As part of the Selfridges Bright Old Things programme, Middleagedad has had to be ‘press-ready’ in terms of his daily outfits, as there have been photo shoots to attended and parties to be seen at. What he wears has suddenly become something of an issue. Normally it’s me running around trying on countless outfits before going out, but for the last few weeks, MAD has been seriously focussing on what you wear when you swap your city suit for life as an artist.
Changing your look is hard and if you’ve worn a suit stoically all your life, breaking away from that support system is scary. MAD happily scruffs around his studio in old jeans and paint splashed shirts, but when Selfridges embraces you to its glossy and uber-cool bosom, you feel obliged to step up to the sartorial mark. After much research, MAD found Universal Works, a UK based company with a neat line in casual smart jackets and trousers that work well for the artist-about-town.
Universal Works is a small independent menswear brand run by David Keyte, who started to design his own clothes after a 14 year stint at Paul Smith followed by 4 years at Maharishi. He wanted to create clothes with great utility, functionality and which defied the whims of trend and fashion.The clothes have a slight workwear vibe, with emphasis on practically and comfortable style. The indigos and dark navy’s are easy to mix and MAD’s transformation from accountant to creative artist looked very convincing. He bought the Indigo Barra wool jacket and the blue trousers.
The clothes are well made and many items are made in the UK or use British milled fabrics. This week the company has just shown for the first time at London Collections: Men, which you can see here and the range is also carried by ASOS.
It’s a good time to try the range out on your own MAD as there’s a sale on. More here.
