Back in January 2009 I stumbled across a debut collection of tailoring crafted for the twenty first century gentleman that left me day dreaming of becoming such a gentleman. Seasons have passed and although I'm no closer to meeting any modern day measure of a gentleman, I still dream and swoon at every Casely-Hayford collection. Since the house's inception, Casely-Hayford have forged a new handwriting of modern English style that have left this blogger sartorially excited. The father and son design duo have created a signature style of relaxed masculine proportions and exquisite tailoring, all the while fused with an injection of the raw energy of London's dynamic culture that constantly inspires them. With each season, the design duo begin with the desire to capture, play and experiment with the duality of English Sartorialism and British Anarchy. With each season, the desire to own a Casely-Hayford dominated wardrobe grows.
The pair draw from English sub-cultures, English social uniforms, and take inspiration from the way sportswear has integrated itself into the everyday life of British street culture. It is an ever intriguing house that encourages change whilst being grounded in tradition. For their AW11 collection, the father and son design showcased an eloquent summation of the previous five collections and signified a real statement of intent. The pair have used the previous collections to individually explore key strands of the house DNA, from the luxury sportswear of SS09 to the Afropunk of SS10 and military detailing of AW10. Now each component has been placed and finely tuned, the house is able to carve out an exciting future. Entitled Touch, the SS12 collection focuses on light weight tactile cloths. Now, I had the good fortune of examining the collection up close back in February thanks to The Showroom Next Door and even though most events that occurred that far back have been long forgotten, memories of this collection have stayed with me. Months on, I still long to touch and this feeling has only intensified thanks to the unveiling of the look book over on Dazed Digital. I couldn't resist sharing the collection with you all over again.
It is a collection that longs to be groped. A showcase of texture, print and the tactile with fabric at its core. The collection researches how the House define singularity in a time of uniformity and reflects new cultural shifts through an unfamiliar juxtaposition of textures. This season evolves from a simple form; the white polo shirt, with its deep cultural identity. By presenting a rich combination of sports related fabrics in a new context Casely-Hayford with the Moodysson. The new patchwork polo shirt is made up of a fresh juxtaposition of sporting fabrics, each with a unique handle: towelling, piqu� and mesh sit abrasively next to waffle, aertex and rib. Throughout, each fabric has been specially chosen for its touch and handle. From the super light high twist satin finish shirtings to the coarsely woven exclusive Jacquard from the Neill Johnstone Mill in Langholme Scotland whilst textured knitwear moves forward in harmony with the whole collection. The tailoring fabrics have been especially developed by the Savile Clifford Mill in Yorkshire for their particular dry handle; a subtle �burl� effect weave creates a Braille like touch, and the driest fresco jacketing comes with a lovely element of surprise in the almost silent blue Black Watch Tartan. The season also marks the launch of a 'Made in England' shirting range that incorporates colour and modern design whilst being constructed by one of the oldest shirtmakers in the country. This direction has been maintained by developing a small range of artisan �Made in England� Garsington Albert slippers. These slippers are hand crafted in England and come in three shades of stamped Mock Croc patterned leather. Garsington sits alongside Bentley, a distinctive brand signifier with its unique box quilted suede upper whilst Loach completes the footwear offering and continues the in demand John Moore Collaboration. Much as I bounced from rail to rail in the Showroom Next Door, my eyes richochet of each look book shot... and what a look book. Below, a few of my favourite looks are accompanied by my own detail shots from Paris...
Casely-Hayford aims to fulfill the requirements of the international man who experiences and absorbs many influences, yet chooses to distil this knowledge by maintaining a quiet confidence. With this confidence he may sometimes prefer subversion over reverence. He savours the point where anarchy and sartorialism merge; his lifestyle reflects the Casely-Hayford fusion between sportswear and tailoring to create an unwavering statement of modern British style. Shot by Katinka Herbert in two locations in Durham, Biddick Hall and Lambton Castle, the look book captures this spirit and lifestyle perfectly. The day dreaming continues...
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