In My View by Eric Musgrave: The inspiring feeling of new beginnings

Fashion is supposedly about change, so it’s always interesting to see characters in the industry taking a new direction.

Two friends of mine, from different parts of the industry, have been in my mind lately. I am expecting interesting things ahead from Hash Ladha and from Paul Mullen.

We read plenty about shops closing but much less attention is paid to new businesses opening. I doubt many people setting out on a new retail adventure have as much experience to draw on as Paul Mullen, who has been running a men’s contemporary streetwear shop called Para-Daiza in Edinburgh since August.

He looked very relaxed and happy a few weeks ago when I dropped in to see him at 1 Granville Place in the affluent Stocksbridge district of the Scottish capital. The motto on the glass front door reads: Just Common People Doing The Uncommon, which is a phrase with which to intrigue passers-by.

To get in, they normally must step over Rita the collie dog, Paul’s loyal companion, who likes to watch the world go by from the threshold. That’s a very independent store touch.

Apart from a small selection of some vintage sportswear, the offer is all under the Para-Daiza label. Prices are deliberately accessible, with a chino pant retailing at £95, graphic Tees using local designers’ artwork at £45-£55, and jackets at £155.

Part of the offer is a Re-Purposed collection in which second-hand goods from vintage trade wholesalers are adapted into one-of-a-kind garments. For example, Paul is finding adding a few decorative fabric patches to basic military-jackets is proving successful.

Paul Mullen in Para-Daiza (Eric Musgrave)

A year ago, it is unlikely Paul expected to be running his own small business but in December 2023 Xile, the multi-brand Edinburgh business where he had worked for almost 30 years, was sold by JD Sports to Frasers Group along with around a dozen other businesses.

Perhaps surprisingly, Frasers could find no use for his talents and so Xile’s managing director was made redundant in April and the three shops were slated for closure. At the age of 50 the father of four realised he could not sit around feeling sorry for himself.

As Paul explains: “Premium menswear brand Para-Daiza was born to create high-quality products with lasting value, blending inspiration from the past with innovative ideas.”

It’s early days, of course, and this is a tightly run operation. Paul works seven days a week, doing most of the jobs himself. The long narrow unit he occupies is a pop-up, coincidentally owned by a former Xile employee. He has it until the end of the year and Paul is hopeful a longer lease can be arranged. If not, he wants to find a permanent home in Stocksbridge, which is a haven for independent stores from different sectors. Scottish designer Kestin Hare and the premium multi-brand fashion shop Dicks are near neighbours.

“The locals round here, both young and old, are fantastic and are finding stuff they like in the shop,” he told me. “Then we have a lot of American and European tourists who don’t find clothes like this at home. And finally some of the former Xile customers are making the trip down to see me. I’ve been so busy in the shop that I have not had time to do much online on paradaiza.com.”

n case you are wondering, the name is a Proto-Indo-Iranian term paradaiza, signifying around (pari-) and walls (daiza). The Latin word paradise is derived from the ancient Persian paradaiza, meaning a walled space, garden or sanctuary.

It will be interesting to see how this garden grows, but in the meantime it is good to see Paul enjoying been on the shop floor again.

Hash Ladha

Making a fresh start at the other end of the country is Hash Ladha, who has just succeeded Beth Butterwick as CEO at premium womenswear chain Jigsaw. The former boss of Oasis and Warehouse, Hash once described himself as a reluctant CEO. I always found him a thoughtful and sensible retail leader, lacking the runaway ego that afflicts so many who get the top job.

After the collapse of his former employer, Hash sensibly took a few years off to spend time with his young family, keeping in touch via the odd consultancy role.

Beth’s departure after four years for a career in the art world (there’s another new start) has given Hash a brilliant opportunity to kickstart his career. During its 1980s and 1990s heyday I was a big fan of Jigsaw, which, led by founder John Robinson, was a decent-sized player that acted like an independent. Its store design was invariably interesting and surprising, while its clothing handwriting was always distinctive.

A lot has changed for the company and the industry in the decades since then, but it would be good to see Jigsaw’s current owners allowing Hash and his team the freedom to give the chain its own strong identity again.

There is far too much similarity in the market these days. As I noted above, fashion is supposedly about change.