Since launching his eponymous label in 2012, Kit Neale has shown three consecutive seasons at London Collections: Men and each time he never fails to captivate his audience with his kooky kitsch designs, humorous themes and covetable statement pieces – we all remember the Kit Neale Perfectly Fried Chicken Sweatshirt don’t we?

Going at it alone this season, Kit Neale is presenting his tongue-in-cheek London culture heavy AW14 collection to a most appreciative and loyal client base. Renowned for his eccentric use of British youth codes, Kit continues to explore London culture and living. Whilst Neale paid homage to his hometown of Peckham for SS15, AW14 has seen him head further afield and closer to the river. The London borough in question? Run down and dilapidated but quintessentially cultural, we’re talking about Elephant and Castle.

With an eclectic mix of monochrome rat prints, luxurious materials such as woven jacquard and screen printed fabrics, this seasons collection puts a modern twist on the meaning of ‘British fashion’. We catch up with Kit to find out more…

So tell us, where do you look for inspiration?

It is rather a bit cliché but we look for inspiration from everywhere! We love trips to the V&A library and the local bookshop. We explore London and are constantly travelling to museums and art galleries wherever we are in the world. I’m particularly obsessed with the current affairs and buy tons of magazines, watch the news and spend hours trawling the internet for things of interest.

Well we love your patterned shirts, where did the rat motif originate from?

The rats came from Elephant and Castle – one of my favourite areas in London – strange because it is really nothing special. Rats are commonplace.

Your collections often reference British culture don’t they? What references can be found in the AW14 collection?

AW14 is a homage to Elephant and Castle before its regeneration. The area is dominated by a giant shopping centre that is very Martin Parr-esque – barely changed since the sixties. It’s a bit bizarre. The patterns are drawn from the area.

So, if you had to soundtrack your AW14 collection with one song what would it be?

Not really the obvious choice but I think ‘Me, Myself and I’ – Joan Armatrading could work somehow. It’s aspirational, a little cheeky, full of attitude and just a killer song.

Where do you see yourself and your brand in ten years time?

I would really like to see the brand to still be growing, engaging with our customers and developing. We’re always trying to be progressive to some extent with what we do – things feel fluid, dynamic and interesting. I hope that continues.

Finally, if you weren’t a designer, what would you be?

If I had the patience I would love to have become an architect or an artist or a writer – I’m just crap at math’s.

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Spotted blouse by Saint Laurent 

Dress, coat and earrings by Louis Vuitton, shoes by Saint Laurent, socks by Calvin Klein 

Dress by Fendi

Dress by Prada

Coat by Gucci, roll neck by Carven, skirt and knickers by Miu Miu 

Top by Marques Almedia, trousers by Pucci, shoes by Louboutin

Dress by Meadham Kirchoff 

Fur Gillet by Paul Smith, leather bra by Diesel, trousers by Chanel 

Leopard print jacket and skirt by Carven, roll neck by John Semdley

Dress by DKNY, earrings by Saint Laurent, bag by DVF

Blazer and dress by Dior 

Photographer: Mark Rabadan

Fashion Editor: Jeanie Annan Lewin

Model: Anna Lund @ IMG Models

Hair: Roku Roppongi at Saint Luke using Kiehl’s.

Make Up: Bea Sweet using Chanel Le Lift & AW14

Manicurist: Kim Treacy at LMC worldwide using Chanel AW14 and Body Excellence Hand Cream

Casting: Star and Co

Fashion Assistance: Jo Benning

Photography Assistance: Dominic Cabot

Make Up Assistance: Amber Mcquillen

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Astrid Andersen is turning Japanese. Okay, so she only spent a week in Tokyo, but it had such a strong impact on her (“my favourite place in the entire world”), that she cites it as the main influence for her brilliant, lacey SS14 collection. Why? Well, partly because it’s so uptight. “People there hold a lot of views similar to those in Scandinavian culture – they have an almost anal appreciation of a simple, minimal aesthetic,” says Andersen. “Tokyo has two very opposite sides to it. There’s that very minimal approach, but there are these insane neon lights and dressed-up kids too. When I’m designing, I always try to find something in between the two.”

Read the full interview with Astrid Andersen here.

Director: Joshua Osborne

Creative Direction: Elgar Johnson

Music: Faze Miyake ‘Ammi’

Editor: Sara Faulkner @ Speade

Fashion Editor: Warren Leech

Hair: Mari Ohashi at LGA management using Aveda

Make Up: Adam Burrell at The Book using Chanel Le Lift Serum and A/W 2014

Styling Assistance: Tawfiq Khoury

Hair Assistance: Rogerio Da Silva and Wilson Fok

Models: Chariffe @ Supa. Jazz , Troy and Mac @ AMCK, Guido @ PRM and Luke @ D1.

Colour: James Gilmore

Runner: Conor Higgins

All clothes Astrid Andersen AW14

All Jewellery Astrid Andersen x Black Dakini

www.joshuaosborne.co.uk

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With her love of Bauhaus and Kandinsky and her personal penchant for clothes which encompass both boyish and feminine in equal measure, Julie Eilenberger has injected her creative stamp into YMC’s AW14 womenswear collection. Taking inspiration from the aforementioned artists, with luxury materials also in mind, Eilenberger’s AW14 provides androgynous silhouettes, nautical notes and a plethora of colour and texture. We catch up with Julie Eilenberger herself to find out how she is bringing womenswear to the forefront of cult British label, YMC.

Let’s start with your transition into YMC – obviously you took over the womens line that Fraser had previously been working on, how did this come about?

It was kind of a casual thing because I knew the people that ran it. They needed somebody, a woman, to come in and start doing the womenswear and Selene, who works with the YMC team, thought it would be nice to have me on board. It started as a freelance thing but its never just a freelance thing – it takes over you’re life. I also don’t like to do things by half, I like to see things through, so I couldn’t just hand over my drawings to my assistant and be like: “Okay I’m off”! I wanted to be part of the fittings as well and everything, so a month into it, it became a full time thing, you know, organising photo shoots and bringing everything together at the end of the season – that’s the most exciting part – but no one had done that before. Now the collections are growing and they’re starting to sell really well.

So this winter’s collection includes a lot of primary colour and knitwear. What was the decision behind that?

I was very inspired by primary colour along with Bauhaus and Kandinsky in particular who’s all about primary colours. I studied in Berlin for three years so obviously you’re pushed into the whole Bauhaus thing but I just found it fascinating. I always went to this small Bauhaus museum in west Berlin. They put on a new show every few months but it’s always really particular: one month its all about posters and graphics, the next month it’ll be all about architecture and the next month it’ll be similarities between Japanese design and German Bauhaus. So for me I think that just fit the whole YMC thing. I mixed that with some nautical references because that fits really well with the primary colours and the Bauhaus graphics, it’s kind of boyish but feminine at the same time, which I’m all about, that mixture of feminine and masculine.

What about the materials?

I like really pure materials and that was important to me when I came to YMC, that everything should be as natural as possible and YMC is that kind of brand. It’s not always easy when you’re working with countries all over the world, making sure that everyone is doing what you want, but it really makes the difference in a jumper. I wanted to bring that luxury material aspect to YMC whilst staying feminine and boyish at the same time.

What about your own line, is that something you still do?

No, I’ve got no time for that. The whole YMC thing happened around the same time I decided to do my own thing. I was working for Sophie Hulme and doing my own thing on the side. I did decide to do it properly, but then I got poached by YMC and they told me it was part time, but that didn’t really work. And I never realised that you can’t do both things.

What aspects of your own line have you brought to YMC?

I was always playing a lot with structure – different structures and materials and the balance between something masculine and feminine. I think my look was a lot more ‘fashion’ whilst YMC is more what I wear personally, and what my friends where personally. When I was doing my own thing it was more that I needed to let stuff out of my brain, whereas with YMC it’s more of a ‘what do I want to wear?’ approach.

How would you describe the YMC woman this winter?

I think she’s someone who cares a lot about quality, and cares about buying a piece that can last. In terms of fashion season and trend season, but also in terms of quality. Our customers come in for a jumper that they want to keep for a few seasons. It’s not just a trend.She’s definitely a girl who’s not too girly but there are some dresses you could wear out. She’s somebody who likes to come in with her boyfriend who might also pick up a few things.

Or she can pick up some clothes from the guys section too!

A lot more people are starting to do that!

So aside from art, what else inspires you?

I think I always go crazy with different sounds. I called my dad last week and was like: “I need some jazz right now, what can you recommend?” and he was like “Here’s my spotify playlist”. And then I went through this phase where I was listening to a lot of soul from the 70s, so I go through different phases with music. But its funny because now I’ve been getting into this 70s vibe so then I’ll start watching movies from that era, and then I’ll start dressing like them  subconsciously! But I love movies and I love music, but it’s not like one thing influences me, it’s everything.

So if we look to SS15, what can you give away?

For summer I brought over some of the nautical references from the winter and pushed that more. So a lot of nautical references, sort of French Riviera – lots of blues and denims and whites, mixed with a Japanese effect and lots of volumes and blacks and whites. It’s very graphic – I always go very graphic I think. Some nice Breton stripes and some exciting bags as well, we’re really starting to push the whole accessories department, and for the winter, which I’m working on at the moment, it’s even bigger.

www.youmustcreate.com

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Holly wears black wool double breasted jacket and white cotton shirt both by Jaeger, black viscose bow tie by Asos. 

Holly wears mustard wool jacket and skirt both by Caroline Charles Grey and white patterned wool knit jumper by Jigsaw.

Holly wears navy wool shetland fairisle jumper and navy and black wool tweed skirt both by Brora, white cotton shirt by Jaeger and mustard wool tights by Caroline Charles.
Elliot wears navy wool knit jumper by Jaeger and grey wool check trouser by Austin Reed.

Holly wears black wool garland jumper by Teatum Jones.

Holly wears cobalt wool shetland fair isle cardigan by Brora and white cotton shirt as before.

Holly wears cobalt wool shetland fair isle cardigan by Brora and beige wool knitted jumper and trousers both by Christian Wijnants from Harvey Nichols and white cotton shirt as before. 

Photographer: Liam Warwick

Fashion Editor: Danielle Emerson

Video: Sharna Osborne

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Launching their first ever bag collection since the brand was founded in 1994, AllSaints are forever pioneering design-led fashion. Under the Creative Direction of Will Beedle, the capsule bag collection is a preview of an expanded range set to launch in 2015, available in both stores and online.

Taking inspiration from the brands iconic biker jackets, the 17-piece collection includes all in-demand bag categories: clutch, shoulder bag, tote, shopping bag, tote, shopping bag and backpack – each made from premium Italian leather in AllSaints signature aesthetic.

“Launching our first bag collection has allowed us to take the attitude and craftsmanship so key to our iconic AllSaints biker jackets and translate it into the aspirational and essential accessories of our every day lives,” says Will Beedle of the collection. “We’re really excited at the prospect of these bags accompanying AllSaints women around the globe.”

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Talk us through the starting point for AW14

I always start with a massive mood board of images that I paste all over the walls of what I call my creative hut. It was the same for AW14. Quite often there isn’t a specific theme, but things start to make sense when I put them together, for example a clear colour palate or there may be a lot of imagery that references make up, which happened this time round. Perhaps I was sub consciously thinking about updating my make up bag! I generally spend a long time staring at this wall of imagery, then I start drawing and writing lists of ideas to work on and develop.

What were the referencesfor this collection?

For AW14 there was a whole array of imagery that ranged from pastel anime and mundane things, like food, make up and soft drinks, to images of terrible computer pixel art and old school Microsoft paint. It’s important to me that inspiration evokes memories and nostalgia for my childhood. In this case it was the idea of getting your first nail polish that smelled like strawberries and eyeshadow that although it was like sludge, was the best thing ever! I also looked at old technology that was new to me in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. I got very excited about calculators being available in pink as opposed to grey and then MS paint, which blew my mind, whilst frustrating the hell out of me as it made everything square and clumpy. However I did spend a long time messing with it! Music is also a large factor in the feel of the collection, this collection is all about Video Killed The Radio Star.

Why did choose old school computer graphics and stationary?

Old school computer graphics is what I am completely familiar with. This is how I started to learn about computers, being able to be creative with them made them less scary, it’s what I was doing at the back of the IT room at school, not completing that inane spreadsheet! I’m also so ancient that my first experience with photoshop type programmes was MS paint. So all the icons, clip art and tools hark back to my youth. I wanted to put a Lazy Oaf spin on these tool ideas too, I am so over familiar with computer tool bars, I decided that I would really like to mix it up and have a tool option for a pizza slice, and a glitch face.

Why do you think there is a revival of old school computer ephemera right now?

It’s a thing that has changed and developed so much so quickly and is a massive part of our lives. We feel fond for the technology of old, we are familiar with and people can engage with that common theme. I don’t know if I have noticed it lots in fashion so much. But it is hilarious having conversations with people about the first gameboy, the electronic diary and the time before mobiles!

Who do you envisage wearing AW14 Lazy Oaf?

I hope that anyone with a combined old tech/makeup fetish will invest in this range, as it will be right up their street. Failing that, the collection is populated with funny graphics in a killer palate. I will be wearing most of it to sleep, rest and play in.

Check out the AW14 Lookbook:

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Native Youth have once again succeeded in creating a collection that is desirable and wearable, highlighting their place as a brand at the forefront of Men’s casual-wear.

With a selection of acid-wash jersey and worker denim to jacquard knits and Japanese-inspired enzyme washes, Native Youth’s AW14 offering is a diverse collection which reflects the brands constant research, global travel and their ability to recreate and build a collection that critiques want see, and wear themselves.

Introducing tough-wearing cotton, nylon mixes and an advanced exploration of different knitwear yarns, the brand present their AW14 collection, styled by Wonderland’s very own Fashion Director Andrew Davis:

Words: Ryan Cahill

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