We knew we could rely on It’s Nice That to present a different take on the recent fashion weeks. The team at our favourite source of creative inspiration interviewed six leading artists and designers about what they wear to the office every day – whether that be a studio or on location. Workwear is such a fundamental part of our lives – it changes the way we feel and how we act, and this mini-project makes us very happy. Here’s a quick run down of the featured artists:
Rob Ryan
Artist and master papercutter Rob Ryan donned his denim boiler suit for his interview. With his trademark long hair and full beard, Rob told It’s Nice That that most of his daily uniform comes from friends – people he’s worked with or peers that have produced clothes. He likes Fred Perry, his Barbour (which has ample pockets for his phone and inhalers) and socks and knickers from M&S. Read more here.
Hattie Stewart
Hattie Stewart, one of our favourite graphic illustrators, bought her fur hat in TK Maxx. Her t-shirt is like ‘death metal meets Britney Spears,’ with infamous logos replaced with pop culture names and slogans (the Harley-Davidson logo becomes a tribute to Miley Cyrus and her alter ego, Hannah Montana). She visits Japan regularly, often buying clothes there, but in London sticks with Beyond Retro and charity shops. Interestingly she discusses meeting clients, ‘I used to be more considered about what I wore so I could be more presentable, but then as work kind of developed…I could just get away with it.’ Read the rest here.
Jack Cunningham
For his feature, fantastic animator Jack Cunningham wears 1970s Converse, ribbed grey Uniqlo socks, a Margaret Howell navy blue jacket bought on the cheap from Oi Polloi in Manchester (his favourite menswear store) and a breton tee. He talks about the perils of buying decent menswear on the high street when faced with a selection of grim t-shirts emblazoned with ice-creams or ’69’ designs. His essential workwear item is his Porter bag. Read in full here.
Sonya Dyakova
Russian graphic designer Sonya Dyakova specialises in fashion branding and the art direction of editorials, such as Frieze magazine and various beautiful gallery publications. Sonya firmly believes her clothes are her uniform. ‘I have a very complicated relationship with clothes. I suppose I’m just not really good at it,’ she told It’s Nice That. She wears COS and Acne Studios but struggles with patterns and colours, but looks super chic in her ‘uniform’ of dark polo neck and jeans. Read the full interview here
Simon Whybray
Graphic designer Simon Whybray‘s portfolio is insane. He’s worked on everything from branding and mobile apps to internet hoaxing and viral GIFs. It’s no surprise that such a varied creative has a tip for a bedroom. It’s Nice That visited Simon at home, where he was in bed surrounded by six years’ worth of clothes. He has a white bed, so wears all white in it. He spends a lot of his time there, so a ‘uniform’ in the classic sense isn’t required. He likes to go against the grain – if he finds himself office based (he worked at Getty Images for four months) he’ll wear ‘close to pyjamas’. Read the brilliant interview with Simon here.
Yuri Suzuki
If you’ve been wondering what a modern-day inventor and sound designer wears, look no further. It’s Nice That met Yuri Suzuki, the Tokyo born tech whizz who works with companies like Wieden + Kennedy and Disney. For this interview he’s wearing a Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared t-shirt, a label he backed on Kickstarter. His personal uniform used to be a bright orange jumpsuit with an embroidered ‘Suzuki’ patch. His thick-rimmed black glasses make up his current uniform, which he bought to divert attention from hair loss. ‘That’s something my friend told me, when you start losing your hair just get bigger glasses.’ Read more here.
Read the full articles here.
All images courtesy Nina Manandhar and It’s Nice That.