Creating a relaxed yet elegant SS15 wardrobe for weekends away, the Scottish designer and David Hellqvist discuss the classic tailoring brand’s role at LC:M
We’re in a luxurious office-turned-showroom on Horse Guards Avenue, off Whitehall and a stone’s throw from 10 Downing Street. Inside, soft velvet carpets and mighty mahogany interiors are used for decoration, and grandiose balconies line the rooms. Alfred Dunhill suits from the classic British tailoring brand are dotted around the room as dandy eye candy. Slouching yet dressed to the teeth, a handful of young models populate the podium, wearing the upcoming Spring Summer 2015 collection. The clothes, part of creative director John Ray’s second collection for the brand, are that rare thing of elegant yet relaxed formalwear. Ray has skilfully designed and put the collection together to represent a portable wardrobe for weekends away to the countryside. “When I’ve finished working and want to get out of London, I’m not too bothered about what I put in my bag,” he explains from an adjacent room. “I stick my favourite sweater and favourite shoes in a bag because I know where I’m going is a very private place, no one will judge me for it, I’m completely at home.”Ray is OK to relax and feel at home. Since his AW14 debut, the Scot and former Gucci menswear designer has begun a journey that, he says and critics agree, will set dunhill back on track. “My job is to grow the DNA of the brand so people know what it stands for, so people know what to come to us for.” And for Ray, it’s very clear what that is: “We represent a very British take on menswear. I don’t want to re-innovate men’s fashion, just articulate what dunhill really means.”
Having spent years working out of Milan, the Britain versus Italy comparison is inevitable. “I think we’re more understated than the Italians when it comes to fashion. The cut is different, it’s more quirky and playful, we’re all about mismatched ties and so on. Here, guys on the streets put things together in an interesting way but not necessarily eccentric. Dandies are not my style – I like character and personality, that to me is interesting.”
But it goes beyond the accessories and general style, it’s embedded in the actual suit fit, according to Ray. “Italian wear suits a lot closer to the body, the Brits don’t like it like as tight. The Italians put it together in a beautifully co-ordinated way but the Brits use challenging socks or ties, they break the rules,” he summarises. Interestingly, for Ray, all of that is related to the concept of school uniforms – but not in a negative way. Whereas non-Brits might view the idea of being forced to dress in a certain way year after year as controlled and restrictive, Ray seems to relish it as a sartorial blueprint for life: “School uniforms inform how we dress for years to come. Uniforms are good because you don’t have to think too much about them: they’re easy, utilitarian, practical and for me they’re about a sense of occasion.”
“The Italians put it together in a beautifully co-ordinated way but the Brits use challenging socks
or ties, they break the rules”
It’s interesting that Ray talks about ‘occasions’. One might argue that dunhill, plus a few other contemporary yet classic tailoring brands (many of which also show on LC:M’s schedule) are defined by the idea of dressing for formal events. But in this day and age, is it enough to cater for award ceremonies, weddings and funerals? “We’re a lifestyle brand but there’s a certain formality to life. I wouldn’t like to see my bank manager wearing jeans and a T-shirt, that would upset me. There’s something elegant about sticking to the rules.”
Ray is taking dunhill in the best possible direction. It’s a classic and traditional brand trading in the 21st century: he knows that people expect different things from a brand in 2014 compared to 1914. The fact that we are visiting dunhill in between the Astrid Andersen and Matthew Miller shows, smack in the middle of the first London Collections: Men day is a testament to Ray’s appreciation of the situation.The designer is not only at ease, he’s comfortable and confident about the brand’s role in a contemporary menswear scenario. “We have to stay true to the brand. Dunhill needs to be relevant, it doesn’t have to be shocking. We’re a heritage brand with its roots in maturity, but we can play around with that.”
Longstanding customers need not fear though; Ray is aware of the Do’s and Don’ts for a brand of dunhill’s stature. “I’m not a fan of young designers given free reigns with old and established brands where they can play with them too much. Imagine if we did high-tech sportswear and not beautiful British tailoring – that would confuse our customers.” So far, so good. Dunhill is in safe hands. By the looks of it, this could very well be the beginning of a beautiful friendship…
“We’re a heritage brand with its roots in maturity,
but we can play around with that”
.
Photography Robin Sinha
