London clothing brand Kent & Curwen co-owned by David Beckham has revealed a new Peaky Blinders inspired capsule collection….
Unveiled at London Fashion Week, the collection labelled 'The Garrison Tailors' is a nod to the infamous Shelby family boozer from the hit show and includes staple looks from the 1920s-era show, including grandad shirts, waist coasts, wool overcoats and of course, the flat cap.
Designed as part of the Autumn/Winter 2019 collection the whole collection remains true to its heritage with looks inspired by the 1920s a nod to its founders Eric Kent and Dorothy Curwen who stared the brand in 1926 but with an updated twist.
“A rare image of Kent & Curwen’s founder, Eric Kent with his brother, soon after the end of WW1, became my creative starting point for next winter’s collection” says Daniel Kearns, Kent & Curwen creative director. “The grainy photograph shows a proud military man in uniform returning to 1920’s London, intent on establishing his club wear and uniform business in tie stripes, blazers and knitwear.
Impeccably dressed at all times, be it at the race-track, on the cricket pitch or lunching at his London club, Eric’s charisma would quickly propel him into high society, counting the Duke of Kent, Duke of Windsor, Errol Flynn and PG Woodhouse amongst his social circle. And then it struck me, would Eric have mixed in social circle as diverse as the likes of Tommy and Arthur Shelby, who would have been comrades from the war, as well as his high society friend? And if so, how would they have influenced Eric, both sartorially and culturally.”
The Autumn Winter 2019 collection was constructed with this thought in mind, creating a relaxed, modern wardrobe with a blend of sartorial and sportswear pieces, worn with a new attitude.
Playing with the idea of formal British dress codes; uniforms and military references are reworked as sportswear and day-wear. Re-imagined college stripes and cricket whites are presented as evening wear. Cropped jockey silks and jacket reference the Duke of Windsor coupled with tweed and plaid worn for a day at the races.
On sweatshirts, t-shirts and rugbys, the classic rose is re-worked in dark tones, on army camouflage and handmade in bullion metalwork, referencing the sartorial and military themes of the season.
In addition to Kent & Curwen’s AW19 season is its collaboration with British visual artist, David Shrigley. This six piece capsule collection consisting of classic sweatshirts, T-shirts and accessories – all feature David Shrigley’s illustrations and artwork inspired by Kent and Curwen’s take on re-imagined British classics and its rose patch signature design.
