Jacket Required is known in the industry for its unique identity and feel. More of a collective than a trade show, each season at Jacket Required sees visitors from across the fashion industry, including the biggest retailers and exciting independents. One of these indies is London/ Cambridge based Laird Hatters. We sat down with media manager Galih Richardson to learn more about the British headwear brand that’s featured on more than a few London Fashion Week runways.

 

Laird Hatters has been around for 10 years and was founded by husband and wife team Zofia and Alex Torun-Shaw. We offer a selection of ready-to-wear hats all handmade in our 4 stores, in London and Cambridge. We are regularly involved in high-fashion collaborations with British designers and we also feature at London Fashion Week. We’re a British brand through and through and are passionate about keeping our sourcing and manufacturing UK based.
By job title, I’m the media manager at Laird Hatters, but I get involved in a lot of aspects of the business; everything from wholesale, being a presence in the shops and managing our collaborations.  
 

Obviously, for me, it’s about looking for hat trends first and foremost. But Jacket Required is also a good place to discover interesting textiles, British mills and new technology, as well as establish new relationships and check up on our current collaborations and partnerships.
 

I’m seeing a lot of high waisted pleated trousers everywhere which makes me happy.  I’ve always thought a men’s silhouette should be high waisted with cropped jackets.  I’m seeing a lot of 50’s inspo and it’s elevating men’s fashion back to a sensitivity that I think is extremely elegant. 
 

I wear clothes to fit my body shape.  I get garments tailored to fit my shape.  I’ve never agreed with being forced into a small, medium, or large, because no one is exactly small, medium or large.  I believe men’s fashion has come further than that. Knowing and accepting your shape is the first step to wearing clothes and not letting the clothes wear you.  I love to wear pieces that have had several lives before coming into my possession. Mostly jewellery and jackets and some denim. Clothes that are for everyday use, handmade and are designed for a function and to last.  
 

In such a populated city it’s hard to stand out.  In London we are given complete freedom to be whoever we want to be, and to dress however we want to dress.  I think this brings out a creativity that feeds into the fashion world.  We are a city of sub-culture, pioneers of Punk, Mod, Teddy Boy and the like. You still see these fashion tribes here in London.  The hype tribe, the tailored city boy, the vintage, the cafe racers, the lad.  People come to London from all over the world to feel freedom, and to inevitably find somewhere they belong. 
 
Jacket Required will be back for the AW20 edition on 22^nd and 23^rd January.