Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label interview. Show all posts
Wednesday, 25 December 2013
Friday, 15 November 2013
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
My Style: Sam Lambert
Angola-born Sam Lambert is the co-founder of the creative duo and collective Art Comes First. Lambert has also designed for Saville Row’s Oswald Boateng and for Spencer Hart.
Q: Is comfort an enemy of style?
Comfort can never be an enemy of style. If you are uncomfortable it means that you are wearing the wrong items.
Q: Please describe your style in three words.
Sartor, alchemy, progression.
Q: What is the biggest mistake one can make when getting dressed?
Overthinking it. It should be fun, only then it will come easier.
Q: Do you believe in role models?
Yes, I do. It’s very important and disciplinary. In my line of business, it’s the only way for me to do the best I can — by looking up to someone. Liam Maher from Denham is my mentor.
Q: What are your favourite fabrics?
It has to be flannel and open weave wool. I love natural fibers with character, and these bad boys make good tailoring pieces.
Q: Are there any style combinations that you object to?
There are many, but I think the one I can’t stand is the wide tie over a casual soft collar shirt. Also, having more than double breaks on the suit pants and wearing sport socks with a suit.
Q: Which city has the best-dressed men?
A best-dressed man doesn’t have a city. He travels with his style from Tokyo, London, Paris, New York, and Stockholm all the way to South Africa.
Q: Would you say that you are conservative or bold?
None of the above. I have to say, like they say in Sweden, I am ‘Lagom’. Not too much, not too little. Just Mr Lambert.
Q: What are the rules in the way you dress?
It comes down to one thing: discipline. It’s the number one thing behind my style. This translates to grey scale being a colour palette, and trousers and shoes playing an important part in terms of the silhouette. Everything has to be proportional, nothing is oversized. Keep it tidy is the motto.
Q: Celebrities and style…
They need to do better research when it comes to style. It doesn’t take a few months or a lot of money when it comes to building one’s style; it takes a lifetime and knowledge.
Q: Name one garment/accessory that you can never have enough of?
I can never have enough hats.
Q: A man should always look like…
He is going to meet the love of his life. Because first impressions matter.
Q: Who taught you what you know about style?
I learned everything I know about style from my siblings. They always knew how to have fun with clothes. I grew up with three brothers and six sisters — you can imagine the style wars!
Q: How do you select your clothing every morning?
I prepare them the night before and I always start from the inside — like selecting my shirt, tie and hat. Then the rest will be influenced by those three items.
Q: What is your biggest regret?
Wearing baggy jogging bottoms in my hip hop days.
Q: The three essential things a man should know about style are…
1. Do not mix more than three colours. 2. Classic style is a win, going over the top is not stylish. 3. Proportions are key, regardless of whether you are tall or short.
Q: Do you have any shopping rituals?
I always visit vintage stores and flea markets in every city I travel to. It tells me how stylish the people from there are.
Q: We will never see you wearing…
Fake leather.
Q: The most stylish person you have ever seen…
Well, a lot of my friends in the industry are very stylish, but I have yet to meet the most stylish person.
Q: What is the first thing you notice on a man?
The fit of their outfit. So my eyes go straight to the shoulders of the garment.
Q: The one image that defined your approach to style…
When you switch off an old black and white television, that flat line in the middle of the black screen.
Q: Which new designers do you admire and why?
I don’t follow any designers, since most of the stuff I wear I design them myself or they are vintage. But if I have to mention any new designers I support, I have to say Cottweiler in London. These kids got the know how when it comes to tailored sportswear, and the themes of the collections are always well-researched.
Q: The only article of clothing that a man needs to pay close attention to is…
His white shirts, this is a must have.
Q: What are the most treasured items in your wardrobe?
My white shirts, my leather jackets, and my made-to-measure suits from Café Costume in Belgium.
Q: Which designer never fails to impress you?
I would have to say Dries Van Noten. His fabric development and cuts are really interesting.
Q: Who would you like to recommend for “My Style”?
Mr Liam Maher from Denham, the jeans maker.
Q: The best words of advice you have ever heard?
“Work hard and you will get what you deserve.” — My mom, Ms Fueki Paulina
Source:
Photo: D. Pattinson
Thursday, 31 October 2013
Saturday, 21 September 2013
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
THE UNERRING PANACHE OF SAVILE ROW TAILOR, SAM LAMBERT
Fans of classicist men’s style have undoubtedly seen Sam Lambert photographed countless times at all the major European fashion shows. Everywhere he goes, he is always precisely fitted, with his ever-present trademark beard, thick-framed glasses and expertly mounted gentleman hats. His overall presentation is consistently flawless, and his demeanor represents a cross between a dapper 1960’s Harlem Jazz player and a well-pressed Beatnik poet. But beneath the pitch-perfect veneer is a skilled artisan. Lambert is a Savile Row tailor of the highest order. He is the present Head of Design at Spencer Hart in London, and the co-founder of the creative style agency, ART COMES FIRST.
If there was ever anyone to chat with about the finer aspects of classic and vintage menswear, one couldn’t do better than the talented Mr. Lambert.
Did your introduction into tailoring come about through you love for vintage clothing, or did you love for vintage garments come first?
Well my tailoring background came from my father being a tailor. But my love for vintage began because my mother used to buy big containers of vintage clothes, and she would wholesale them to people at the flea market back home. As a child, I didn’t really realize how cool it was that I could get the first pick before everyone else.So I have to say they came together at same time, literally. You could say tailoring is from my Dad and vintage is my Mum.
What is it about vintage items that appeal to you the most? Is it the sense of garments maintaining an intrinsic value, or is it more about vintage items/heirlooms becoming better and more distinguished over time?
What appeals to me first is the fabric, so definitely it’s the heirloom factor. Back then, the fabrics had character which made them relevant and inspiring till this day. Pieces from the past were well-crafted with utilitarian detailing, and a lot of thought was put into them. It wasn’t just designing, it’s pure art. From the weaver, the tailor, even to the designer, everyone put sand into the stone.
You had your own tailored clothing brand in Sweden for five years, and you’ve also worked on Savile Row. What were the major differences in tailoring fundamentals and execution between both places?
With my own shop, we had a very sartorial sport approach. Everything was a learning process. We made design features out of mistakes. Savile row was about refreshing my mind in what my Dad used to do when I was child. We at Art Comes First call it “hand me down” knowledge. In the Row, it’s all about the classics, but with what I was doing with my brand before and the knowledge I got from Savile Row, it has made my design skills more mature and humble.I learn from the classics and add a youth, quirk twist without overdoing it.
What are the main building blocks of your wardrobe and what do you add on as finishing flourishes?
My main building blocks are always a well-fitted grey suit, white shirt in every collar shape, and a well-fitted good vintage leather jacket biker or aviator. The most important finishing touches are well-polished footwear and well-pressed garments.
What are the key vintage pieces you own that will forever be a mainstay in your closet?
My biker leather jacket, my collection of club ties, my half-framed glasses, and last but not least my camel Db6 suit from an old Italian brand called Febus.
Tell us about your Art Comes First platform. Why was it started and what services do you provide?
We provide the art of styling, design and craftsmanship. We started ACF because we wanted to fulfill our responsibility of inspiring one another. My skills or “style” exist because there was once a man called The Duke of Windsor, a man called Lumumba, a man called Miles Davies and so on. Without these people inspiring a generation, even an era, myself or other creative people like me would not exist.
Lastly, if you were to describe your style aesthetic and sensibility in one sentence, what would it be?
Sartour, Alchemy & progression.
- Geo Hagan for Themanoftheworld.com/blog
Thursday, 14 February 2013
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