The makers of S.E.H Kelly

As a self confessed factory fetishist, I like nothing more than traveling the length and breadth of these Isles and beyond to get my next fix. However, it just isn't possible to practice craft voyeurism as much as I'd like to. Thankfully, S.E.H. Kelly's captivating website offers a welcome glimpse in to their network of makers. Every aspect of every garment is made with the domestic clothing industry, with steadfast adherence to quality and the sturdiness of British make and makers celebrates them.  Now, there are far, far simpler, quicker and cheaper ways to get garments made. S.E.H. Kelly use these suppliers and craftsmen because they know them, trust them, like them - as individuals and as establishments - and even more importantly for the finished garments, like the qualities and the idiosyncrasies of British cloth and a British make. It tends to be sturdier and heavier, and those qualities go on to inform their covetable garments.

The label is a true celebration of British craftsmanship. Garments begin life at the duo's design studio in London, before being developed into patterns with a local pattern-cutter. Materials, are duly sourced from an assortment of outstanding regional mills and co-operatives — their provenance running across this land. The garments are then cut, sewn, and finished by hand — and, for knitwear, knitted — by a handful of workrooms and factories, many of which are specialist makers of one type of garment. Tucked away as they are across the Isles, the Makers series allows them to be seen. Knowing my love for the series, SEH Kelly's very own Paul Vincent offered to share an edit of images and musings from a selection of makers, including a few that have not been seen before...

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Wool and mohair mill, Yorkshire

"There used to be dozens of mills where this mill stands in West Yorkshire. Now there’s just a few, and most of them have banded together under the same ownership. What’s fascinating here is how many different generations the building and the contraptions within it span. The pictures here are from the oldest part of the mill. The processes and exactitudes haven’t changed a jot for half a century — and in many cases, much longer than that. Every time we go up, we invariably come back with something new. Last time it was a terrific flecked mohair. We also recently used a marvellous thick chalkstripe suiting from here which we used it for some overskirts."

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Workroom, North London

"This factory in North London is one of a few we work with. They’re a close-knit bunch, these factories. Everyone knows each other, and has worked with one another at some point or other. These guys specialise in outerwear, and when we started out with them, make quality immediately went up a notch. You get a feel for a factory the first time you visit. There’s a good atmosphere here, workers’ kids can often be found running about the place, and tea-breaks are regular and bountiful. It’s a real familial vibe, which is reassuring. One of photo here is their button-hole machine. Worth its weight in gold, the well-maintained button-hole machine."

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Woolen mill, the Cotswolds

"This is a woollen and tweed supplier based in the Cotswolds. Last time we went we encountered a bunch of interesting stuff, like a super-heavy tweed that was once used to line the interiors of high-end automobiles, and a new range of all-natural and un-dyed wools, of which there has apparently been a surge in demand of late. Here you can see the wooden shuttle looms they’ve used over the ages, and some other archaic-looking contraptions and parts. Really should ask what they’re for."

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Buttons maker, the Midlands

"Not all buttons are created equal. At least, that’s what we tell ourselves. We’ve been working with the same button maker since we began. In fact, since before we began — they’re a place we first encountered during our time on Savile Row. Not only do we work with the same place every time, we mostly get the same buttons: matte horn ones with a satisfying little dimple in the middle. Of all the makers, this is the noisiest — the din of all those buttons rattling around the place rings in your ears for hours after you’ve left."

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Cashmere mill, West Yorkshire

"This place supplies the great and the good of the international fashion industry. And us. We’ve worked with them for a while, and they know what we like. If we had our way, we’d order meters by the dozen, but as it stands, because their stuff is at the top end of the market, and the prices match, we have to be selective. Our most recent acquisition was a charcoal wool-cashmere “birdseye”. Stupefyingly lovely stuff. And we’ve got some very lightweight wools lined up for spring. Wool mightn’t be the first thing you’d associate with spring, but the stuff’s so good — and our spring-time cloth options are limited compared to winter — that it’s all but impossible to pass up. The shots here are of the teasel-gig: a curious machine over which cloth is rolled to soften it up."

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Treasured Items... Dean Webster

Rei Kawakubo is among the most respected and unconventional designers in contemporary fashion. As the driving force behind Commes des Garçons, she has continually challenged current ideals of body shape, garment construction and use of colour. From the moment the label sprang to fame with its first presentation in Paris back in 1981, the world of fashion has never been the same. Comme des Garçons quickly became the preferred label of the avant-garde and the highly independent. Whenever I think of the label I'm reminded by a sentence penned by Cathy Horyn in her NY Times piece, Gang of Four. "Kawakubo has been making clothes for nearly 40 years, always under the label Comme des Garçons, which means ''like some boys'' and in a way suggests a gang." Over the last four decades, Kawakubo has amassed quite a gang of followers thanks to her radical approach to fashion design.. Amongst them is One Nine Zero Six's very own Dean Webster who treasures a single breasted suit from 1988.

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Dean Webster and the Comme des Garçons suit.

"My treasured item has to be my black Comme Des Garcons Homme two button single breasted wool suit (black of course) and was purchased from the original Comme store on Fulham Road.

It states on the inside care label, like a discreet badge of honour, the date AD1988 and, most importantly, its made in Japan credentials.

The jacket has an exaggerated shoulder line and wide lapels with a dropped notch and is shorter and boxier in body length, indicative of the zeitgeist that the Japanese Dark Wave designers brought to men’s fashion in the mid to later 1980s.

The trousers are high waisted with grown on waistband, dropped belt loops and a double pleat front, cinch back waist adjuster and what would have been called a ‘peg’ silhouette at the time (very full at the top of the trouser, tapering from the knee quite severely to 16” bottoms).

I guess that it’s almost a ‘zoot suit’ but without the longer line jacket of its obvious design origins.

The fabric is a 100% wool jacquard and upon closer inspection, the jacket and trouser fabrics are mismatched weaves. The jacket is a horizontal slub rib, almost boucle-like texture and the trousers are a cross hatch version of the same weave. The buttons are real horn.

I would almost certainly have worn it with a white shirt, fastened at the neck without a tie and with a pair of black suede, crepe-soled, side buckled creepers (I still have a version of the same shoe in my wardrobe to this day with white leather piping on the front apron and buckle trim).

It’s a thing of real beauty to me, in great condition and still looks relevant."

Dean Webster, Creative Director of One Nine Zero Six by Gymphlex

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Discovering Tokyo...ID Dailywear

Whilst discovering one of the real highlights of my Tokyo trip in Labrats, I encountered another label of real interest just on the other side of the room. Good friends of Labrats, ID Dailywear have cultivated quite a following over the course of their first few seasons. The label evolved from from a seemingly simple search (in theory not practice) for the perfect white cotton t shirt. After the shirts were snapped up by friends and family, the team set about expanding their offering without compromising their core values of simplicity and function. 

As with so many Japanese labels that catch the eye, there seems to be a lack of information (atleast written in English) but I was able to have a quick chat with one of the designers. Ever since its first collection of tee shirts and lounge wear for SS09, the label has slowly added understated products that place great importance on comfort and quality. For AW11, ID Dailywear have crafted a seemingly complete wardrobe of well tailored staples....

A number of my favourite AW11 looks

During my visit I was able to take a closer look at the AW11 collection and had ample opportunity to marvel at the fabrications and attention to detail. Over three rails, the label exhibited a real show of well made staples that would easily slip inside and liven up any wardrobe...

A closer look at ID Dailywear's AW11 collection

Discovering Tokyo... Labrat

Discovering Labrat

Now, you might have noticed that the blog has been quiet recently. I landed in Tokyo on Saturday afternoon and I've since spent the last few days drunk on food and shopping. When I've not been stuffing my face with sashimi, gyozas, tonkatsu or yakitori, my mind has been blown by the myriad of retail opportunities and discovering designers at every turn. Alongside my recent trip to Singapore I have amassed enough content to keep the blog busy for weeks to come. Whilst I promised myself (and EJ) that I would use this time to take a little blogging holiday to just enjoy myself, I just couldn't resist sharing a few of my finds with you. First up, Labrat via BerBerJin.

BerBerJin are a chain of vintage shops in that have been at the heart of the thriving men’s vintage scene in Tokyo for well over a decade. They have always stocked museum quality examples of international vintage, but recently they creative minds behind it have collaborated with like minded brands to produce items that compliment their beautiful back catalogue and archive. Under the moniker Labrat, the talented bunch romanticise the hardcore and celebrate the underground. Thanks to the well informed Mai, I was pointed in the direction of an exhibition of their AW11 collection and excitedly jumped at the chance to inspect the pieces up close. I was blown away by the attention to detail, fabrications and sheer diversity of their offering. For this season alone they have collaborated with the likes of Blackmeans, George Cox, Porter, Vision, CA4LA, Black &Blue and Discovered. I think the best way to explore the full AW11 line is to introduce the collaborative lineup whilst taking a closer look at the designs...

With each season, Discovered turn to the streets of Tokyo for inspiration. From Shibuya down through Harajuku, the designer duo Tatsuya Kimura and Sanae Yoshida collate and reinterpret the varied styles to create multi faceted designs. The pair like nothing more than juxtaposing contradictory themes and here they have created stunning Aran knits for oversized shorts and jumpers...

The Aran knitted shorts and jumpers in collaboration with Discovered.

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One of the more familiar brands of Tokyo native labels involved with Labrat is Porter. Now, everyone should know this maker of well crafted and elegantly designed accessories so I will fast forward on the introductions. Here, the minds of Labrat and Porter combine to create MA1 jackets, matching shorts and laceup backpacks...

The varied fruits of the collaboration with Porter
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Blackmeans is a local leather specialist that started out in 2005 as a leather goods manufacturer but soon evolved and began producing their own lines of leather motorcycle jackets, belts and accessories. Here, they continue their successful partnership with Labrat to create a number of jackets and a leather skirt...

The Lightning Leather Jacket with fringe detail beautifully modelled by a member of the Labrat team.

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Having first produced brothel creepers in the 50s and winkle pickers in the 60s, George Cox gained notoriety in the 70s when these looks were resurrected by Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren to become the uniform of a generation of punks. Now, one hundred and five years old, the company still continues to grow and develop thanks to their archive of lasts and hunger for product development. Here, the collaboration with Labrat produces the Cross Boot...

The Cross Boots in collaboration with George Cox
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Despite my enthused murmurings above, Labrat constitute more than just a number of successful collaborations. In addition to working with some of the finest names in Tokyo, the label have created a number of covetable pieces on their own. Highlights include double cloth basics, kilting and even a Chester coat...

Labrat's own mix of underground classics.
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Private White V.C Pop Up

Private White V.C returns to London

One of the most intriguing launches of the past twelve months was Private White V.C which we first introduced to you all back in October and have kept an interested eye on ever since. Now, for a period of eight weeks, the label returns to London to present its new SS11 range with an exclusive pop-up boutique at 47 Lamb's Conduit Street. This weekend, I finally got the chance to take a closer look at the sophomore collection whilst taking a stroll down my favourite street.

As you should all know by now, Private White V.C comes from the very heart of Cooper and Stollbrand, the largest independent clothing manufacturer in the UK. It serves as a reminder that they have and hopefully will always continue to make fantastic, market leading garments using the finest British materials and craftsmen. Once again the collection consists of classic, timeless and traditional pieces that Jack and his contemporaries could and would wear day in and day our, in work, at home and at play. However, designed by the former head of Dunhill menswear Nick Ashley, the latest range has been developed to meet the needs of the contemporary man who is after both style and added functionality. Highlights include the new lightweight double breasted belted trench which is a natural run on from the hugely popular AW10 Great Coat and the navy SB4 jacket which is a sharper take on the classic mac. The Flight Jacket, a collaboration with Eastman Leathers is also worthy of note. It has all the traditional features of the original A-1 Flight Jacket worn by aviation heroes dating back to the late 1920's. However, the item that I have my eye on is the Combat Blazer in forest green which comes in a range of wax finishes. Of course, I could wax lyrical about the latest collection and store but I'd only bore you, the best way to get a feel of the place is to explore it...

A look around the transformed pop up store space on 47 Lamb's Conduit Street.  

Here's hoping that Private White V.C will continue to offer great value to its customers who desire the finest and most durable clothing which is hand crafted from one of the UK’s eldest and most experienced factories.