Designing the Riviera: The Story Behind the Collection

I had started to get into fashion at this point as it was the early 80’s and so I inevitably noticed the well dressed locals wearing high waisted ‘pegged’ trousers, thin belts and Breton T shirts.

It was also the first time I had seen trousers rolled higher with no socks and just simple white or navy plimsoles.

This style really overlapped the 80’s scene happening back in the UK and I started to get really interested in the 40’s and 50’s style and cinema of that time, especially James Dean.

Golden era stars such as Cary Grant and Alain Delon really introduced me to the more ’sartorial’ side of fashion and I started to curate a look for myself that echoed back to those days, but with a foot firmly placed in the 80’s.

I was at Art school at this point so you can imagine the eclectic fashion within that building ;)

Looking back at family photos and cine film of our early holidays has really helped me tap into that nostalgia and passage of time. My Uncle Mike would film and edit cine films of his travels and I always thought 

These places, Italy, Madeira, St Tropez  were so romantic and painterly, especially with that timeless, colour saturated cine film flicker. The films always seemed magical to me. 

These films are why we used a real Super 8 cine film camera from the 1960’s to create the RIVIERA reels we will be showing as the collection drops. 

Fast forward to the Summer of last year when I started imagining a collection based on these influences and my early visits to a time and place called RIVIERA…

It has been amazing to see these initial sketches come to life and photograph them on real people in the golden RIVIERA has been one of favourite parts of working in this business.

I hope you enjoy seeing the collection and its story as much as I did.

Best as always,
Phil