Exploring... The Chalk Room

"It's nice to meet and chat with customers," Charlie Casely-Hayford begins simply as he warmly welcomes me through the threshold of Hostem's emporium of menswear treasures and curiosities before leading me its wooden staircase to enter The Chalk Room. Periodically stepping out of the House's Dalston based studio, the designer navigates his way through the sensory kaleidoscope that is Kingsland Road and immerses himself in this mesmerising microcosm of made-to-measure. He revels in it. Dimly lit adding to a sense of intimacy to the occasion whilst encouraging daydreams of discovery, The Chalk Room shines it's spotlight on cherished craftsmanship, housing an array of handpicked artisans that have the store's signature spirit bubbling in their veins. Alongside Sebastian Tarek, Fleet Ilya, Globe-Trotter, Casely-Hayford's sartorial offering shines bright. Created by British design studio JamesPlumb, Charlie's home-from-home is filled with antique furniture, intrigue and possibilities.

Since the House's inception, Casely-Hayford have forged an eloquent handwriting of modern English style that has left the collective pulse racing. The father and son design duo have carefully crafted a signature style of relaxed masculine proportions and exquisite tailoring, whilst fusing it with an injection of the raw energy of London's dynamic under belly that constantly inspires them. With each season whilst cementing the House's ethos of 'Innovation through Tradition', they explore, play and experiment with the duality of English Sartorialism and British Anarchy like no other label could. They delight in the unique design dynamic. It has created the perfect environment in which an intriguing interplay between old and new, familiar and fresh, traditional and radical. As Charlie Casely-Hayford converses, measures, pins and makes notes, it is clear that The Chalk Room is an exciting extension of everything they have built. The whims and fancies of all manner of customer are now seamlessly stitched into their own signatures.

"When most men think about buying a tailored suit, they think of the stuffiness of Savile Row. With our space here, we wanted to create an antidote to those concerns. We wanted it to be a clean, modern, streamlined alternative that was true to our vision whilst allowing men to be more experimental with the traditional boundaries of a suit.

Ultimately we create suits for men that don’t need to wear suits but choose to. There’s a real freedom in that choice. They wear Casely-Hayford suits in the way that they want to, without the constraints of convention or tradition. Everybody we've had so far have been so different, from business directors to set designers, actors and a plethora of creatives. The set designer went for a classic suit with a stunning, rare, 400g Loro Piana fabric matched with a pinball machine lining."

Exploring The Chalk Room

As he recounts previous encounters, Charlie Casely-Hayford's face lights up the dark basement space. This is an endeavour close to the heart of the House. It builds upon all of their shared experiences, takes the hand of the secretive world of bespoke and made-to-measure and leads it into an alluring advanced area.

"We wanted to retain the price of a made-to-measure service but bring it as close to Bespoke as possible. We have spent the best part of the last year handpicking suiting fabrics from all of the best mills in the UK and Italy, same with the linings. We can provide the customer with over two thousand fabric options. It’s an utterly immersive experience. It can be daunting for some but we're here to guide the customer through everything. We can do almost anything. You can get made-to-measure suiting from various corners of London and we were keen to offer something different and therefore we partnered with a couple of English mills and part of our process, if asked to do so, is develop fabric that is tailored to your whims and fancies. That's obviously at the higher end of the pricing structure but it just shows that we can go that bit further. We're working on a swatch at the moment that has silhouettes of characters from The Simpsons, same with the lining. We're having quite a few requests for using football shirts and we can do that. I like the variety. Each suit should reflect each customers identity.

Rather than follow the structure of a formal consultation, I like to keep it more like a conversation in which I jot down a few notes. After the initial chat I take measurements, ask a few more questions, pair the customer with an existing suit silhouette from the range that works with their shape and preferences, shoot images to see how it fits them and pin as we go. I find it easier to work with images rather than just text and measurements and it also means I can discuss everything with my Dad throughout the process. We go through the details of each order at every step. His experience is such a useful asset and I'm learning every day."

Decisions, decisions, decisions... The conversation between consumer and creator.

It is the perfect collaborative contract between consumer and creator. Despite not being physically in The Chalk Room, Joe Casely-Hayford is still present. He sees through Charlie's eyes. The informal yet inquisitive designer delves deep with his questioning asking about the use of the suit, weight preferences, silhouettes and what if anything irritates the customer about suits already hanging in their wardrobes. Throughout the process his ears are pricked, gaze focused and mind filled with insight. What were my requirements? It soon became clear that I longed for a sartorial chameleon. A suit that could be moulded to my needs over the course of a full year and beyond. For me, it had to be single breasted, slim fit jacket and trousers cropped at boot level in a medium cloth that danced the line between utilitarianism in black and navy with a lining that captured my imagination. Once this outline took its shape, Charlie talked me through each stage of modification and detail personalisation. From lapels to pockets, buttons to vents, linings to inscriptions, the opportunities to mould the suit to your preferences and needs are vast with Charlie, reassuringly as guide at every step.

After a further fitting, a few more photos, adjustments and tweaks to ensure that it falls correctly, the suit was realised. The entire process lasted no more that ten weeks (including a holiday). Last weekend I slipped it on for a friend's wedding. It felt like an old friend itself.

Casely-Hayford made-to-measure suit worn with... 
shirt and boots by Casely-Hayford, pocket square by Muji and kilt pin by RTH.
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With prices from £1,250 the service isn't cheap but it is remarkably competitive. Continuing to delight in the duality between the realms of the tradition and innovation, Casely-Hayford are blurring the tailor's chalk line between made-to-measure and bespoke. This is an investment. An experience. A dream realised.

Tools of the trade... Charlie Casely-Hayford

Three weekends ago I descended the wooden steps deep inside Hostem's emporium of menswear treasures and curiosities and stepped into its world of bespoke and made-to-measure. Dimly lit to add a sense of intimate occasion and encourage daydreams of discovery, the store's Chalk Room shines its spotlight on cherished craftsmanship, housing an array of handpicked artisanal brands that have the store's signature bubbling in their veins. Masterfully mixed in the craft cocktail of Globe-Trotter, Fleet Ilya, Sebastian Tarek and JAMESPLUMB, Casely-Hayford realise sartorial dreams. As I was measured, pinned and dazzled by the choice of fabrics and finishes on offer, I couldn't help but take an interest in Charlie's pin cushion. Here he tells us the story behind it.

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Charlie Casely-Hayford and his mum's pin cushion...

"Originally, this belonged to my Mum. I remember it vividly from when I was super young, but it seemed a lot bigger back then. Growing up in my parent's design studio, it always sat in the same place on the cutting table... whether I was 5 or 10 years old and even into my teenage years. Even though it's quite a common pin cushion, it's so distinctive and I like the fact that it's always been there throughout my life. It only felt right to start using it myself when we started offering made-to measure suits earlier this year. Whenever I'm fitting someone and see those little guys staring up at me, it always gives me a weird sense of reassurance." Charlie Casely-Hayford.

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LCF MA Showcase... Antonia Lloyd

"Fun and functional" is how Antonio Lloyd succinctly describes her MA graduate collection. Casting our ever eager eye across the ocean of creative talent that is LCF, we were quickly drawn to her confident display of sartorial trickery and for us, there's so much more that can be said about this accomplished collection. Having had the pleasure of chatting through her colourfully crafted rail days before the show at London Fashion Week in the capacity of my day job at i-D, I couldn't resist delving a little deeper here.

As artfully as a board slices through surf and as skilfully as trucks glide along a rail, her work balanced and blurred the world's of tailoring and contemporary sportswear. It was the epitome of smart-casual built around the emerging talent's love of surf culture.  "I learnt to surf when I was 11 and have grown up in the age of Kelly Slater. I read his autobiography and learnt about the surfers who influenced him. Through documentaries I learnt that although the art of surfing has been around for many years the real shift in to professional competition happened around this time. 'Bustin’ Down the Door' and 'Dogtown and Z-Boys' are reflective documentaries about the era." Looking to the true pioneers of skating and surfing from the 1970s, Lloyd glided through the crashing waves of Hawaii and zipped across the dry pools of Santa Monica with a soundtrack of T. Rex and Iggy and the Stooges blasting from her headphones. From the beach to the boardwalk, inspiration was everywhere. "The year before I started the Masters I visited Australia," explains LLoyd. "I found Sydney to be inspirational, my experience of the city was one that embraced an outdoor and active life style with a city career. I wanted to try and emulate this in a collection." 

Despite fondly looking back, Lloyd's collection managed to feel as fresh and as exciting one of the majestic mavericks taming a bomb wave. Building on her internship experience at Ozwald Boateng, J.W. Anderson, Tim Soar, E. Tautz and T.Lipop along with her time at LCF, the emerging design talent created hybrid garments that focused on design for function. "I always want to be able to explain why something is the way it is. I like to design for function as well as aesthetics so I need to know why a seam is finished a certain way over another. There are lots of rules in menswear, I believe these need to be understood before you can go on to design your own thing."

"Ultimately, I didn’t want to produce a collection that resembled costume; it was important that it not look gimmicky but instead have references to sportswear of the 1970’s. Skate and surf footage both amateur and professional, enabled me to establish the needs of an athlete whilst performing.  Functionality of the garments was most important and I approached much of the designing like that of product design, first identifying needs then designing to fore fill them." From ingenius paddle panelling that enabled 360 degree movement to shirting that mixed a duo of hardy denims, waterproof board shorts to backbacks full of jungle life thanks to a Stephanie Webb print, the garments floated in a sea of delicious details. None are superflous. These are details born from the dreams and demands of her muses.

Catwalk shots courtesy of LCF. All others by Stephanie Sian Smith.

"I was inspired by the attitude of guys like Jay Adams and Ian Cairns. What you have to remember is that all these guys were very young, mid teens early twenties, they truly were going against mainstream by trying to make a career out of their sports, that must of taken some serious self belief." Much like a talented graduate paddling out in to the waters of the unknown. Has any of that self belief rubbed off on Antonio Lloyd, I ask her as the interview draws to a close. "Next is hopefully a position within a fashion house where I can continue my exploration of and education in cutting, As I mentioned in our i-D interview, I admire the likes of Hardy Amies and E. Tautz for what they are doing with a traditional tailoring label on a high fashion platform. Also designers like Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders, with such successful womenswear collections, are seizing the opportunity for something similarly creative within their menswear lines is really exciting and to work for someone like that would be great. Eventually the dream destination is Paris. Hopefully with maturity and experience Lanvin isn’t too unrealistic." For now, Lloyd will continue to wax her board and hone her skills in wait of the next big wave.

Agi & Sam AW13

"MAN has been amazing for us. It has been a showcase where we've been able to really attack and attempt to try different areas of fashion whilst showing us what we really need to do with the brand to grow it," Sam Cotton excitedly explains as we meet to take a closer look at Agi & Sam autumn/winter 13. Whilst exploring and celebrating the eccentricities of a British country collection in a way only this dazzling design duo would, the collection marked an accomplished final bow at the emerging talent showcase that is MAN and demonstrated just how far they've come. "This final season was all about quality and maturity, without losing our integrity." Like the considered garments and accessories allude to on the rails, even this succinct sentence oozes maturity.

There has been a definite and discernible evolution in their design signatures from when we were first peered through their mind altering print prism at the Fashion East Installations back in February 2011. Ever pushing the other forward,  we've watched on as the print princes soon graduated from their starring roles within the Fashion East showcase on to the stage of MAN and the label now stands at the forefront of all that is exciting about London Collections: Men. Despite winning plaudits and stockists alike with their vivid prints, eye for colour and undeniable sense of humour, the duo continue to refine and mature.

"It's always a development process but we really pushed ourselves this season. We're not competitive people but we always want to out do ourselves each season and improve on the last. From spending a lot of time on the little things like the fusing, finding the right canvas and the finishing on the inside including the labels, everything had to be as good as it can be." 

In addition to to this competitive hunger, the design dynamic that bubbles and bounces between the two friends has been the catalyst that has driven the label forward and seen it blossom before our eyes. Two disciplines and backgrounds, Agi's in tailoring and Sam's in print, have mingled, boundaries and distinctions playfully blurred and ultimately spurred on consistent shared strives forward. Cotton noted on our first meeting that "the naivety of each others discipline can work as an advantage. A question or an idea could take a piece in a completely different direction." The pair are involved in everything together. It is a lasting collaboration in every sense. With each collection, they both learn off of each other and collectively push each piece as much as they can. Their quick learning and hard work has paid off this season.

"Agi & Sam has in a way been our child. It really relates to ourselves and our personalities at the time. When we started two years ago we were two years younger, and had very different tastes to what we have now, although the core still remains, we still want to poke fun at fashion and have fun with our collections."

From the Fresh Prince to the Day of the Dead, 80s detectives to the eve of the apocalypse, we're used to wandering the disorientating landscape of their shared mishmash of a mind. For their latest concoction, Agi & Sam were drawn to the eccentric world of the Marquess of Bath, wandered the rooms of stately homes and admired the soft furnishings whilst daydreaming about David Hockney before duly reimagining their own English aristocracy. For me, the oddball, class clown of their early collections is now a sharp witted chap. Sam Cotton talks us through the evolution of the Agi & Sam man, his voicing softening to mimic David Attenborough...

"I would determine that he was the guy that hung out in East London and wanted to be seen wearing a big ole' jazzy red jacket in Alibi (Homo Jazzyus). Then he realised that maybe that red jacket was a bit too red, so he tried it in a different colourway, something a bit more Mexican to wear at Efes (Homo Senioritis). Then after then we realised that as the prints were so loud that maybe the jacket shouldn't have unusual cuts and focus more on traditional tailoring, throwing a repeat of a duck and chicken on to wear over a jacket at the park in Summer (Homo Chillinoutabitis). After releasing that some days he wasn't too keen on wearing print all over his body so he decided to get a pair of printed socks to wear under his jeans and worked out a way of pairing them down (Homo Tomselleckis). Then came the latest Agi & Sam man (Homo classicus) This man wants a bit of a colour in his life, but doesn't need to cover himself in it."

Homo classicus is still the most colourfully dressed man in the room but there is a subtlety, a quiet confidence to his well tailored attire that commands attention and delivers admiration. "There is so much detail this season from pocket squares to engraved tie pins, so many more finishings. The collections is bright and colourful but in a more mature way." There's that word again, mature. Don't be afraid of it. Mature often blurs in the mind with words like responsible, dull, safe and reliable but this Agi & Sam is anything but expected and grey. Peering through their ever evolving kaleidoscope is still a trippy experience but the clothes themselves really deliver passed the initial fun and frivolity. Don't take my word for it, take a peek at the collection and get drunk on the details of my closeups alongside the Luke Stephenson shot 'How to wear' AW13...

Our own detail shots. 
'How to wear' AW13 look book shot by Luke Stephenson and styled by Agi & Sam.

As two new designers excitedly await to fill one of the two vacant but still hot seats on the MAN lineup, they should would do well to emulate how Agi & Sam have built on their early promise to become one of London Collections: Men leading stars. "We've gone from obscurity in to being on the front page of the Telegraph which I still find completely bizarre," Cotton explains as he reflects on the impact of MAN. "I think it has helped us realise how we want to sit as a brand. Coming out of it this season has left us with an impression of how we'd like to use everything we have learnt in the last twelve months with MAN and release a collection that stands as we'd like it to." Considered yet surprising. Subtle yet dazzling. Mature yet exciting. Agi & Sam are justifiably standing proud and so many long to stand alongside them.