Menswear Style Podcast

Humans Are Vain (HAV) is a contemporary eco-sustainable slow fashion footwear, accessories and apparel brand that believes in sustainability now not tomorrow. All their products are designed and engineered in Sweden, putting sustainable materials at the forefront of the design process and bringing together all the latest advances in sustainable and recycled materials into one place. All production is carried out in ethical factories in Portugal and they use recycled materials throughout, with a key focus on using materials made from plastic trash salvaged from the ocean in collaboration with The SEAQUAL Initiative, as well as making sure that all products are 100% vegan. They also operate a circular economy, so any unwanted items returned are recycled into new HAV products.

In this episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast we interview Humans Are Vain Co-Founder Chris Margetts and discuss his new life in Sweden, a country which takes sustainability and recycling seriously. Our host Peter Brooker and Chris also chat about the motivations for starting a vegan brand, inspirations for the sneaker design aesthetics, what it takes to become Peta Vegan Approved, and the journey of the business to date.

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Alexandra Wood started her tailoring business in 2007 as a hobby and has since designed and made clothing for hundreds of high-profile men who want to make a positive impact to the way they look and feel. Her career started in Savile Row, as one of the first, female owned tailoring businesses. She then went on to re-open the longest standing tailors (400 years) in Bishop's Stortford, with a new, modernised version of men’s tailoring. The brand has recently expanded from made to measure tailoring to successful, ready to wear collections. Alex continues to break the mould when it comes to delivering exceptional quality and service in menswear. The brand has helped land politician Chuka Umunna on GQ’s Best-Dressed top 50 twice, and GQ Columnist Tony Parsons named them ‘Tailor of the 21st Century’. Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A wore an Alexandra Wood two-piece while cutting the ribbon on the vaunted Christian Dior retrospective, and so did director Rupert Goold, while showcasing his new film Judy at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.
In this episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast we interview Alexandra Wood about how she first got started in men's tailoring and the story of how she set up her business. It was whilst on maternity leave that Alex began as a visiting tailor, meeting clients in their offices or at home. She now serves her clients at the brand's Savile Row showroom and Bishop's Stortford store, whilst also managing the marketing and eCommerce for the brand. Our host Peter Brooker and Alex also chat about education and training, the differences between design and cutting, elevating a man's style, why you shouldn't follow trends, and opening a 1000 sq ft shop to showcase new Alexandra Wood ready to wear collections.
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Photo: Amanda Forman

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Universal Works was inspired by David Keyte’s formative years growing up in a provincial midlands town in the seventies, part of a working class family that loved to dress well; seeing his Dad and Uncles in their work-wear and also when dressing for the weekend. Next, working as a sign-writers apprentice, whilst experiencing the development of eighties sporting and music subcultures. And finally, a thirty-year span in the fashion industry. From Paul Smith to Maharishi he gained an education from and worked alongside some of the best in the industry.
With David’s life work reading like a description of the company’s DNA, Universal Works is about the mixing of ideas; understanding heritage and context underpinned by contemporary needs and aesthetics. They champion skilled, small-scale production and produce garments in the right place, both in the UK and overseas, working only with factories they trust, admire and are proud to be associated with.
In this episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast, we sit down and speak to David Keyte, Co-Founder of Universal Works. Our host Peter Brooker finds out about the origins of the brand and when the idea was first thought up. We learn about Keyte's background, passions and inspirations for the brand which leans towards blue collar workwear with military and contemporary British tailored styling. With many years of working for other people David looked to start his own menswear brand, designing clothing he would personally want to wear. He also gives insights into growing a fashion brand and the difficult hurdles that arise along the way.
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JustWears is on a mission to reinvent men's basics using premium, sustainably sourced fabrics and ergonomic designs. Since running the most backed apparel campaign on Kickstarter in the UK, they’ve sold 40,000 pairs to 10,000 customers in 73 countries and have been featured on BBC Dragon's Den. Made from soft cellulosic fibre, MicroModal Air, all underwear is manufactured using a natural, high-performance fabric that is sustainably-sourced from Austria and feels 5x softer than cotton. It all started when Alexander met Yang Liu in a Bangkok hostel, and they lived on opposite sides of the world. After years of long distance, they decided to meet in the middle and make the UK their new home.

While working in finance, Alex regularly complained about his underwear not fitting properly. When he couldn’t find a solution in the market, he decided to do something about it. Together they travelled around the globe, testing thousands of fabrics and prototypes. What began as an idea quickly took off on Kickstarter, and within the first 30 days of their crowdfunding launch, they had thousands of people pre-ordering their underwear. JustWears quickly climbed the charts to become the most backed apparel project ever in the UK. They were then invited to pitch on BBC Dragons’ Den where Touker Suleyman said “you two together will make it”.
In this episode of the MenswearStyle Podcast we interview JustWears Co-Founder, Alexander Walsh, about the back story of this men's basics brand and how he believes many men's underwear brands are out of touch with the modern consumer. Our host Peter Brooker and Alexander discuss how JustWears aims to solve functional problems by using premium fabrics and ergonomic designs. They also chat about how to launch a successful Kickstarter campaign, the perfect sustainable fabric for underwear, the importance of consumer research, and how brand loyalty can be disrupted.
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