Most fashion studios we visit are unassuming but, even then, Casely-Hayford\u2019s North London studio is more unassuming than most.<\/p>\n
From the outside, the building looks more like a JCB factory than a base of boundary-pushing fashion, yet inside everything is as you\u2019d expect from the family-run affair. With father Joe and son Charlie upholding the creative side, and Maria (Joe\u2019s wife and Charlie\u2019s mother) running the business side, the tight-knit operation is the continuation of many generations of creative talent. In fact, as a family, the Casely-Hayfords first rose to prominence back in 1911, when Joseph Ephraim Casely-Hayford (Joe\u2019s grandfather) became the first continental African to publish a novel, titled Ethiopia Unbound<\/em>, in the English language.<\/p>\n Clearly, creative expression runs in the family.<\/p>\n After training on London\u2019s Savile Row in 1974, attending the Tailor and Cutter academy, followed by Central St Martins from 1975-79 and a one-year history of art course at the ICA, Joe Casely-Hayford started his collection in 1984. \u201cI found a warehouse in Kings Street, SE1\u201d he says. \u201cIt was full of Second World War tents and I took these tents, stripped them down and made clothes from them. Then we washed them industrially and sold them to shops like Joseph and Bloomingdales.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite this, Joe\u2019s first formal collection wasn\u2019t until 1986. Stretching across\u00a0both\u00a0mens and womenswear,\u00a0the range garnered instant acclaim, with the Chicago Sun-Times calling him \u201cone of London\u2019s most inventive new talents\u201d in an article that same year. He\u00a0even captured royal attention, with Princess Diana attending one of his shows.<\/p>\n But the Casely-Hayford label we know of today is a very different animal to the one Princess Diana experienced all those years ago \u2013 largely because it\u2019s now a partnership. Relaunching in 2009, Joe brought his son Charlie into the fold as a fellow designer. Joe mentions a negative review that described the collection as a cacophony, stating that this was exactly their aim\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s about the cacophony of being in London,\u201d he says. \u201cWe try to convey a new kind of vision of London style.\u201d But this vision wasn\u2019t always understood. In fact, only recently have the pair earned serious\u00a0critical acclaim. We asked if they\u2019d seen a change in the\u00a0reaction from the press.<\/p>\n \u201cSince doing the show, there\u2019s been a big change in terms of the reaction,\u201d Joe explains. \u201cPrior to that, I think people found it difficult to understand what we were doing, because we\u2019re unique, in that our collection combines sartorial and street, sport and avant garde. And, sometimes, when the clothes were seen on the rail, if journalists don\u2019t really have the knowledge they can\u2019t quite understand what we\u2019re doing. But once we started conveying it on the runway, it soon became very clear.\u201d<\/p>\n Charlie points out that Dover Street Market were amongst their first London stockists \u201cWe\u2019ve been so grateful to them for supporting us. It got us to that point where other stores began to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the most crucial\u00a0things to understand about Casely-Hayford\u00a0is how important being in London is to them. It was a fundamental reason for them moving north away from Shoreditch, their previous studio home for nearly 25 years, to Seven Sisters.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Shoreditch was becoming quite commercial\u201d Joe says. \u201cThe local style is still very inspiring to us, but we felt that in Shoreditch things were evolving in a way that didn\u2019t give us that inspiration.\u201d One of the key elements for Casely-Hayford is the mixing of seemingly disparate parts of London style together. \u201cFor us it\u2019s an advantage designing in London because of the social mix. It broadens your vision, but also allows you to maintain integrity and an identity.\u201d<\/p>\n Another key component of Casely Hayford is their connection to music. \u201cMusic is a strong part of our brand DNA\u201d says Charlie. That\u2019s evident in the fact the\u00a0likes of Drake and Chris Brown wear Casely-Hayford today, \u201ca lot of the time it\u2019s them buying it through stores on their own,\u201d says Charlie. \u201cAnd that\u2019s a great thing, when someone buys it on their own, because, obviously, these guys normally get everything for free!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I think is exciting is that it not only appeals to rappers, but it also appeals to rock musicians,\u201d Joe notes. \u201cThere\u2019s always kind of a broad spread, even though we\u2019re making a very specific statement.\u201d It\u2019s this specific statement that has been noticed by the music industry for decades, ever since Island Records hired Joe as a styling consultant in the \u201980s. This led to Joe creating clothing for The Clash, as well as working with the likes of Lou Reed, Bobby Gillespie, U2 and Suede. Nowadays the music connection is carried out via their made-to-measure service, which has created suits for the likes of Raleigh Ritchie (who you\u2019ll know as Grey Worm from Game of Thrones), Jack Garratt, Tinie Tempah and many others.<\/p>\n The fact that Casely-Hayford\u00a0even have a made-to-measure service already makes them\u00a0a relatively rare thing. In London, for a brand that specialises in casual wear to stray into the hallowed territory of the city\u2019s bespoke tailors is a bold move indeed. But manufacture has always been a strong point of the brand, and it\u2019s that which has seen them thrive.<\/p>\n In fact, more so than perhaps any other designer we\u2019ve come across in the English capital, Casely-Hayford\u2019s production is admired for its skill, craftsmaship and expertise. As it turns out, Joe notes that they specifically started this brand \u201cwith a view to [producing] \u2018Made in Japan\u2019 product.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe felt that the Japanese have a unique sensibility,\u201d he explains. \u201cApart from the really high quality, they understand the cultural influences that need to be\u00a0distilled and put into the end product. For example, if we wanted to make English suits we could\u2019ve gone to Italy, but they would\u2019ve looked like Italian suits. But working with the Japanese, they understand the elements that go into new English style, which enabled us to make a statement that\u00a0reflects modern day English tailoring.\u201d<\/p>\n The fact that the pair have to go all the way to Japan to achieve a sense of \u201cEnglishness\u201d might seem strange to some. However, in the past English factories have had a reputation for being somewhat staid and\u00a0resisting\u00a0new ideas. But is there any truth to that?<\/p>\n \u201cYes, [they are] more staid,\u201d Joe concedes. \u201cTraditionally, I\u2019ve worked on Saville Row and the construction is much heavier and the idea of modernity may be locked into a vision of the \u201990s or even the \u201980s. We have to make a more contemporary statement with what we do.\u201d But is it not possible to make those contemporary statements in British factories? \u201cI don\u2019t want to say it\u2019s not possible, but it hasn\u2019t been suitable for us so far.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet, while they might have started out as a \u201cMade in Japan\u201d brand, the family\u00a0Casely-Hayford\u00a0take a globetrotting view to their production processes. Their aim is to find the best places all over the world. \u201cSince we started we\u2019ve tried to find the best factories for each product,\u201d Charlie states. \u201cSo, if we\u2019re doing a heavy knit, then we\u2019ll do it in Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked about some of the newer techniques used at Casely-Hayford, Joe counters: \u201cSometimes it\u2019s old. It\u2019s forgotten. It\u2019s not always going forward, but it\u2019s really exciting to create something new through discovering traditional methods of construction. We work with some really good footwear companies; for example, we worked with a shoe company called Heinrich Dinkelacker in Hungary. They make these incredible handmade shoes which they\u2019ve been making nonstop. They\u2019d been in production for 50 years, and we worked with them to offer them a slightly new context. It just felt so vibrant.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking of context, we\u2019d read about Joe Casely-Hayford\u2019s previous gripes that, despite his well-proven standalone credentials, he\u2019s sometimes been placed in the reductive \u201cblack designer\u201d category. How did he feel about that?<\/p>\n \u201cI was trying to make a new statement as a man in London and the things that I would see, conveying those things without being put into the very narrow confines of being called a \u2018Black Designer\u2019.\u201d He notes that now we\u2019re in an age where he can post Ian Curtis on Instagram one day and Pusha T the next and people will understand both reference points.<\/p>\n \u201cI just think we\u2019re in a really different kind of climate, which enables a black designer to appreciate and express a diverse range of interests and influences [although] I think there are definitely still people who find it easier to compartmentalise and to say a black designer stands for \u2018this\u2019 or \u2018that\u2019. I think we\u2019re very much about breaking down those myths and stereotypes.\u201d<\/p>\n This is where the changing values of menswear as a whole come in. As someone who\u2019s been working to define his view of London for a while, we thought it only right to ask Joe what the difference is between conveying it then and now.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a whole different landscape,\u201d he says. \u201cObviously the internet has played a significant role in changing the way people see fashion. In those days there were cults, youth cults, which sometimes took one year, two years, three years to filter and travel across the water. You\u2019d design something unique and individual and it\u2019d stay within a small group of people for a longer period of time. As a designer, it gave you time to actually develop ideas. Whereas, today, if you have a good idea \u2013 especially in the current climate of ready-to-wear design \u2013 by the time the designer gets their stuff into the stores, the idea\u2019s already been plundered and used by other so-called designers.\u201d<\/p>\n Charlie notes that the shift in attitudes towards men\u2019s fashion over the last four years has been so vast that people generally find it easier to digest. \u201cThere aren\u2019t really barriers anymore,\u201d he says. \u201cI think too many brands are labelled with \u2018streetwear\u2019 and there needs to be almost a new vocabulary. People aren\u2019t scared to experiment in that way anymore, as well with their own personal style. I think that\u2019s why we\u2019ve seen a rise in stores that have picked us up, because that is how a modern man dresses.\u201d<\/p>\n Having focused on modernity his entire career, Joe also sees ideas that he once tried earlier come back round. \u201cI\u2019ve realised that a lot of the things I was doing previously, 20 years or so ago, have kind of fallen into place now\u201d he says. During the conversation, He points out a review we wrote<\/a> about a particular sweatshirt\/shirt hybrid piece. \u201cActually, that particular garment, I found it in the archive,\u201d Charlie says. \u201cI was actually looking at it for the first time, so I was looking at it with fresh eyes and that gave it new meaning.\u201d With Joe having kept the vast majority of what he\u2019s made in a substantial archive, this kind of discovery is a regular occurrence for Charlie.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s not all archive discoveries. Joe notes that Charlie\u2019s main idea for last season was the ball gown. \u201cI love the power, like the train on a wedding dress. It was more of a challenge to see if we could place that feminine aspect in a masculine environment and [have] it still work. So we appropriated the M65 and it was a really powerful statement.\u201d<\/p>\n Charlie compares the long silhouette seen on a number of Casely-Hayford garments, including a calf-length MA-1 jacket, to the way a traditional suit adds power via shoulder pads. \u201cWhen we see people in the street in those coats, you can see by the way it floats behind you and everyone takes notice. It\u2019s very subtle but nice.\u201d<\/p>\n Joe notes that, while they enjoy the avant garde, the clothes are made to be worn. \u201cWe like to make interesting but accessible clothes. Interesting on the runway, but you can wear them in your everyday life. I think a lot of young designers get caught up in the idea of making clothes for the runway and they don\u2019t realise that there\u2019s a different world out there.\u201d<\/p>\n When we ask about dealing with a landscape where streetwear and sartorial worlds are closer than ever, Joe disagrees. \u201cThere will always be young people who want to dissociate themselves from the establishment to make contrary statements. They\u2019ll always have to find new ways of making this statement. So, I think it doesn\u2019t matter what kind of situation we\u2019re in, there\u2019ll always be that kind of conflict which is really exciting to us.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking back, if there\u2019s one word that comes up repeatedly during our conversation, it\u2019s \u201cstatement.\u201d In the same way Joe\u2019s grandfather did all those years ago in his book, Ethiopia Unbound, it\u2019s clear that bringing together seemingly disparate elements of culture and\u00a0merging them into something unexpected is an important part of the Casely-Hayford DNA.<\/p>\n In Joe\u2019s own words, \u201cThere are, obviously, so many tribes and so many different cultures, and we take elements of that to build a new kind of statement for London.\u201d<\/p>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thatdope.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/1461606604_735_Casely-Hayford-on-How-to-Make-a-Statement-in-Modern-Menswear.jpg\")
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