The rise of Craig Green

"We always put ourselves under pressure," Craig Green confesses before his wide smile spreads across his Bethnal Green studio. As we're sat in a hushed corner, the light filled space is alive with activity, during the supposed festive break, in preparation for his third and final MAN performance. His name glows from the London Collections: Men schedule. In a whirlwind of promise, he has emerged as the crowned prince of the adventurous silhouette, transforming beautiful boys with wearable masterpieces and abstract theatre. The weight of expectation would weigh heavy on the shoulders of most design talents but Green, backed and spurred on by his closely knit team, shrugs the pressures of others off from his broad shoulders whilst floating ever higher powered by the pressure he places on himself.

"We try to change it up and push it each season, we don't want to stick to what we've done previously. We don't want to be just one thing. I think there's a fear in fashion to move away from what you're known for but it's good to feel uncomfortable and scared at times. As with most seasons, I'm scared about autumn/winter 14 but it's exciting," Green adds, eyes wide, full of focus and enthusiasm.

This fearlessness combined with his undeniable talent and hunger has propelled Craig Green forward and deservedly won him the hearts of the press and pockets of the world's finest buyers but it can be divisive. The pitchfork wielding tabloids were furious with an incensed Daily Mail dedicating a number of pages to their angst fuelled, confused rants whilst a perfume peddling waxwork mocked the designs live on Alan Carr. "I even received hate mail, directly to me, after the first MAN show. I was so depressed that I began to questions what I was doing. A week later people made me see that it's good to split opinion at times," he adds wisely. It is. Having bounced our way across the full spring/summer 14 spectrum, it could easily be described as a season of nice. Banality can be contagious but Green is one of the few designers offering something new, something exciting "For me, it's important for a show to be a show. It's really rare now that I look through catwalk photos and dream of being there. There are very few experiences like John Galliano's couture. any and every Comme show or the recent Rick Owens show. Gareth Pugh was the first ever show that I went to. I rushed from Central Saint Martins to make it and we were the last to get in, it was amazing, my heart was pounding. Shows should make you feel something special and that's what we strive for."

His tribe of faceless, psychedelic sculptures emphatically established Green as one of the capital's brightest stars but pushing continuously, excitement has closely circled Green from the moment his three dimensional, Russian folk robot inspired fantasies floated down the Central Saint Martins BA show catwalk. A collection that bubbled with creativity and craft, seeing him awarded a full MA scholarship. Weeks after presenting his award winning final MA collection, he confirmed his promise at the inaugural London Collections: Men. Offering another glimpse into his world of well crafted whimsy, the emerging talent, with his tonal crinkle washed calico, mohair and muslin cheesecloth creations, was the standout highlight at Fashion East's Installations.

"I'm drawn to making something out of nothing, or very little. You get the cheapest materials and use your skill to make it expensive." For Green, the real craft is in the textile transformation, in fabric alchemy, elevated do-it-yourself. "That first collection was made out of calico that we washed, tumble dried and put in a salt solution that softened it, before hand painting the edges. It was a cheap collection but that's an important idea not to lose sight off. Rather than buy silk and make something expensive, we're interested in using more attainable materials that can be improved, it's more of a challenge. The cost of producing in London already rises prices so we save where we can." Green thrives on challenges and constantly introduces them to his work, both out of need and his desire to push it that bit more.

"We do textiles in-house. All of the tie dye of spring/summer 14 was worked on here. 450 metres were dyed twice in metre by metre pieces. Twisted, poured, washed, left to dry for three days and then repeated. It was a nightmare process but this season, we're also working on a nightmare process - we love it really. Everything is hand painted, there's no digital or screen printing and they are heavily worked. We're back to handmade textiles and techniques but it's a different feeling.""

Creating and solving problems each fabric, silhouette and pattern at a time, Craig Green dances, delves and delights in duality. Opposites attract in his studio. His closely knit team of fantastical friends and crafty collaborators, don't just blur lines or introduce opposing forces but rather, majestically manifest creative collisions. Each garment is the playfight of light and dark, traditional and modern, familiar and fresh, reality and fantasy.

"The first collection played with seriousness, the spring/summer 14 was poppy and played with darkness and euphoria. We design by thinking about what we'd be excited to see in a show at that moment. This collection clashes utilitarian and ornateness. function and unfunctional, traditional and new. It's grounded in tradition because we were conscious of it not being seen as too faddy because there's a lot of that around. The challenge is always to do something that is not expected."

"Each season starts with the feeling that we'd like to portray, that always sounds a bit poncey but it's true. 'What do we want to see now after everything that's been?' That's always the driving force. We never stop talking, driving each other mad. I'm on the phone to Helen at midnight discussing every minute detail, discussion leads everywhere, from the studio to the pub, it's an ongoing process. This season has shifted and changed. Things get made, are scrapped and we start again. It's one of the most last minute collections but for the better. 

I never say my, it's always us and we. Perhaps I need the comfort of others but we do work so closely together. We're friends that like to make things. Different moments have brought us together, from old boyfriends to house parties to studying together. We all get on. They love doing what they do, they're not doing it for anything but the love, they are all crafty people and that's who I'm attracted to. It causes problems in it's own way because we push each other and can make things more difficult for ourselves but it's good. We just have a laugh," he adds before giving into a quiet giggle. Over the course of our hour long chat, Green didn't deviate from 'we' or 'us.' There might be one 'i' in Craig Green but the design talent is not one to downplay the role of and interplay between, the team of creatives that nestle under his umbrella.

Now, Craig Green could happily and skilfully turn his hand to any creative medium, so why, for now atleast, ground himself in London menswear? "It is one of the very few places that is open to suggestion and not scared of change.” Growing up in a quiet enclave of suburbia in North West London. surrounded by a loving family of craftsmen, Green's daydreams were filled with aspirations of being a sculptor or painter. "I initially went to Central Saint Martins because I wanted to be a portrait painter but whilst on the foundation course, I met friends who were studying fashion." Thankfully for us, the impressionable young talent followed suit and fell into fashion, textiles are now his canvas as he shapes a new modern menswear menswear between his hands. Beyond the fabulous fanfare of his MAN shows and as the applause fades, a Craig Green collection continues to captivate with delicious details long after the curtain falls. 'The beauty is in the details,' is an oft used phrase in menswear but when Green is concerned, beauty is omnipresent. With sweaters that artfully unravel, garments tie-dyed with a richness that forever teases the eye, a subtlety that envelops any considered viewer and a knowing of touch that excites the heart of all craft enthusiasts.

Craig Green spring/summer 14, my snapshots from the front row at MAN.

"Spring/Summer 14 was the first season that we've really sold.  Previously, we used to work on small scale production after the show, a rush of month from start to finish but this season, production has been in tandem with the design of the new collection. A bit of a strain but it's exciting to grow. We jumped from three to twelve stores this season. We're now in Dover Street Market New York and Tokyo, Other-Shop, 10 Corso Como in Milan and  IT in Hong Kong to name just a few."

Whisked into a whirlwind, the last eighteen months must have whizzed by Craig Green's eyes in one marvellous blur of surprise and success but as we wave goodbye to 2013 and with the industry at his feet, I ask what the plan is for 2014 and beyond.

"Every couple of months something good seems to happen. I started out just at the beginning of London Collections: Men and I've been lucky because I get to sell at the time of everyone else and there's a real platform and network of support through Fashion East and CFE. It's exciting to be a part of it. I'd love for it to grow to a point in which I can pay people properly, rely less on favours and to move out of my mum's house. That would all be lovely but I love it all. I get to work with my friends doing what I love and we have a great time. In that we're lucky," he adds with another grin. Enveloped by the craft and smiles of Craig Green, we are all lucky.

Tools of the trade... S.E.H Kelly

Located in an oft overlooked enclave of East London, S.E.H Kelly's workshop is quietly going about its business of making quality garments with the makers of the British Isles. Having long admired the label's hunger to showcase British craftsmanship, we finally paid Paul Vincent and Sara Kelly a visit over the weekend.

Their Boundary Street haven was an intimate hive of activity as the remaining pieces for AW12 took shape and thoughts began to drift towards the months ahead. On its top deck are the rolls of cloth, the patterns and trims and a whole assortment of implements for garment-making. Meanwhile, lower space is home to an ongoing procession of shirts, overshirts, jackets, trousers and knitwear at various stages of completion. It is a delight to explore. Now, given that every aspect of every garment is made with the domestic clothing industry, with steadfast adherence to quality and the sturdiness of British make, we could leave without asking the design duo to reveal their favourite tools. Here, Vincent  reveals three tools of S.E.H Kelly's trade...

----------

Stork Scissors

"What can you say about the stork scissors that hasn't already been said? The stork scissors are the go-to for trimming threads, tidying up button-holes, snipping string when wrapping -- usually just prior to garments being dispatched or handed over to customers at the workshop (at the factory, industrial-grade nippers are the utensil of choice)."

----------

Single-hole hole punch

"What can you say about the single-hole hole-punch that hasn't already been said? A real partner-in-crime to the stork scissors, the punch, and in a given week will punch its way through swing tickets, spare-button bags, fabric-swatch bags, and pattern cards. Looked at from a certain angle it too looks like a bird -- or perhaps a dolphin. Not the most ergonomic hole punch, truth be told, but history shows the most reliable."

----------

Trodat Printy 4917 ink-stamp

"What can you say about the Trodat Printy 4917 ink-stamp that hasn't already been said? Since we've no first-hand experience of precursors to the 4917, the 4917 is in our books the apex of self-inking stamp tech. Once mastered, the 4917 never fails, and this particular 4917 has stamped without complaint our brand name onto envelopes, letters to customers and suppliers, and swing tickets, since day one." Paul Vincent.

----------

A visit to Ian Batten

Just like the long and frustrated wait for a bus only to be greeted with a convoy of double deckers, I've posted a series of posts on a man who often operates in the sartorial shadows. I could apologise but Ian Batten deserves such fanfare. Before meeting Batten at his Highgate shop-cum-studio, I google'd him. A tumble weed of information slowly rolled past my wanting eyes. A link to his two stockists and the BBC Four series that followed him and his seven grandchildren on a trip to the seaside a few years ago now is all that mind boggling algorithm could muster. In this world of mass information, such cases are rare. Having long fallen for the charms of his garments and with a few stories ringing in my ears from the lovely folk at b, I hopped on the 43 and chatted with the man himself over a cup of coffee.

As Ian Batten welcomed me to his narrow work space and recounted countless tales from his forty years in the industry, it was impossible not leave mesmerised and inspired. From finding himself accepted to study at Hornsey Art College with a whole host of creative talent in early 60s London to following in the footsteps of Anthony Price at Sterling Cooper, launching his own line in 1992 to forging a business selling clothes to a few considered accounts and a growing number of sartorial devotees, Batten's is a unique and fascinating story. Periodically finding himself on the cusp of something bigger, he has cultivated a business whilst remaining something of a hidden gem. Today, with the unveiling of a look book for AW12 and the relaunch of his website something tells me he won't remain hidden for too much longer.

With over forty years in the business Batten could be forgiven for not evolving, but he does constantly. In fact he thrives on it. "People used to say to me 'Ian, the problem with you is that you get bored very easily, you move on too quickly'  and that is probably true in a way. For me, the whole bag is being creative, pushing it somehow." Despite being a bit cautious of technology, the relaunch of his site will help introduce him to a new audience. "Just last night I was talking to a few of my old art college buddies and we discussed how we were all part of this last generation that have their feet in both camps, once we're gone it will all be the technology generation. I like it (technology) but it is not something that I rely on." Thankfully for us, Batten has opted to edge his feet a bit more confidently in to the digital realm and more can discover his work.

Whilst failing academically at school he was nudged in the direction of art school. Clueless of what it entailed he applied to Hornsey Art College. "At the time that I went to art school, I didn't even know what it was about. My art teacher knew that I wasn't very academic but saw something creative in me and suggested that I apply. I took some drawings with me and got in." This was at a time when the capital was at its swinging best. "there were people there like Charlie Watt's wife, Allen Jones, Ray Davis of the Kinks was there." Now, you often hear about musicians forming groups at art college but rarely careers in fashion design. For Batten it was a slow process of experimentation. "I did my foundation, then a graphics course because I didn't want to be a painter and then I moved towards fashion illustration. At the time, there weren't fashion illustration courses. If you wanted to do that, you had to do the whole lot. So I did. I don't quite know how it evolve but somehow it did, it was a process of discovery really." After his graduation he took the first job that he could in the rag trade and learnt from there. "The big one for me, in the 70s and 80s, was Sterling Cooper. It was a big deal, Anthony Price and Sheila Brown were there and then, I was the next one in. I was there for four years and it was the making of me. I left and then went freelance, travelling around doing bits here and there, I did womenswear at Swanky Modes. In the early 90s I got fed up with womenswear. It was the start of a real big push for menswear. I opened up a shop with a friend of mine in Chelsea and it started from there."

"Today, there's a growing band out there that really get my stuff and it is absolutely lovely but I would like it to be a bit more solid. For some reason, my main customers are all architects. They seem to love that my clothes are unstructured. It is quite fluid and I guess that is where the energy comes from, driving it forward. At times, I feel like that performer at the circus who spins plates on the end of my pole but I do enjoy it. I'm fortunate that I enjoy what I do, from life drawing to films, it just grows. What I have to do but what I'm hesitant to do, is get back on the fashion loop as it were. In recent years I've been producing capsule collections for the likes of b store and Livingstone Studio. Both have been quite organic and just grow. It's been a nice way of working but I probably should work more to the seasons.


People either call me a tailor or a fashion designer, I'm neither really, I just make clothing. Everything is unstructured so it is not strict tailoring, that is an entirely different bag. Also, I'm not interested in fashion either. I used to work in trends. I don't follow trends anymore. It is just me designing clothes that I hope provoke a reaction like 'ooh, that's a nice detail!' It is all about shape really. I just do what I do. Some people love it and some might not like it all. It is subjective. One of the first things I ask my customers is 'how does it feel?' because if it feels great then that's half the battle." 

I could have listened to Ian Batten talk all day and I'd happily transcribe it all for you but I know you must all be eager to see a few images to help break up the text. So, take my virtual hand and lets explore his shop-cum-studio. Squeezed in to a narrow but long unit, the space allows discovery at every turn...

The retail space is full of Ian Batten treats.

A selection of shots from his studio and workbench

You should have noticed from above that Ian Batten is a great talker, dropping tales, nuggets of wisdom and excitedly bouncing from sentence to sentence with consumate ease. However, when it comes to describing what he does and his clothes, he is succinct and at times stumped. After asking him to describe his AW12 collection he inhaled deeply and looked blank for a few seconds before replying with, "God, I never know what to say...". He took another sip of coffee and recounted another story. "Years ago, Michael Roberts who used to be fashion editor of The Sunday Times, asked me to describe one of my collections and I just said 'Michael, I don't know what to say… they're like a big sack with string through the middle of it.' And he printed it, I could't believe it but I guess it serves me right really." With menswear, its very much a continuation from season to season. You get a good shape, find a great fabric and it follows on. It's a process of evolution. I don't think about it really. It's like when you're running down the stairs and if you think about the movement of your feet, you often trip up but you can do it fine without thinking about. It just happens..." That's a great analogy. Right, enough talk... here's a selection of AW12 look book shots by Retts Wood...

AW12 look book shot by Retts Wood.

Having lurked in the sartorial shadows for a number of years, now is the time for Ian Batten to step in to the spotlight.

Inspired... Martine Rose SS13

Having toiled both in and out of the spotlight over the last seven years and more, there's a real sense that London menswear finally has the platform that it deserves in London Collections: Men. The cultural programme of shows, presentations, installations and talks will thrust London menswear so far forward that it now launches the SS13 season. Few designers will have experienced more during this transformation than Martine Rose.

Always smiling, she has seen and played a key part it in all. From the first menswear installation by Fashion East housed in an old embassy building in South Kensington to MAN to NEWGEN MEN sponsorship and her own salon presentations, Rose has helped pave the way for the industry to move forward. A true pioneer of London menswear. Excited to see what the design talent will unveil next week we dropped by her Seven Sisters studio for a cup of tea and a chat. Here she talks us through her wall of sculpture masterpieces, her thoughts on the new platform and the community spirit that exists amongst the designers...

"The collection was sparked by a Bernini sculpture and a real fascination with hands developed. Hands are everywhere in this collection. We've engraved hand prints, mine actually but we've had to change them a little because mine looked too skeletal, and we are bonding them on to fabric. We've had to make our own neoprene for the hand prints to be engraved on first. We've really pushed it this season!

My flatmate was talking me through the wonders of Pinterest and showed me a sculpture by Bernini which she had seen with her mum, I was just blown away by it. The fact it was made out of marble was so surprising to me. This led us to explore this idea of using fabrics that defy their nature. It's all about form, using textiles that appear soft but are in fact hard.

From Bernini, I expanded my inspiration search to other sculptures. Henry Moore's work really influenced the proportion play of the collection. He worked with such a mix of the odd and unexpected. You'll also see Grace Jones pop up in the mood wall. She is just the perfect sportswear reference for me and she even looks like a living sculpture. I recently found myself relistening to Island Life again which I'd not heard in years but found again when I moved to Brixton, so it's not so much a direct influence but more something that was around during this time..."

Martine Rose talks us through the inspirations behind SS13   

From Bernini to Moore, Grace Jones to denim, Rose's wall is a masterpiece of sculpture.

"I always work this way. I just wish I had archived each collections mood wall because I've had some great ones. It can be nerve wracking as they are quite personal. It is that moment when you reveal your thoughts to the team, watching them respond to it can be quite nervy. Everyone's got good vibes about it this season and its great to have you photograph it! Some designers like to keep things quite insular and just direct but its important for me to have everyone on the same page and know what I'm thinking. 

There's a few stories this season; the use of neoprene in trousers, bomber jackets and other outerwear. Then there's the washed, embroidered and at times oversized denim. Knitwear that feels likes it is reassuringly hugging you and a snakeskin story that helps explore texture. As always there is the shirt story that underpins every collection and this season I wanted them to feel quite corporate. Everything else in the show is quite mental so they are quite simple but some will include the neoprene as sleeves.

I'm really, really excited this season. Not just for the show itself. There's just everything to be excited for as it it's what we've all been working towards and waited for. There's been a great deal of effort and investment of money, time and faith. I thought about the early days as I talked to Charlie Porter as part of his Who's Who of London series and boy, were they lonely. It's very different now and there's a real sense of community, everyone is so supportive of each other. It feels great to be part of this. I'm just excited that it is happening." 

Martine Rose on the upcoming season and London menswear
----------

Now I didn't think I could be any more excited by London Collections: Men but watching the energy of Martine Rose's studio in action, seeing what she has in store for us and hearing her thoughts on the evolution of menswear in the capital, was pure stimulation. Roll on next weekend.

Inspired... William Richard Green SS13

Over the course of this series I've been fortunate enough to encounter all manner of studio and approach to designing a collection. Of course there are some similarities but I've been amazed by the differences. Throughout my visit to William Richard Green's studio in Whitechapel, the design talent apologised for the lack of visual inspiration multiple times but I didn't care a jot because the space is a treasure trove of true symbols of the labels. What it might lacks in wall adornment, it more than makes up with artifacts of experimentation, polka dot fabrics, military paraphernalia and a hectic desktop. From initial rough sketches to plaster cast body parts, fabric samples to market buys, the studio is littered with an inventory that is entirely personal to the label. 

As one of the designers headlining a new era in British menswear, William Richard Green continues to fuse his British influences with a willingness to celebrate the diversity amongst the well sourced manufacturers and suppliers of these isles. Over the last few seasons, each collection has showcased the craftsmanship of home grown British manufacturing whilst feeling anything but heritage. As so many have talked up the British-ness of their products, the label has quietly and assuredly gone about its business of crafting pieces that are decidedly British, both inside and out. "One of my points is that the collections are British made and predominantly use British fabric. It has been a case of building relationships over time and the quality improves," confirms the designer whilst sipping a well deserved beer at the end of a long day spent at the studio. With several factories manufacturing the collections, Green works with specialist producers for each garment and product type, to guarantee the best techniques and machinery are used for the job. For SS13, the design talent has grasped the opportunity of London Collections: Men to celebrate the places that combine to make his label great as forgotten provincial towns scattered throughout the country are immortalised in garments. Here the designer talks us through his approach and introduces the collection far better than I can...

"Now that everyone now knows about my use of British manufacture and production, I started looking at the different areas of where everything is made or in the case of the studio, where everything is designed, and tried to draw things that either I felt were uniquely British or were an interesting point of place reference. Ultimately I wanted to continue along with aesthetic of previous seasons because I think that is how menswear works but I wanted to make it more personal and even more focused. I was looking at Whitechapel where the studio is based and one of the things that I feel is unique about the place is the mix of religious communities, some of which have a particular way of dressing but because this country is so f'ing cold, they wear it teamed with a bomber jacket or large overcoat - that feels inherently British to me. Also, I was looking at Yorkshire and just the other day there was this film about the six soldiers who went out to Afghanistan and died practically straight away, so I started referencing a lot of military details. I didn't want to make too much of a thing about it because ultimately fashion is something people enjoy and it's a sensitive subject with a serious story but I felt it had to be referenced in some way.  Ultimately, the theme of the collection is celebrating the different areas and this idea of 'home is where the heart is' and what it is that makes home important, the family and everything around it. I was drawn to the Shane Meadows film Dead Man's Shoes, I liked its setting which is an amazing rural landscape, its attitude and how the idea of going home and getting revenge was so important to the central character. It celebrates the best and worst aspects of Britain. Similarly, I'm trying to offer something that is British but not in the same way of Paul Smith, the Jubilee or Foot Guards. I didn't want to go down the chav route again this season because it is trending a fair bit. I'm happy that I explored football hooliganism last season as opposed to this given the Panorama show I watched last week.

I don't work with a strict mood board, I probably should do but my desktop ends up always being covered in icons, saved images and screen grabs take the i-mac over instead of the walls. We're just a little tight for space in this current studio and given its classroom feel, I feel a little uncreative but I'm looking at a couple of new studios at the moment and if we move, I'll start doing a full mood board because I would like to. This season I've been drawn to military details and polka dots as always. I looked at an archive of army jackets for details. Also, I went on a trip to Sri Lanka and saw the traffic police wearing these amazing olive uniforms which had a button on white sleeve that are used to help signal and that's a reference for this collection. Every season I go back to this amazing book of photographs of the people who built the Channel Tunnel and the utilitarian nature of the uniforms..."  

This season the desktop is an organised chaos of technical drawings and beautiful landscapes which are broken up with road signs whilst the studio is littered with items at varying degrees of experimentation. It is the combination of man made and nature that really interests the designer...

"We've given more thought to the presentation this season. We're building an installation with Veriform and inspired by the artist Mathilde Roussel, we're making mannequins with a rural feeling to them. We initially tried using plaster for the mannequins which is why there's my hand randomly in the studio but the Veriform is better, not sure what I'll do with the hand now…I'll give it to my Gran maybe...


I'm excited to share my collaboration with Walsh, a running shoe label that are based in Bolton. I used to wear them as a kid when I ran around the Peak District which links back to the idea behind the collection. The fact that I used to have them really ties in with the collection. I've been spending a bit of time in the Midlands because of Walsh, Brady Bags and Acorn buttons and there are so many interesting ties, for example my Granddad who was a lawyer up there and worked with a few of them,. There are so many stories like that."

There's a definite sense that this season is both a sartorial continuation of previous William Richard Green collections and an introduction of even more personality. It is my kind of flag waving. The design talent has revelled in researching the label's unique map and I cannot wait to see the fruits at his presentation later this month.