Brogues worth waiting for

Joe Casely-Hayford for John Lewis is a collaboration of great British design talent with heritage brands coming together for the high street.

Back in January you might recall that we shared an exclusive first look at Joe Casely-Hayford's collaboration with John Lewis and we followed the launch of the thirty piece capsule collection with great interest in mid March with great consumer interest. Recognised for his innovation and ability to produce definitive future classics, Casely-Hayford's range celebrates the best of British sartorialism through a series of unique collaborations with some of the UK's leading heritage companies. As I excitedly dashed from rail to rail my only problem was deciding which pieces to get and I have to confess that I actually had to leave the store for a few hours before returning with my hard earned cash and my mind made up. Highlights include a tailored wax Barbour jacket (a piece I quickly snapped up for myself), colour block contrast John Smedley knitwear and floral jersey Liberty Art fabric shirts. Shoe fiend that I am, the Pukk leather brogues made by Cheaney captured my imagination the moment I first saw them and my feet have been crying out for a pair ever since. They were however made to wait but the wait is now over...

A beautiful profile.

The shoes were supplied with alternate laces in an eye catching shade of blue. They contrast the tan leather just beautifully and I think these will be my default laces of choice.

If you are unfamiliar with Cheaney, they are classic shoe brand undergoing something of a quiet and assured metamorphosis under the ownership of William and Jonathon Church. Founded in 1886 by two brothers, Joseph and Arthur Cheaney, Cheaney quickly became one of the premier shoemakers of England. It is their ability to blend the past with the future, using the finest materials available, which has enabled Cheaney to become one of the premier producers of Goodyear welted shoes in the world today. For this collaboration they have helped create the hand punched pukk leather brogues...

A closer look at the hand punched Pukk leather toes.

They are something of great beauty and well worth a brief period of foot tapping. These brogues typify why this capsule collection is so exciting: the collaboration of great British design talent with heritage brands coming together for the high street. Over the last twelve months I have developed a passion for shoes, an addiction even. It is just impossible to resist elegant, well fitted leather creations. After meeting shoeists like the chaps at Lodger and of course Mr. Hare I had a feeling that their passion would be contagious and it certainly was. Now I have amassed a collection that I can be truly proud of and these brogues are the final piece of the footwear puzzle... for now atleast.

The final piece of my footwear puzzle...Joe Casely-Hayford for John Lewis Pukk Leather Brogue Shoes

Farah Launches 1920 To Celebrate Reaching Ninety

Ninety years of Farah.

We seem to have entered birthday season. First it was the turn of my Sister who celebrated her 31st birthday, then we gave fifty bumps to Dr Martens, then Ally Cappelino blew out thirty candles and now it is time to raise a glass to ninety years of Farah. Founded in 1920 in El Paso, Texas, Farah has an astonishing history and in truth, I knew very little of it until now. If you met the old man equivalent he would be sitting in a dark corner of a bar somewhere wearing a battered chambray shirt and worn out chinos telling stories all day long as he gently lapped down a whisky or three. Starting with its first product, the chambray shirt, Farah developed in to a garment manufacturer producing workwear for millions of Americans and uniforms for the US Military. Post war, Farah became a rival to the denim giants in jean making while helping fuel casual clothing culture, firstly in America and then the world. By the 1970s, it was truly an international name in clothing manufacture. It is emerged as a household name thanks to its hopsack trouser which was an icon of its age, adopted and celebrated by some of the UK's most vocal and vibrant subcultures both then and still today. The anniversary has provided the catalyst to revisit the history and to show off the undeniable heritage of the Farah brand. So, to celebrate the brand has unveiled '1920', a new premium capsule collection that revives the company's remarkable back catalogue. The new '1920' line distills Farah's heritage in a capsule collection that celebrates the best pieces from its extensive archive. The comprehensive collection comprises of chambray workshirts, wool/cotton undershirts, army chinos, pea coats, duffel coats, CPO shirts, work jackets, selvage denim jeans, slim cut twill trousers, oxford button downs and polo shirts...

Clockwise from top left; Handknit traditional motif cardigan from 1950 (the piece I have my eye on), CPO Shirt from 1942 and classic oxford button down.

Clockwise from left; The original, the Chambray work shirt from 1920, White Oak selvage denim jeans from 1953 and classic oxford shirt.

From clockwise top left; Workwear shirt, US Navy Duffle Coat and Peacoat, both from 1941.

I just love how the materials and details are faithful to the original pieces. The resulting collection is an authentic testimonial to the admirable heritage of this iconic manufacturer. Meticulous detail has been applied to even the packaging and labeling of the garments. Original paper dyed labels go in 1920s chambray shirts, branded 'El Paso, Texas'. Army specification chinos and naval pea coats carry military department cotton labels marked with moel numbers used by American servicemen of the 1940. The famous and mod friendly button down shirts, slim cut twill trousers and polo shirts all bear flat sealed labels - signing off the collection.

I had great fun geeking out with this selection of fondly reproduced labels and buttons

Each piece is key in the Farah archive, dating from the 1920s through to the 1960s. This is a capsule collection that fondly looks backwards but still is contemporary. and wearable today These vintage reproductions will be strictly limited to ninety of each design and should be available in stores from September.

A sneaky peek at 1205 AW10

After a long, lazy weekend jaunt to the seaside it is time to return to the blogging mix and we have a treat for you. Following on seamlessly from Friday's introduction to Paula Gerbase's capsule collection of menswear, womenswear and unisex pieces for 1205 we can now offer a sneaky peek at the sophomore collection for AW10...

A sneak peek at 1205 AW10

Once again, regardless of gender the collection showcases Gerbase’s trademark sensitive use of luxury fabrics and erudite pattern construction for a modern-contemporary muse. When I spoke to Paula about the evolution of the label she professed that 1205 was a natural progression from what she had learned in pure tailoring and returning to her original design passion. Her mantra of "I think if something is well made and the fabric is great then it should not matter whose wearing it" is still ringing in my ears as I admire the latest collection. For the SS10 debut collection released, Paula broke free from the confines of designing strictly for the tailoring world of Kilgour and experimented with lightweight fabrics, feminine cuts and prints to exciting effect. However, AW10 sees a welcome return to a more familiar world of tailoring. Having learned the strict rules of tailoring at Hardy Amies and Kilgour alike, Paula is now in the knowledgeable position to ignore a few of them along the way.

Norwegian explorers Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen are the inspiration for Aw10.

As a designer she is inspired by real people and for the coming cold, wet months ahead she looked to Norwegian explorers Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen. Amundsen led the first Antarctic expedition to reach the South Pole between 1910 and 1912 while Nansen was an explorer, scientist, diplomat and proud wearer of a fantastic moustache. "These are people who used clothing for utility and necessity as they explored the South Pole I was and still am particularly fascinated by their highly functional wardrobe which protected from the bitter cold, yet still maintained a sense of occasion."

A first look at 1205's Aw10 look book.

The balance between menswear and womenswear or masculine and feminine has been an intriguing and thought provoking facet of both collections.

"With the AW10 look book I took the decision to shoot it on a female model only because so many people have questioned the idea of a unisex piece and I wanted to surprise people and it will hopefully make people that bit more open. I like the idea that people might be confused a little at first because it means they are thinking about it. For me, it is great being able to play with fabric in a menswear way for women and it is nice to experiment in a womenswear way with cutting." 1205's Paula Gerbase

The look book was shot at suicide hot spot Beachy Head in Eastbourne, thankfully no clothes were harmed.

Paula's work process begins with fabric, looking at everything in a microscopic way, resulting in a unique, modern, almost clinical point of view. For Aw10, Paula looked towards creating texture and pairing different textures together while using more functional fabrics and traditional fabrics like Harris Tweed.

A collection full of fabric play.

Throughout the collection Paula plays with tweed and different structures, making it more modern but at the same time respecting the heritage element the fabrics. After the interview I actually returned to Kingly Court the following day to see the collection once again. My appetite was whet and I just couldn't stop thinking about it. This time I took John with me and could not resist making him model a few of my favourite pieces in front of the wall of origami leaves...

The cut of this jacket is just beautiful and I love the contrast trim detailing

This is a Harris Tweed jacket but not as I know it. It is one of the foundations of a timeless and utilitarian wardrobe. While at the Studio Paula modeled it and it looks great on her as well.

Once again, Paula's tailoring is masterfully cut and exudes the classic English tradition of mixing fabrics.

With each season you only ever encounter a couple of collections which take your breath away and raise your heartbeat a notch or two. This is certainly one such collection. I am already saving up to enable me to invest in one or two of pieces of 1205's utilitarian wardrobe...

The tempting AW10 collection flirtatiously hangs on one of the rails inside 1205's Kingly Court store.