Reintroducing... Nicomede Talavera

"For me, inspiration will always come from what I see around me. It has to be grounded in reality," Nicomede Talavera explains as he unveils his portfolio and takes me into the carefully crafted world of his MA collection. "I'm drawn to subcultures, youth movements and ultimately street wear." For his final foray with Central Saint Martins, Talavera looked to the sartorial sights of his childhood home of Hounslow, West London. Delighting in detail, playing with proportion and teasing textural treats, his nine models of majestic monochrome modernity marked an enthralling end in one sense and a breathtaking beginning in another. Waving a fond goodbye with hand and an excited hello with the other.

Regular readers will be familiar with this emerging talent. From featuring his accomplished first capsule collection back in October 2009, we've watched on with interest as he honed his talent, cultivated a still fruitful collaboration with Eastpak and bounced from Central Saint Martins BA to blossom on the MA course. Inspired by tailored sportswear, Talevera's signature balance of playful with functional to create detail rich staples has continued to offer an exciting take on the now. Ultimately, under the sharp spotlight of Louise Wilson's gaze, his is a talent that has been examined and encouraged.

"During the MA, you really think about who you are a designer. One of the first questions they ask you is, 'who do you sit next to in stores, who are your competitors?' It's about finding your own signature whilst knowing your market and having an in dea about your customer. It was so refreshing to think like this.

When I began my pre-collection in July, it was far too conceptual. Louise advised that I should be doing something relevant, something real. She told me to open my eyes and get out of the library and on to the streets so that's what I did. I grew up in a particularly multicultural area of Hounslow. It was the norm to see boys in long dress-like-shirts and styling them up in their own way. I didn't see it as unusual or different because it was a common sight. During the research process I spent more time at home and I began to notice my surroundings with a fresher eye. I was captivated by the teenage boys that stood just outside of my local mosque. It was just the coolest sight. With Louise's advice still ringing in my eyes, the sight felt relevant, it felt very now. I then began to research it more. I have a good friend who is Muslim and I asked him to take me to his local area, I wanted to get a bit closer to the culture i East London. When we went round, I took photographs of their attire. I was particularly interested in the silhouettes and collated a vast number of images. It was inspiring to examine their layers, begin to understand the proportions."

"We saw subtle differences between the areas and between different age groups. In Hounslow it is more traditional whilst in East London it involved far more sportswear, whilst the younger boys appeared more westernised. The shots were all taken discreetly on my iPhone. A little sneaky. However, I was conscious of being as respectful as possible. I was genuinely inspired by them. I've actually had quite a few Muslim friends and acquaintances say that they love the collection and said that it's beautiful for what it is, that for me, is hugely rewarding to hear.

Everything is based on proportion and there are certain rules on length and coverage. For example, trousers tend to finish above the ankle, their Awrah has to be covered. It's interesting to see how these rules are followed as more western styles of dress are mixed in with them, for example the appropriation of sportswear.

I noticed extremely sharp creases and the sharp lines of their boys attire in general. From these observations I looked to the to the work of Elsworth Kelly, Lucio Fontana's slashed canvases and further afield for additional inspiration."

"Previously I used to work by sketching and sketching but for the MA collection, I put my pencil down and collated imagery. Louise identified my strength in pattern cutting and encouraged to sample much sooner than I had done previously." From sneaky iPhone street style snaps to toiling and sampling, Talavera collated, refined, questioned, tweaked and refined the collection. Every detail was scrutinised. Anything superflous removed.

"I began to see the story unfold and develop in monochrome. Initially the collection had a more colourful palette, there were a number of iridescent colours, a real mix but it felt a lot fresher when we honed the monochrome selection. It enabled the focus to be on cut, proportion, finishings and all those other details that tend to get overlooked. It focuses the eye. The primary fabric is corduroy. Not many people notice that on first look. It's super fine corduroy. I also part bonded lurex with suiting fabric. It was all about mixing the traditional with the contemporary, the expected with the unexpected."

As we sat in an East London coffee house and Talavera flicked through his portfolio a highly edited and considered collection took shape before my eyes...

From the superfine cord to the layers and unexpected hems, Talavera's collection treats the eye to a variety of lines and is a happy marriage of the traditional with the contemporary. "As it is such a minimal collection, I really thought about each detail and the finish." There is nothing to hide behind, this is a collection that proudly stands tall. "The journey of the MA has been amazing. I'm so thankful that I received the AHRC scholarship, without it I wouldn't have been able to go on the course. Once on the course, they made me think about everything. They pushed me and made the collection as tight as possible." 

Having shown great promise over the last five years, after being pushed and pushing himself, Talavera is now a talent that has fully arrived. I finish by asking him what he'd like to do next. "As soon as I finished the course I said that I wanted a break but a few weeks later I feel that I've worked so hard to build something and really enjoy designing so want to see what happens with the label." As he turns the page to finish one chapter, Nicomede Talavera is now poised to fill the blank pages with all manner of exciting narrative. I can't wait to see his story unfold on a larger stage.

Treasured Items... Tim Sturmheit

From riding the month long conveyor belt that connects all of the major fashion capitals to scouring backstreets beyond the beaten track, oki-ni's Tim Sturmheit's mission is to unearth all manner of future treasures. It is a task he relishes and revels in. Casting an ever inquisitive eye across the menswear spectrum, the buyer has to feed the appetite of an ever growing army of discerning customers. With the likes of McQueen, Raf and Undercover sitting alongside J.W, Kenzo, Shannon, Our Legacy all manner of exclusive product, oki-ni is a veritable feast.

Having just returned from a buying expedition to Tokyo where he was dazzled by Ikat prints in the master-piece showroom, visited the new Thom Browne store and admired the colourful photography work of Paul Smith, we couldn't resist buying him a well deserved a pint and asking him to partake in a quick spot of show and tell. Here, Sturmheit rifles through his master-piece backpack and tells us the tales behind his most cherished items.

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Tim Sturmheit and personalised fruits of game changing commerce...

"This Thom Browne cardigan is a relatively recent addition to my wardrobe but is one that I'm sure I'll keep forever. For spring/summer 13 we gave customers the opportunity to pre-order a range of exclusive show pieces, direct from Thom Browne's Paris Fashion Week presentation. The concept was that customers could see the product from the show, we then went to the Thom Browne showroom and styled it all and people could buy it the very next day. Each piece had the customers name added to label to make each piece that bit more special. It was amazing to be involved in a project like that. You're working with really interesting people, it's a great brand that you wouldn't ordinarily have such access to and you're offering one-off pieces. When I went to Tokyo last week and visited the new Thom Browne store there and the PR Manager was there and it was so difficult to even take a few pictures for the blog. Also, he admitted that he had to buy a few pieces through us rather than from Thom Browne directly. 

For me, Thom Browne is an inspiring label. From his amazing runway shows to beautiful made product, both wearable and crazy pieces, it's all about building a brand. It's a big company in terms of monetary value but there are relatively few steps to get to Thom, it enables you to do these types of projects and I'm sure there will be more in the future. One of my favourite aspects of my job is working on special projects like this, coming up with new ideas and developing relationships. It worked really well both commercially and from a press perspective."

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....and the Thai travel tees

"I picked these t-shirts up when I went travelling. I did the 'just finished college but wanted to do something before I went to Uni trip' and went on a Cambodia and Vietnam trek with one of my friends and then lived in Thailand for six months teaching in a school. It was great. I spent most of my time playing with little kids who couldn't really understand me anyway so I have no idea how much I was actually teaching them but it was fun. I used to spend two or three hours a day teaching and the rest of my time was spent lying in my hammock or exploring the area. On your travels you see lots of street stalls. At the time I was in to vintage clothes, I had lots of old Adidas tracksuits from the 70s and 80s and I used to hunt things down all over the country and I wanted to collect something whilst travelling. Also, I went through a phase of buying a TinTin t-shirt from every country or significant place that I went to but I've ended up losing everything single one of them. It was quite a challenge because I'd go to places that had no idea what or who I was talking about. I wanted to do something similar on this trip. You can't pick up too many things on the move when you need to travel quote light so I decided on t-shirts. I'd often lost the t-shirts I had brought with me anyway because it was so hot and they could be forgotten at parties. I bought about fifteen all together and came home with around five. I'd never throw them away now, I just have them to kick about in. I can't really fit in to them but they remind me of a great experience. Each has a memory of where I picked them up, if and how I bartered with them for the price, they're fun." Tim Sturmheit

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Trine Lindegaard AW13

Peering through Trine Lndegaard's ever dazzling prism of print, colour and texture, you could be forgiven for merely admiring her lighthearted and playful approach to menswear but you would be missing a hidden beauty. Beyond the embellishment, deeper than the innovative textile techniques and behind the beaming smiles, there's so much more to discover. There's a substantial seriousness, honesty and integrity past the fanfare. For me, that's the real beauty of her work. This weekend I delved past the showy surface by dropping by her East London home-turned-studio.

"I'm really inspired by working with different people and growing relationships," Lindegaard purrs as she quietly but excitedly introduces her autumn/winter 13 collection. "It's important that the relationships are beneficial for all parties involved, they need something out of it, more than simple commerce." In her spring/summer 13 collection, we were introduced to the first harvest from the carefully cultivated relationship with West African textile artisans and manufacturers. To this kaleidoscope of Kente which has been explored and developed even further, the passionate talent adds equally colourful and intricate textiles from the Ivory Coast and embellishment hand embroidered by prisoners here in the UK. It is a heady and heart warming mix. In some hands such a combination could jar but in Lindegaard's it's an intriguing and inspiring ménage à trois of craftsmanship. 

Entitled Happiness, the collection is firmly rooted in the embroidery of Fine Cell Work, a social enterprise that trains prisoners in paid, skilled, creative needlework undertaken in the long hours spent in their cells. Up until my last chat with the Danish born, Dalston based designer, I had no idea that  in prisons all across the UK, inmates are filling their hours embroidering highly-crafted cushions, bags, pictures and patchwork quilts. Lindegaard explains:

"They've been around for fifteen years or so, they do amazing cross stitching with prisoners. Wonderful work. Their lives are so basic and Fine Cell Work offer a distraction, a purpose and the opportunity to discover a more constructive and reflective side to themselves. As you'd expect all of the guys are young and tough but they hand embroider cushions and are in complete awe of their teaching aunties, the volunteers from the Embroiderers and Quilters Guild. It's so strange and surprising. I've visited a group at Wandsworth and it is such a rewarding experience going in to the prison and seeing their pride and excitement in what they're doing. It's refreshing and I'm pleased to be a part of it.

Right from the very beginning I wanted the inmates to be part of the process. I wanted it to be really free for them. The first workshop centred around happiness and I wanted it to come from their point of view, evolve out of their interests which are so mixed."

The work and interests of one inmate in particular, Ziga, a keen painter, helped inspire the collection. For someone confined to such a small cell, cut off from the outside world, his sketches were amazingly imaginative. Naive yet confident. Familiar yet surreal. Uplifting yet a little dark. "It was love at first sight," Lindegaard fondly recalls and she strokes an embroidered bleeding heart that now adorns one of her sweatshirts but was dreamed up by Ziga. Developing elements of this artwork, working closely with the talented Jessica Ball from Yours Sustainably for the first samples and integrating the embroidery work with the developed African textiles, autumn/winter 13 is a colourful concerto. Listen with your eyes below...

My own detail shots alongside... 
sketchbook shots from Trine and look book photography by Ivona Chrzastek.

"At the beginning of the season I wanted there to be an obvious link between the continuation of the work with Kente and the introduction of the embroidered pieces with Fine Cell Work but logistically that was quite difficult. In a way, I like that I don't have complete control. It's the same with the work that comes from Africa when I was working from London, sending images and notes which were sometimes lost in translation. For examples the colours at times differ wildly from what I had envisaged because of how my sketches have been printed out over there but it's fun! I'm going to Ghana next month though which will help push things forward. This initial work has remained quite traditional but having just had a little dialogue with them and researching it from here, I'm beginning to realise just how varied and detailed they can be. So we will really push it next season, I'm very excited."

Trine Lindegaard is always excited and with good reason. Always pushing and hungry to learn, season on season we are treated to a surprising evolution. Whilst savouring this collection, our excitement for the next enthralling stage is already beginning to grow.