Just launched: get to know modern menswear label Garbstore
We speak to Ian Paley, founder of the latest consciously-crafted menswear brand to launch at John Lewis & Partners
After clocking up experience at Paul Smith, Burberry and Levi’s, Ian Paley decided to to go it alone in 2008 – setting up Garbstore initially as a shop in a three-storey townhouse in London’s Notting Hill. Focusing on emerging and independent brands, the shop also specialised in repurposed vintage workwear designed in its basement and from this, Garbstore the label was a natural progression.
Often referenced as ‘historically new’, Paley’s Garbstore mixes inspirations from traditional British and French workwear and Japanese design from the post WW2 era, re-imagining each garment as if it was to be designed today. And so you get the best of both worlds – clothes that have a timeless style, which are built to last.
Now launched at John Lewis & Partners with an exclusive collection, we caught up with the Garbstore founder to find out a little more about his label – from its responsible and concious ethos to the type of man who inspires it.
‘Essentially, “Garb-store” means clothing shop,’ explains Paley of the brand’s name. ‘I suppose we always wanted to appear as a shop rather than a straight out fashion brand. I like the notion of service and keeping with tradition, so using the word “Garb”, which is the oldest recorded English word for clothing, points to this.’
Although Garbstore is still very much an independent brand, Paley was keen to collaborate with a department store he feels an affinity with. ‘I’m a big fan of traditional department stores. Wherever we travel in the world we seek them out, from Lisbon to Kyoto,’ he explains. ‘John Lewis & Partners has always been a trusted service provider and the opportunity [to collaborate] aligned with our current thinking and state of mind about the industry in general.’
So who will the collection appeal to? ‘We design for the person who appreciates how things are made,’ says Ian. ‘What we sell is devoid of trend and fashion. We look to provide continuity, evolving tradition, new ideas and products that could have existed in someone’s past life.
‘We generally try to not pay too much attention to trends,’ he adds. ‘We sell clothing, not fashion. For us, style is always a by-product of functionality. We always want to be part of an outfit, adding our bit of authority and complementing it.’
These design values are all clearly refelcted in the exclusive collection, with consciously-crafted and detail-orientated investment pieces like modern rugby shirts, sportswear-inspired knitwear and relaxed silhouettes motivated by Ian’s own love of vintage clothing.
And while other brands are only just starting to pay attention to the importance of sustainability, Garbstore has been doing it since the beginning. The team actively pursues the use of traditional manufacturing methods and older machinery, as opposed to the modern world’s obsession with fast fashion and quick fixes. ‘I like the limitations of older machines and the authority and history of how a 1940s machine will join a seam and add life and longevity to a garment,’ he explains.
This means Garbstore is committed to creating pieces that look as good today as they will do 20 years from now. ‘Our main driver is making proper garments that last,’ explains Ian. ‘We all need to consume less and it’s much better to invest in something that’ll last you longer. In terms of how we make things, we’ve always followed this model and it’s served us well.’
