Jacket Required: the brand picks for SS20

Firmly established as London’s main menswear trade show, Jacket Required offers a chance, midway through the main buying season, to gauge the health of wholesale. While noticeably quiet on the first day - it could be the heatwave - brands were reporting a case of quality over quantity when it came to visitors and buyers. Here’s what caught the eye at Jacket Required for SS20.

COLLECTIF

Introducing menswear for the first time, Collectif, is a specialist in new vintage. Established over 19 years ago, with its origins in Camden, and now with 3 shops in London and 1 in Brighton, Collectif is offering authentic rockabilly menswear looks inspired by the 60s and 70s. Mod style knits and rocker leather jackets come in affordable price points like polo shirts for £39 and a checked wide collar shacket for £50.

UPDFG

While the name doesn’t mean anything specifically, UPDFG is based in Milan and is a made in Italy skate-wear label.

BOITA

Founder Adam Boita was doing some research into his family name and found that Boita comes from Piedmont in the northern Italy. The ‘boita’ is a kind of box used in agriculture to spray the vines and orchards in Italy. Inspired by this, the product comes in eco-conscious ‘vegan friendly’ leather, made in China, will full provenance, retailing for £249.

YSC

After a soft launch, last year, YSC - Your Sample Collective - is a new British menswear brand of British Caribbean origins reflecting the everyman with a quality that would comfortable sit in a luxury department store, but without the price tag. New for SS20 is Portuguese seersucker and an easy to wear hybrid bomber with contrasting back panel all made in London.

AVIATION 88

Never under estimate novelty in today’s fashion landscape. Aviation 88 takes the classic flight jacket and turns it into a generous back pack for £150. Top Gun!

Atlanta Mocassin

Atlanta Mocassin is a Portuguese-based footwear label established in 1987 specialising in moccasin type slip-ons. Hoping to push their men’s styles into the UK market for the first time at Jacket Required, these are locally handmade in the north of Portugal use the finest materials in car shoe and casual loafer styles. Prices around £130.

AFENDS

With CBD being the flavour of the month in nutrition and beauty, it was inevitable that hemp would start to become more common as a resource for clothing. Australian label, Afends, says “no tree or plant species on earth has the commercial, economic, and environmental potential of hemp.” They want you to join their ‘Hemp Revolution’ in their loose basic styles, all proudly displaying their hemp origins.

R.M. WILLIAMS x MARC NEWSON

Australian made Chelsea boot specialist, R.M. Williams has teamed up with product designer, Marc Newson, on a pair of contemporary boots in a full range of colours. Retailing for an entry price of £275, they have the back tug ingeniously knitted into the side elastic.

GORAL

A Sheffield based footwear manufacturer has launched its own brand of luxury trainers under the family name, Goral. Handmade with 200 manufacturing steps, the standout is the ‘Boulsover’ in Dunlop green.

FROM THE FIRST

Based around the fashion Chelsea boot, From The First, is a British brand making in Italy. Built on the concept of combining classic Italian traditions, whilst celebrating the authentic, laid back feel of early American rock ‘n’ roll culture, these boots could easily be double the price with a designer name attached. Retailing for around £400.

MEPHISTO “JUMPER”

After a 12-year hiatus, Mephisto relaunches the ‘Jumper’ in a wide rainbow of colours. All made by hand with natural materials in that solid Mephisto way.