We talk feel-good fashion with Italy’s favourite Brit, NEIL BARRETT, and the inspiration behind the menswear designer’s Fall/Winter 2024 collection…
For the menswear virtuoso Neil Barrett, the mark of a successful brand has little to do with social media clout or billion-dollar valuations. Barrett, who still owns the eponymous menswear label he founded over two decades ago, is a firm believer that his continued success lies in creating things people actually want to wear. “The greatest pleasure that completes the circle of creating a collection is seeing my clothes being worn,” he tells MAXIM.
The English designer is toasting the launch of his fall 2024 collection which was first shown on the runway in Milan back in January. A devoted minimalist since its height in the ‘90s, Barrett stuck to his core codes with lots of clean cuts and his beloved bombers and chore jackets refreshed in earth tones. Still, the “character” Barrett created for fall was a little more rakish than usual, thanks to worn-in looking leather jackets and argyle print sweaters sliced with contrasting patterns. Barrett also nodded to his roots in rural Devon through wool country coats in water-repellent “techno-tweed” perfect for traipsing across a boggy moor.
“I imagined this character as a young man looking at his granddad’s clothes – rediscovering country tweeds and much more,” he explains. “The fusion of old and new, the concept of reinterpreting classic pieces through subtle modernisations of cut, detail, and fabric allows you to dress with an old soul yet a young spirit.” He never clarifies it, but it appears the character Barrett is describing is himself given his own grandfather and great-grandfather were both master tailors.
Barrett himself studied at both Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design and the Royal College of Art in London before heading to Milan after being scooped up by Gucci to head menswear. He still lives in Milan today, residing in a dark and moody apartment near the cathedral that has been featured in several interior design magazines. While Gucci could have been the apex of his design career, Barrett traded in the coveted gig to move over to Prada and help set up its menswear and sports collections in the mid-nineties.
At Prada, Barrett spearheaded the use of the brand’s signature nylon material in its new men’s clothing and learned a valuable lesson about the power of fabrications to create a signature. “I am passionate about creating new fabrications and have been throughout my career,” the designer says. “The materials in this collection are based around refining heritage fabrics to make the textures visibly appealing and desirable to touch. History, familiarity and the future are all important elements in my designs.”
In an age when designers are not only encouraged to become celebrities but when celebrities are becoming designers, Barrett maintains a cool distance between his public and personal lives. Accessible for interviews but not interested in discussing much more than his collections, he commits himself to being visible but letting the clothes do most of the talking. Around the millennium Barrett left Prada and created his brand, notoriously after knocking back an eye-watering deal to design for Calvin Klein in New York. It was a risk at the time, but as labels like Calvin Klein have essentially dissolved into mere licensing operations, the move was probably an astute one.
Barrett has since built up a devoted clientele from London to Tokyo, whom he thinks are hooked because wearing his clothes attracts compliments. “It’s those compliments that have created this customer loyalty,” he says. “I feel grateful to have clients who understand my designs and feel good wearing them.” All those with an interest in exceptional men’s clothes would be inclined to agree.
Shop Neil Barrett at neilbarrett.com
By REILLY SULLIVAN
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