POP 817 Thursday 2 February 2012

Today's POP is Steph & Tui. Obsessed with Duos. And hyphenated surnames.


 

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Meet Joe Casely-Hayford: creator of transcendental London label

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Casely-Hayford. Now meet Charlie, Joe's son and co-creator. Also 50% responsible for their major cult following. An OBE, Joe got his start on the London scene styling and designing gigs for U2 and The Clash in the '80's. He's cruised the halls of Saint Martins and more recently was Creative Director of Savile Row house Gieves and Hawkes. 

 

Charlie's had a Saint Martins moment as well. He's trained at all the best English schools including i-D Magazine, the White Cube Gallery, Creative Review and of course, Mr. Casely-Hayford's studio. The father-son label epitomises the contemporary English man: traditionally tailored with a uniquely modern sensibility. 

 

POP had a quick word with Charlie.

 

 

Did you resist becoming a designer when you were growing up? When did you realise you wanted to work with your father in the end?

I basically grew up in a design studio along with my little sister. My parents met studying fashion at St.Martins when they were 21 and have been working together ever since, so I was surrounded by fashion from day one. I was a lot more interested in art when I left school than the fashion world,and after St. Martins I escaped to Florence to study fine art before doing a degree in History of Art at the Courtauld Institute in London. While I was there my father and I began talking more and more about working together and the process of creating the brand happened in quite an organic way.

 

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What is your process like? How do you work as partners?

We work on every creative aspect of the business together. Obviously he and my mother have a wealth of experience and knowledge that I have yet to learn, but the dynamic of a family business and the idea of slowly building a House is a driving force for us all.

 

I’m really interested in this idea of innovation through tradition. The sort of dichotomies like past/present, historical/contemporary, which are ingrained in your brand through your partnership with your father, as well as your context here in London (home to a long history of tradition and craft in men's tailoring).  How do you balance these oppositions in your garments?

 

The balance has always intentionally been a discordant one. Duality has been at the core of what we do. We're interested in creating garments that have a memory because of their connection to tradition and social signifiers from the past, but communicate a completely new message through their innovation and modern approach.

 

What inspires you most?

I wish I had had the opportunity to study Social Anthropology at university. English culture and the many facets of its subcultures seem to be a constant source of inspiration in the studio. Nowhere in the world do you have a class system where social uniforms were so prevalent in the past and uniforms of subcultures so prominent today. English culture is an immeasurable source of inspiration. We've always wanted to create clothing that is global in its scope, but local in its appropriations.

 
 

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Who is the Casely-Hayford man?

 The person we have in mind is definitely a creative  (art director / gallerist / film producer/ artist). Someone assertive but with a silent confidence. He has vices like any other man, but I'd like to think they help to define his character. We've always wanted to convey this idea of intelligent clothing with a richness and depth that doesn't need to shout. Integrity and quality of craftsmanship are integral for both of us.

 

 

Photographer Jeff Hahn
Fashion Tui Lin
Hair & Make-up Gemma Wheatcroft
Model Primo Baker at Premier

Photographer Assistant Iris & Flynn
Fashion Assistant Christabel MacGreevy

 

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02.02.12 / 6am
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