah I guess so, since starting the brand I’ve been doing the whole casting and have kept it true to my identity. And even now, whilst the narrative has evolved and collections have gotten bigger and with more collaborations - the core is pretty much the same from what I had in my head since the very beginning.
Could you talk about that evolution of the brand?
CSM was a great component that helped and now I’m doing guest tutoring with the second year students so it will be nice to give the next wave of designers some advice. Being part of BFC (British Fashion Council) and the Newgen Program was also another point where things changed in terms of home and international recognition too, the first of which being Japan.
A big story, when exactly did the Japan story start?
It was BEAMS, it was huge as at the time they had like 100 stores which is of course a great first account for any designers, especially from the point of just graduating.
My parents though, they didn't quite get it since they thought I was referring to the beams you find in homes and so they kept trying to understand the link by asking questions like why does a house contractor want to buy your stuff? Haha.
SS19 SLYGO shot by Ollie Adegboye
And to be fair to BEAMS and the Japanese press, they all showed some really great love by gravitating towards it and pushing it. From there, it kept growing and now I’m super happy to have a strong base in Japan!
That then developed into incorporating japanese techniques into the brand?
Yeah even the shirt I’m wearing is made in Japan using a tie-dye technique done by specialists there.
Do you see any parallels between Japan and British craftsmanship?
For me, whenever I go to Japan to host events or to attend my girlfriend’s events (Nabihah Iqbal, DJ and musician) we always make time to explore the area, the last time it was Naoshima. We always want to go and see as much as we can so that we can experience such an amazing place in the world, a place which gives me a huge amount of inspiration and so just naturally, the techniques and craftsmanship from the region is something that really, really interests me.
But whether it’s a shoe made in Northampton, which is twenty minutes from where I grew up, and with it the two hundred plus processes that go into making a traditional British Brogue, or the mystical character who has been doing Suminagashi techniques in Kyoto his whole life - these are the things that attract me, and so that’s the link.
The attention to detail.
Attention to detail and craftsmanship in general is what I really want to highlight and to then make it feel contemporary, putting my own spin on it. That’s the connecting point between all those regions, it’s all about the process.
When you look at the collaborations you have done throughout your collections, whether it be with the manufacturers or other brands, the same names always pop up which is something different to what we’re accustomed to in contemporary fashion.
How important is it for you to maintain that dialogue and those relationships?
Some of them I’ve been working with since my graduation collection! It’s rewarding and nice to be able to create something new and fresh with people you trust and those you’ve worked with for so long. They follow the brand, they support, and they’re interested in where it goes.
Tricker’s for example, I’ve done three collaborations with them, I’ve visited the factory and have spoken to the entire team who are super inclusive, it’s nice to know where the fabrics come from and the construction process behind the shoes.
Whilst I still do want to reach out more and to try to do new things, for a brand like mine, it is important to be able to know the intricacies of everything you use and then from there you can push it to the limits - having those relationships makes it easier to do that.
Another manufacturer I work a lot with is Vanners, one of the biggest silk weavers left in Europe that does jacquard, it’s a privilege to be able to support them and UK industries in general, even more so now.
Everything seems to be pointing towards producing overseas nowadays. From when you started up till now, have you noticed these changes?
Definitely. For our commercial side, we’ve been branching out by exploring more manufacturing possibilities since you do need to be nimble and have options. Like now for example, the UK is in a crisis but Japan’s still functioning well and parts of Europe are better than others. Having an even spread of suppliers and manufacturing that can continue to produce amidst those obstacles is important but we will always stick to the ethos of craft so we ensure that wherever we make our product, we try to make it the best we can and at a fair price point. But there’s a lot to consider so we’re just building season by season.
Something you’ve also been building is the research component. When you’re speaking with professors and visiting museums, do those processes inform the collection idea? And can you speak about the process in general?
The research is always the fun part, spending hours and hours searching books, listening to music, looking at vintage garments, it is where all designers get the most ‘kick’ since I’m sure none of us really like looking at spreadsheets.
Books are piled in the studio, travelling also works as inspiration and of course, the music is huge for me. Pre-COVID it was crucial for me to go out and support the musicians I collaborate with by attending shows so that I can be a sponge and absorb all those reference points that end up putting the ideas around me together.
But generally, I like to keep things close to home even to the point of highlighting my parents in the work (SS19 Slygo). I embrace these things as I want to show my pride in what my parents managed to do when they were my age.
This links back to the collaborations too, with Fred Perry for the last four seasons they’ve been great to work with and it’s allowed me to look at a lot of vintage Fred Perry.
To the music then, is it as hard to choose which body of music guides the collection?
Definitely! There is so much good music, I am surrounded by it. There’s also such a nice wave of people from our generation here in the UK right now especially the Jazz scene, names like Shabbaka Hutchings, Sons of Kemet who performed at Astro Black. Rago Foot, Kwake Bass and Wu-Lu performed at Abstract Truth. All of that is compounded into the community and the world that I am a part of.
The music references are always there, we’ve got a sound system here in the studio so we always have something playing which definitely helps me get into the right frame of mind creatively, even down to the names of the collections. Stepping Razor for example comes from Peter Tosh’s LP, Red Clay was from Freddie Hubbard. Every season there is always a homage to a musical maestro and we always attempt to incorporate musical elements within the shows themselves or through the mixes that we do. It’s gotten to the point where friends are telling me to set up a record label now haha!
A move that definitely makes sense since learning about Nicholas Daley means you’re definitely going to learn about music. Would you say that putting people on the music is as big of a goal as the fashion for you?
Yeah man! Most definitely. It is always nice to blur different worlds, communities, and demographics and to bring them closer together, It’s a more interesting way to do things.
Like for example, it is nice to see what I believe is the first sax and tuber featuring on Vogue Runway photos. Having Sons of Kemet made the show such a high energy one, and it is also nice from their perspective since they get to be featured in publications and people get to learn more about them through that exposure.
In general, regardless of who it is, it is about highlighting the wealth of British music and the talent at large that we have here, which is similar to what my parents were doing with the Reggae Klub. They didn't really make money out of it, they did it to support good music and feed the demand for it at the time.
AW21 Forgotten Fury shot by Piczo
Anything I do is carrying on from that because when you’re spending all the money, energy, and time on these projects, you really want to make sure it has that ripple effect which transcends beyond the moment itself. And I think with the shows, there’s dialogue and an experience and that makes people still talk about it and pick up on things that happened in the show.
They really function as hubs for creativity
It’s that cross pollination, it makes me feel more supercharged when I see Shabaka for example, or Nabihah or any of the collaborators on stage pushing that extra bit, that’s what makes me happy. Sometimes I stress more about them than other parts of the show because I want to make sure they’re comfortable and enjoying themselves.
You participated in both the LVMH and Woolmark awards, how important of a role do they play for young designers?
For Woolmark, I reached the final and that was really great to be able to learn more about merino wool fiber. I also met some great judges and other designers too like Edward Crutchley.
Do you apply any of the teachings into the collections to this day?
Yeah and I already use a lot of wool and natural fibers in my work so that extra information complements it really well.
Then the LVMH competition took it to another level because of its international stature and so I was super happy to make it to the finals but then everything changed dramatically because of COVID [due to COVID-19, LVMH crowned all 8 finalists as they were unable to continue with the competition]. The way LVMH took the steps to share the prize fund was really good, all the designers felt the same way. But it was a shame for it to end so abruptly because that competitive side of us always wants the definitive winner when possible. But in hindsight, the best outcome unfolded and we’ve had mentoring since then from the likes of Virgil, merchandising specialists, and collaboration advice.
The pandemics implications have been well documented, but another obstacle for those UK based is Brexit, has that been affecting the brand yet?
Yep, shipping and fabrics especially. Us and a lot of brands are deciding what to do moving forward, things like distribution centres in Europe. We’ve also just recently opened up e-commerce, it has been running for just over three months now.
Are you foreseeing that playing a bigger role?
For sure, the whole website in general, making it more user friendly, more mixes, and just more digital interaction. But back to Brexit, it has also complicated the once easy tasks like hiring interns from overseas or going to Paris for Fashion Week. It’s a mess really that is compounded once you consider COVID related problems.
It’s the same for the music industry too, the creative industries, and the majority of industries full stop. Even this morning I was reading about fisheries and Scottish farms and how they’re getting badly affected. So it just shows the complexities of what Brexit brings across all industries, so it has become a case of trying to get our heads round the next problems we will face.
You did that pretty well with Stepping Razor
I pretty much did that collection almost solo which felt like going back to university. It was a small, tight collection since we were only able to do a certain amount here in the UK. I’m very happy with it, especially considering the context.
Jordan Thomas was the main protagonist for the visuals, he is a former European Karate champion for Great Britain and his dad was also a world champion too. So they represent a huge part of the legacy of British Black martial artists which I feel has had little coverage or light shun on it at all.
Especially in the fashion world
We had Wayne Otto in the 90s who was arguably one of the most decorated athletes we’ve ever produced yet when you say his name, not many know of him unless you’re somewhat informed about martial arts. So I’ve been having these long conversations about representation to try to highlight Black excellence in different worlds. Shabaka for example, is one of the best sax players of the generation and Jordan is that equivalent in the martial arts scene. Highlighting that excellence is the goal, whether that is in Karate, music, or wherever.
Thankfully, Jordan also loved the clothing for it and he looked great in it too. Let’s hope he’s able to win some gold in Japan.
We loved the photos for the lookbook
They’re really cool, and I love how nostalgic they are. My lockdown escapism has been watching a tonne of Kung Fu films, good and bad.
Are you still in that Karate zone now?
Yeah, I’m officially a red belt so I’ve still got a long way to go, it has been great for my mental and physical health. What I can say is that who knows If I would’ve done Stepping Razor had it not been for COVID. Though the collection still has the music
references, the martial arts aspect could probably be attributed to COVID and what was unfolding at the time.
That really reaffirms the message that your collections are personal
Even down to Black Lives Matter, I know some journalists that were commenting on the collection [Stepping Razor] said that it had elements of resistance and fighting spirit. And Peter Tosh, who was a big reference for it, was very vocal on self empowerment and on being anti-establishment so Stepping Razor was perhaps a reaction to what was unfolding over the summer, fighting the good fight.
You yourself said fashion should be a communicative tool that challenges what is going on in society. Will we see more social commentary in the collections?
For me, what I’ve realised is that by being myself, that is my contribution. A designer of colour within the industry alongside others like Martine Rose, Wales Bonner, and Bianca Saunders. There is a whole list of designers from minority backgrounds and we’re all in agreement that whilst it's nice to have witnessed this change, more can for sure be done.
So my contribution is to keep doing what I’m doing, continue to champion multiculturalism, which I do through creative endeavours and that is where I believe my value has the most impact. Whether that’s through the photography, the person doing the hair, the make-up, or the creative direction in general, I’ll try to provide a platform. It is definitely a positive time though. I’m all up for it!
Do you value patience as a designer?
Building slowly, I take it one season at a time and concentrate on the accounts I have which have made a huge impact on the brand such as Mr Porter and SSENSE. But that all came from starting off with amazing boutiques in Shibuya who are really into the product, who style it beautifully, and their stores are beautiful. There’s been growth and I’m grateful as that is important.
Meaningful growth
That is what I will say when I go in and do the chat with the CSM students, if they ask for advice on setting up a brand, the first thing I will say is be realistic. You’re not going to be John Galliano overnight if that is who you aspire to be. There’s over ten thousand students wanting to get into the industry on a yearly basis so in my opinion, the slow burn is the best route, especially for me.
I want to learn more things, collaborate with more people, work on interesting conceptual projects that are not necessarily just fashion week related - in general, just growth that you can manage.
Can we end on some album recommendations, something you have been listening to recently.
Source by Nubya Garcia, Welcome to the Hills by Yussef Dayes, Blue Magic Gentle Magic by Nabihah Iqbal, and for some post punk go to Black Midi.
And for sure any of the names from the UK Scene like Sons of Kemet, Oscar Jerome, Yazmin Lacey, and Moses Boyd.
Thank you Nicholas!
About the author:
Moey A is an individual residing in the UK that is attempting to disentangle the tenets of good style
