Skip to main content

Tag: Label To Know

Label To Know Octobre

The French are very good at luxury menswear basics. They have an effortlessness way of putting things together and making everything work seamlessly. One men’s label that didn’t register on my ChicGeek radar was Octobre. The brother brand of the much feted Sézane, it recently celebrated its 7th anniversary. Parisian cult favourite brand Sézane, founded by Morgane Sezalory, has a big female fan club. Octobre, founded in 2016, is a brand based on responsible stock volumes, in keeping with a lean production model. The men’s brand aims for no overproduction and fair, accessible prices. All of the brand’s Tier 1 ateliers are audited by independent experts to ensure compliance with its code of ethics and the standards set.  The idea was simple: to get back...

Continue reading

Label To Know Marc-Antoine Barrois Fragrance

The blue rabbit inside Marc-Antoine Barrois’ London store at 4 Piccadilly Arcade, and the reason the new candle is called No.4 Marc-Antoine Barrois is a French menswear couturier from a family of textile manufacturers in the North of France. He opened his first boutique in 2013 at 6, rue de Budapest in Paris and offers Parisian crafted collections of jewellery and accessories alongside his bespoke haute couture men’s clothing. After learning patterns, cutting, and sewing while studying textile engineering, he designed his first collection in Lille in 2006. This success then led Marc- Antoine Barrois to collaborate with Dominique Sirop, Jean-Paul Gaultier at Maison Hermes and Jean-Claude Jitrois before creating his own Maison de Couture for men. Offering men what women...

Continue reading

Label To Know Rise & Fall 

Rise & Fall is a new concept in luxury, a brand with a simple mission – to close the existing gapin UK retail by offering discerning, highest quality, sustainable products at an affordable price. True luxury – cashmre & linen – but without luxury prices.  By partnering with carefully selected, high end manufacturers and sourcing the very best in fabrics and fibres, Rise & Fall offers a curated and considered collection of apparel and homeware in luxury materials such as a-grade Mongolian cashmere, organic European linen and extra-long staple organic cotton.  Jed Coleman, founder, says, “At Rise & Fall, we like to think about clothes in the same way Dieter Rams considers modern design, we don’t do fuss or flounce. We put a huge focus on materials. Our...

Continue reading

Label To Know Castart

At the recent Welcome Edition trade show in East London, previewing the new SS23 men’s collections, I stumbled across the Belgian brand, Castart. Based in the fashion capital of Antwerp, Castart is a colourful and eclectic brand perfect for the chicest of geeks. Launched in 2018, the name ‘Castart’ is French for ‘cheeky man’, because the cheeky man doesn’t tell the stories to others, he writes the stories himself, says the brand. Materials Castart’s materials are sourced from ethically responsible suppliers around the world. They work closely with manufacturers to constantly develop new, environmentally friendly production techniques. Despite their global outlook, they remain focused on crafting garments suited to individual tastes which give their clothing its timeless and...

Continue reading