Mongolian cashmere meets Japanese anime: meet the Instagram-viral jumper brand counting King Princess among its collaborators.
It’s not escaped our observation that it is now very much sweater season. The mercury has dropped. The sky is perpetually grey. And so you can’t blame us for seeking sartorial solace in something a little snugglier and cuter.
Introducing Of Sutton, the design brainchild of Josh Freud (grandson of Sigmund Freud, FYI), and his childhood friend David Levin. Founded in late 2017, the already Insta-viral label is a dreamy meeting of traditional English silhouettes and modern Japanese anime.
Staples include turtlenecks in Chinese silk and Mongolian cashmere in the softest lilacs, embroidered with kitsch anime characters, no less. The brand includes everything from jewellery to beanies.
Celebrity fans already include January Jones, Julia Roberts – and let’s not forget a buzzy collab with Autumn 19 cover star King Princess.
We’ll take one in every colour please.
We caught up with Freud below…
Who are the characters?
Our main logo is called Faye, who is a fun and flirty prep school girl with a bit of edge. Whereas the King Princess characters are meant to represent her varying personal moods — one of them is “butch” Mikaela (King Princess), and the other is “femme” Mikaela. Butch Mikaela is a representation of her day-to-day personal style when she is just lounging in some Air Force 1s and a plain cap, whereas Femme Mikaela is a representation of King Princess’ on-stage persona — flamboyant, bold, and energetic.
One of my favourite designs is a limited-edition piece we did for the Sigmund Freud museum in Vienna. For this turtleneck, we had Tiluna draw our signature character Faye lying on a therapist’s couch, as if she were in a psychoanalysis session.
Where do your main inspirations come from?
I am influenced by a wide variety of cultural influences, and have been fanatically obsessed with tying these into our brand via our social media marketing. Some of my favourite musical artists include Belle & Sebastian, Beck, MF Doom and the Magnetic Fields.
Film-wise, I love everything Charlie Kaufman has ever written, as well as everything by Todd Solondz. One of my favourites is a Solondz movie from 1998 called Happiness, perhaps the darkest comedy ever made. I just like anything genuinely honest and forthright, and I feel as if dark comedies most accurately reflect reality.
Our goal is to create a world and alternate universe through Of Sutton in which our eclectic range of cultural interests come together in an intoxicating way.
How did the collaboration with King Princess come around?
The King Princess collaboration came after we started chatting a bunch on Instagram in the beginning of her rise to being the pop sensation that she is today. David had heard about her through a friend, that she had unfiltered and raw energy would make her a great brand ambassador for Of Sutton.
She was excited at the possibility of releasing merch that went well above and beyond the typical T-shirt, hoodie, and baseball cap – which has become the industry standard for musicians.
I called up a friend of my little sister, Rachel G., who makes oddly aggressive and suggestive jewellery. My only rule was that the pieces be appropriately raunchy yet low key, and Rachel absolutely nailed it.
Tell me about the F/W collection – where have the main inspirations come from?
As we have figured out new ways to manufacture our items in lower quantities, our F/W collection will be significantly expanded. We will be rolling out a line of turtlenecks, as well as Of Sutton original jewellery of our signature anime characters. We will also be doing a limited run of ultra comfortable slim trousers and preppy button downs, which is a new addition to the Of Sutton lineup. The theme for F/W collections will be reimagined high school crests — we want to put a spin on a very formative and strange time of people’s lives.
Describe the kind of person that wears your pieces…
Our pieces are a favourite amongst the cool kids of New York, LA, and London. Another demographic who enjoys our brand are fun moms who like to drink one too many glasses of wine at dinner, who we love.
