POP 795 Tuesday 10 January 2012

Today’s POP is Rachel. You, me and Kurt Russell.

 
If it’s possible to be sold on a designer before you’ve ever laid eyes on any of their garments, then William Richard Green’s list of influences does it for me. Fishermen, Vikings, Kurt Russell and Millwall MC’s fans – this eccentric amalgamation of masculinity had me at testosterone.
 
Green is home grown in the English countryside, so he designs with an appreciation of what it means to dress like a gentleman, too – “traditional things like solid, well-made shoes, proper knits, and well-constructed coats.” And he hits every mark with his curriculum vitae so far: with a degree from Central Saint Martins and training on Savile Row, he has featured in Fashion East’s MAN exhibition for the past three seasons.
 
As part of his wholly monochromatic S/S12 collection, illustrator Martin Wollerstam created a cartoon spread over a silk shirt, which has been realised in full 3D in his window installation as part of the Selfridge’s Bright Young Things project. Select pieces – including a graphic polka dot shirt and printed ‘tears’ t-shirt – are on sale online and in an exclusive menswear pop-up in the Selfridges Oxford St flagship, until the end of February.
 

Where did you begin when creating your window display? How did you intend to present yourself as a brand; as a space?
The starting point for my window at Selfridges was the print collaboration I did with illustrator Martin Wollerstam. The theme of the collection was suicide and he made an illustrative pattern about what happens when you decide to end your life. It’s a comical illustration of how you end up in some kind of waiting room, or ‘limbo’ realm for the rest or your life. So for the window, I decided to recreate this 2D world in a 3D space. I think the installation represents the brand in that it’s dark and has a an underlying sense of humour. But apart from that I wasn't trying to particularity capture the essence of the brand, I just thought it would be a really fun side-project separate from designing collections.

The attention spans of shoppers on London’s most famous high street can be notoriously short – how does your window grab their attention?
It’s an explosion of Martin’s rather special imagination. Plus it has a moving filing cabinet in it…

Did you enjoy the transition from using visual inspiration to create a functioning fashion collection to then translating your ideas into a static space? What further informed you in this progression between mediums?
I came up with a fictional world and mood, then tried to re-contextualise it in a 'William Richard Green' aesthetic and asked Martin to do the print for me. We quite literally re-created it in life size and 3D in the window. It was fun going between fabric and foam board to convey the same concept.

The creative team behind the Selfridges windows are world-renowned. How did you collaborate with them to achieve your vision?
Well it was great that we could do whatever we wanted with whatever materials we chose.

What have you learned on the journey from presenting your work to a somewhat niche audience, to then taking it to the masses in the biggest way possible? Has it altered your outlook in any way?
No, it hasn't changed my process at all. I don’t go out of my way to conform to niche expectations or dumb down my work for the 'masses'.

Which of your own pieces currently stocked in Selfridges did you use as part of the display? And can you explain some of the references or processes used in producing these?
A black polka dot shirt – it’s a staple piece I do every season, so I thought it would be good branding to include it in the window. Also there’s a bomber jacket and matching shorts in an exclusive colour-way for Selfridges, which I thought would be only fitting to put in the window.
 

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The Bright Young Things windows will be displayed until the end of February. For exclusive pieces created for this project, visit the Oxford St flagship or