ONE KILO MELTON

We told the story of the 1 Kilo Melton "Medic" style for men which will be landing here as part of the new Fall collection. At some point it occurred to us that 100 pieces of 10cm x 10cm would constitute 1sqm of fabric. It also occurred to us that if we placed those 100 pieces all on top of each other, it would make a pretty thick and soft stack of melton. And finally, that this stack would weigh the same kilo of the original 1sqm piece.

So we tried it.


This gives some impression of the quality's substance and character.



We also keep telling the story of our regular use of traditional garments as starting-off points for design from our own archive, the DENHAM GARMENT LIBRARY. On a recent trip abroad we stumbled on a gorgeous men's battle-dress or "Ike" jacket that reminded us why we chose this melton in the first place.


A design-standard for the British Royal Navy, this specimen carries all of the original tag documentation attached via a lead seal (still intact) indicating that it is to be used as the design-reference for tailors and producers who were expected to create this style for serviceman. This is an essentially a 3-dimensional design file issued by the British Admiralty. It also bears the names, dates and signatures of those who had "signed it out" (like a library book) in order to ensure design consistency and reliable quality. The piece was issued by the Admiralty in 1946.


Combine the sheer quality of the fabrication with the authenticity of an original archive and you've created exactly the right platform from which to progress your own designs forward. That's how we see it anyway.


For Fall the journey that started with these ideas resulted in a range of styles in both the men's and women's collections. Each model is built with as much combined style, attitude and integrity as we could muster and all of it will be here before we know it.