Label To Know Reyn Spooner
Hawaii is the spiritual home of the tropical floral shirt, so, say ‘Aloha’ to Reyn Spooner.
Reynolds (Reyn) McCullough returned home to Catalina Island, California after serving in WWII. He was inspired to explore his natural connection to that easygoing Cali style, at first as a shop clerk at the local men’s shop, then as the owner of Reyn’s Men’s Wear, soon running six popular stores across the state.
Meanwhile, in 1956, Ruth Spooner had opened Spooner's of Waikiki and quickly built a reputation in Hawaii for manufacturing quality surf trunks working with just one sewing machine.
When Reyn opened his first shop in Honolulu, he didn’t sell Aloha shirts. The shirts being produced at the time just didn’t meet Reyn and Ruth’s standards for style and construction, and it wasn’t until after a local surfer showed Reyn an inside-out sewing method championed by locals, that the dream took shape.
Left - Deep Sea Jive Tailored Buttonfront - Black Onyx - £130
In 1962, McCullough teamed up with Ruth Spooner to ensure consistent quality and decided to merge the two company names to create Reyn Spooner in Honolulu. He then set up four sewing machines in the basement of his Ala Moana store to create ‘Aloha Apparel’.
Developed by founder, Reyn McCullough, Spooner KlothTM is a unique woven cloth made of cotton and spun poly that’s amazingly durable, wrinkly-free and breathable.
Reyn Spooner is now owned by ‘Aloha Brands’, representing a group of investors, led by Charlie Baxter and Dave Abrams.
The brand is available at Liberty of London and The Hip Store.
Right - Kainapu Rayon Camp Shirt - Crocodile - £160
Label To Know ERIBÉ
I love Scottish knitwear, especially the folky kind, such as fair isle from the likes of Jamieson’s of Shetland, but there’s another label to know. Eribé, eponymously founded by Rosemary Eribé 33 years ago, is a knitwear design house and manufacturer based in Melrose, in the Scottish Borders. They’ve recently taken over the old Burberry mill and opened a new showroom on Tweedbank before Christmas.
Left - Eribé's knitwear is all proudly made in Scotland and its signature is the multi coloured and pattern yokes
I first saw Eribé at the Premium trade show in Berlin a few years ago, and loved their fair isle berets - which I can’t find on their website - and I had a reminder, this year, at Pitti Uomo, where their colourful knits oozed authenticity and quality.
Their designers are specialists in their field, especially in the heritage knitting technique, Fairisle (Fair Isle) all crafted from quality, natural yarns spun in Britain from lambswool and merino.
Proudly all made in Scotland, Eribé exports to 20 countries, and Rosemary continually pushes for innovation in her knitwear, together with her team.
Her vast knowledge has been garnered from working with premium knitwear factories in Scotland and beyond, leading knitting machine companies and consulting with global designer brands.
Right - Eribé - Bloc Beanie Solstice - £47
Below - Eribé -Clootie Yoke Sweater Mirage - £399 - Hand knitted in 100% Superfine Lambswool
BUY TheChicGeek's new book - FASHIONWANKERS - HERE
Label To Know Kleman
French policeman’s shoes may not get your sartorial juices flowing, but Kleman should. Where else can you get French made footwear for less than £150? Owned by the larger Cléon group, Kleman was founded in 1988 and was initially dedicated to firefighters, policemen, Air France cabin crew and military seeking comfort, robustness and quality.
Still exclusively made in their factory in Anjou in Western France, they are now targeting the more fashion lead consumer having seem them promoting their wares at the recent men's trade shows in Florence and Paris.
Their classic ‘Padror’ style was first introduced in the 1990s for SNCF employees. Crafted in France with full-grain European leather, these are based on a unisex Tyrolean style. Even the laces are woven only 10 km from the factory.
Left - Kleman - Padror - €140
Right - Kleman - Frodan - €140
Left - Kleman - Pastani - €140
BUY TheChicGeek's new book - FASHIONWANKERS - HERE
Label To Know CINI Venezia
Did you know Barena has a grown-up brother called CINI Venezia? Neither did I until I stumbled across the CINI stand at the January 2020 Pitti Uomo, and because CINI has Venezia - Venice - in its logo, I said the only other Venetian menswear label I knew was Barena, I’m a big fan, and they told me this was part of the same company and was their more premium offering. (Barena has built up a loyal following for its quality, well priced and thoughtfully stylish Italian menswear amongst a certain group of discerning men.)
Left - Cini Venezia - Coat Burchione Piave Black - €730
The original mill, Lanificio CINI, was founded in the 1830 by Augusto and Giacomo Cini as a humble workshop producing cloth and coarse blankets.
This is still the foundation of the collection of Italian-made outerwear. Barena founder Sandro Zara - he also owns the Venetian cloak maker Il Tabarro - bought the Lanificio CINI woollen mill, which was formerly based in Vittorio Veneto, after using it as a supplier for many years. It came complete with an incredible archive which the CINI family maintained. From fabric swatches, to astute weaving dimensions, patterns and cloth experiments, everything was kept meticulously in its original state.
CINI Venezia, the brand, first appeared in 2012 and references historical Italian menswear styles in a darker and more conservative palette than Barena's. Prices reflect the quality of the cloth.
Right - Cini Venezia - Coat Duemezzo Piave Navy - €1150
BUY TheChicGeek's new book - FASHIONWANKERS - HERE
Label To Know Original Madras Trading Company
Original Madras Trading Company was founded by current owner Prasan Shah’s grandfather in the early 1970s when he arrived in New York from Madras with a trunk full of checks and other woven Indian textiles. He established an office on 38th Street in the New York garment district, and where they still trade from today.
While they continue to supply fabrics and garments to well-known other brands, this is the first season with their own eponymous range.
A little history lesson. The weaving of cotton cloth in South India was renowned for centuries prior to the British building a harbour in Madras - now called Chennai - in the 18th century, but it was this port and the British East India Company that led to textiles from Madras being traded throughout the modern world. That is the origin of the Madras check.
Originally and to this day the best Madras is woven by hand. This is a process that takes each individual weaver several hours per metre and results in no two lengths of cloth being identical. OMTC is a 3rd generation family business who have been weaving and producing Madras for 50 years in factories owned and operated by the family.
TheChicGeek says, "Who doesn't like checks? These feel distinctively authentic and I particularly like the Indian influence in the styles, like the longer shirt lengths and hooded kaftan styles. For AW20, which I saw at January's Pitti Uomo, OMTC have the cutest checked quilted trousers. The brand is currently available at Trunk Clothiers in London."
Left - Original Madras Trading Company Cotton Madras Button Down Shirt - £125 from Trunk Clothiers
BUY TheChicGeek's new book - FASHIONWANKERS - HERE
More...
Label To Know Alled-Martinez
Rock ’n’ roll style never goes out of fashion and is continually ripe for reinvention. From Bowie to Styles, the male rock star and his snake hips go together with sexy fashion like groupies and backstage.
One designer making waves is Barcelona born knitwear designer Archie Alled-Martínez. A graduate of Central Saint Martins in 2018, he was awarded with the LVMH Graduate Prize the same year.
Fulfilling all our 1970s disco fantasies his latest AW20 collection, showcased at 080 Barcelona fashion week, was an homage to the deceased Sterling St. Jacques, who was said to be the world’s first black male supermodel.
The Alled-Martinez man is a decadent dandy who mixes the elegant decadence of the 30s with the energetic night-life of the late 70s and early 80s. Think lots of sparkly jumpsuits and elegant long jackets for the contemporary lounge lizard. This shit never gets old.
Left & Below - AW20 Presented at 080 Barcelona fashion week
Right - Harry Styles on stage
BUY TheChicGeek's new book - FASHIONWANKERS - HERE
Label To Know Ormaie
A French term for a place you'd grow elm trees, now sadly long gone due to Dutch elm disease, 'Ormaie' is a mother and son - Marie-Lise Jonak and Baptiste Bouygues - team producing completely natural and vegan fragrances. Seven in total, all featuring striking and sculptural wooden stoppers, they are produced and formulated alongside renowned raw natural ingredient specialists, Robertet. The glass bottle is by Saverglass, the only French glassmaker to recycle their own glass magma.
Fragrances include '28°', said to be Bouygues' perfect temperature, 'Yvonne' named after the grandmother and 'Le Passant' meaning the passing man, and deemed the most masculine fragrance.
TheChicGeek says, "Of the seven, I liked 'Les Brumes' (The Mists) the most. It is a citrus inspired by morning mist on the fruit trees. Ingredients include lemon, mandarin, bergamot, ginger and sandalwood."
Left - Ormaie - 100ml - £180 Exclusive to Harvey Nichols
BUY TheChicGeek's new book - FASHIONWANKERS - HERE