Last month, Grey Fox offered tickets to a talk by Dylan Jones, editor of GQ. The event was part a series of In Conversation events in at the new 62 Buckingham Gate, Victoria, London, hosted by Land Securities.
Led by Land Securities £2 billion investment, Victoria is re-inventing itself as home to some leading fashion and design names including Burberry, Jimmy Choo and Tom Ford. It is hoped that this transformation will make Victoria a place where Londoners and visitors alike want to live, work, shop and socialise thanks to its great restaurants, shops and regular events.
Dylan Jones shared his wisdom on men’s fashion, paying tribute to the capital’s style heritage, while also predicting a bright future for men’s fashion. In 2012, alongside the British Fashion Council, Dylan launched the capital’s first-ever dedicated menswear showcase – the London Collections – a ground-breaking move for the industry.
Here, Dylan Jones talks about how menswear has evolved and why, in his view, London is the place to be for menswear.
What drove you to making the London Collections a reality?
I agreed with the British Fashion Council that young menswear brands not only deserved but needed a platform to exhibit their work. Traditionally, they always showed on the last day of London Fashion Week, when all the press and buyers had already left for the Gucci show in Milan, so we bit the bullet and moved it to before Milan, Paris and New York.
Now we use the London Collections not only as a showcase for British designers, but also to encourage some of our big brands to move back to the capital.
As well as encouraging designers to show here, we have created a cultural programme, throwing parties and dinners and making it as interesting as possible. Incidentally, 62 Buckingham Gate would make a fantastic venue for a fashion show!
Why has London proved to be such a good home for the menswear shows?
Why wouldn’t you want to show in London? It has the best parks, the best museums, the best galleries, the best restaurants… it’s got it all. One of the great things that plays so well with international visitors and buyers is our heritage, particularly Savile Row.
What does the future hold for the London Collections?
None of us expected we’d get Burberry, which is now based here in Victoria, to move back to London in just three seasons. We’ve been blown away by its enthusiasm – the scale of its show in Hyde Park was a great statement of its intention to stay. We’re sure we’ll get more British fashion houses to return to the capital next January and, thereafter, it’s simply a matter of building the momentum.
There are a couple of Italian and American brands we’d like to entice to London too. They show in Paris and Milan and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t, but we intend to build a programme that shows we have the ability, interest and attraction here to host these big names.
See the createvictoria.com website for more information.
When I first moved to London 30 years ago it was home to a thriving clothing industry, not least Burberry which had some very decent technical jobs such as cutters.Most of that has long gone.However there are signs of see a return of British clothing manafacturing. So let's support not only this initiative also those brands who produce stylsih British made clothing.
ReplyDeleteHow about some articles on British footwear another industry where our heritage counts for a lot. I hear that Northampton ,the home of so many great British footwear brands has not been so busy in years. This really is another area where you don't need to compromising quality or style when buying British. ( I have personally purchased two delicious pairs of Church's this year.)What's more I read this week that British guys now spend more than women on shoes! lets celebrate our British brands.
ReplyDeleteThanks - yes I write a post for my Guardian blog recently about the revival of British menswear manufacturing.
ReplyDeleteIn relation to footwear, yes, Ive been aware of the gap for some time and have some posts planned.
GF
It seems to me that London is the logical and rightful centre for menswear. English men seem to have a genetic predisposition to mix patterns and colours - in delightful contrast to a grey and sometimes gloomy climate. You are so right to champion the cause of British made menswear and take back the mantle that seems to have been absconded by those flashy Italians (although they remain a close second). Forward on Britannia!
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