Mister Crew

Khabi over on Fashion Buyer UK recently posted a good interview with David Keyte of Universal Works:

Q: What, to you, are the key elements of branding?
A: I want Universal Works to be a clothing company more than a “brand” I don’t want to logo the outside of any garment and I don’t want to brand something we are not involved with completely. I want someone to buy UW because they like it, it fits well and it lasts, I hope they feel it is well made and has a certain style, but I don’t want them to buy it just because it is a “brand”.

Q: There is a feeling of a new sort of luxury in menswear now, based on authenticity, heritage and workwear, military derivations – rather than, say, the showy old types of luxury. What do you think? Universal Works seems to feed into that new definition…
A: Well, all those words are the words of the moment I guess, and certainly our style is based around the classic elements of workwear and military wear. Men’s garments often are, but we also have to keep up to date and not just make replica garments from the past. I prefer to use the knowledge of that past, and stay true to the function and simplicity of workwear but also make it relevant now. Right now heritage and authenticity are very over-used words. UW is only two years old so we can’t claim either of them. But I think you are right, there is a new luxury as you say, not based on simply show and over-design and logos and everything. Count me in.

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If you’re looking for a heavyweight roll neck this season, check out the grey donegal sweater from Universal Works. It looks great layered under heavy jackets, and like many of their other pieces it is made in England. I found mine on my-wardrobe.com (great customer service by the way), but it’s also being carried by Diverse and Cloth if you need smaller sizes.