Stuart Trevor will not be solely a Scottish-born designer, however he’s additionally an simple character. With heaps of humour, Trevor advised TheIndustry.vogue about how David Bowie was the inspiration behind AllSaints, how he paved the way in which for retailers comparable to ZARA, and the way he plans to revolutionise the business together with his new label.
Trevor was the first-ever Head of Menswear Design & Shopping for at Reiss after he graduated from Nottingham Trent. He produced the primary Reiss assortment, securing the model a spot on the British excessive road for years to return.
In 1994, after coming head-to-head with David Reiss, the founding father of Reiss, Trevor went out on his personal to ascertain AllSaints, bringing rock ‘n’ roll l to the British excessive road. The model shot to stardom as swaths of cool children clamoured into his shops to get their fingers on ‘inexpensive’ leather-based jackets and grunge galore.
After promoting AllSaints, when it was valued at $17 million in 2005, he’s again on our radar together with his new namesake vogue model, referred to as “the clothes model that does not produce any garments”. Sure, that’s proper. As a substitute, the model upcycles deadstock supplies together with Americana, Levi’s denims and on a regular basis fundamentals to show them into one-of-a-kind artworks that promise to not add to rising textile waste.
This week, Stuart Trevor, the model, has additionally been shortlisted for the ‘Sustainable Sourcing’ Award at the inaugural TheIndustry.vogue Awards.
Stuart Trevor, the model, on the runway
You’re considerably of a British retail legend. Are you able to forged your reminiscence again to your college days? Was happening the retail route all the time your plan?
As a child, I had no concept that you possibly can do vogue as a enterprise. Once I was younger, I turned obsessive about discovering classic items and customising them. It’s humorous as a result of that is what I am doing now. I found you possibly can examine vogue once I went to artwork college and that there was a complete enterprise surrounding it. Once I was younger, careers lecturers taught me about getting a job working for large accountancy corporations, not vogue. It is one thing I feel we have to speak to the British Vogue Council about as a result of the humanities are so underfunded and never talked about in our colleges. In Nice Britain, we’re well-known all around the world for having essentially the most inventive individuals.
So, I went to Nottingham Trent. For the primary time, I learnt about designers like Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood. I believed I would be capable to meet Paul Smith or get a job working for him. I received a design competitors and he provided me a job, however David Reiss approached me on the identical time. He provided me a visit to Italy to go to Pitti Uomo and I went with him. On the time, Reiss was a multi-brand retailer. To get me to work for him, Reiss purchased me an £800 purple Jean Paul Gaultier blazer, so, in fact, I went to work with him over Paul Smith – it was a no brainer. I imply, I used to be utterly skint, how might I not?
You made a reputation for your self at Reiss, are you able to inform us about your time there?
I ended up working for Reiss for 10 years. By default, I used to be not solely designing but in addition shopping for. I learnt the ins and outs of retail from my time there. On the time, it was a wholesale model. We confirmed up in any respect the principle vogue weeks and bought to unbiased retailers all around the world comparable to Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Barneys New York, and extra.
However, as a designer, you find yourself with inventory that you simply don’t know what to do with. The one method of eliminating all of it with out promoting it at a loss was to open a retailer. I opened my first AllSaints retailer, and it was an enormous success. And so I opened one other one, after which one other one, after which 5 years later, we have 15 retailers. We have been opening like three or 4 a 12 months. I did not got down to change into a retailer, however I ended up doing that.
Let’s mirror on the thirtieth anniversary of AllSaints. You created the now mainstay on the British excessive road. What impressed AllSaints?Â
There was an enormous hole available in the market. There weren’t another younger, small designer manufacturers again then. It was both Selfridges or Whistles. ZARA and Primark didn’t exist.
I wished to create a designer model that folks might afford, for individuals like me or for younger rock ‘n’ roll bands that wished one thing cool to put on. I began creating some cool, indie, distinctive one-off items once I was at Reiss. We produced them in restricted portions and so they all the time bought out inside days.
Nonetheless, David Reiss was the kind of man who would all the time put on a navy blazer, a Ralph Lauren shirt, a tie, a pair of beige chinos and loafers. He was very preppy and didn’t perceive what I used to be doing once I was bringing in bomber jackets and little cropped blazers. We’d find yourself arguing about it though they’d proceed to promote out.
I believed, are you able to think about when you had your individual model and also you have been promoting it on to individuals? And it was inside motive, like a leather-based jacket for 300 or 400 quid, not £3000. In order that’s form of what I got down to do.
I launched it at Paris Vogue Week, and it was unbelievable. We had queues from each the most effective unbiased retailers on the planet, together with Louisa By way of Roma in Florence, Barneys in New York and Selfridges in London. Patrons completely cherished it as a result of there was an enormous hole available in the market.
The primary-ever AllSaints photoshoot
How did you develop AllSaints’ aesthetic? This was a swap up from the ‘refined class’ Reiss is thought for.
David Reiss couldn’t get his head across the indie piece I used to be making for his model and I used to be sick of arguing.
Once I joined Reiss, they have been going below administration and have been mainly bancrupt. Nonetheless, by the point I left, Reiss was making round £50 million in turnover. I believed if I might try this for him, I might do that for me and I wouldn’t must argue with somebody each day. I feel that was the great thing about it.
I did not have any cash or males telling me what to do. I simply wished to create what I cherished to put on and what I cherished to purchase.
Once I was 16, we have been within the post-punk period with actually cool bands like Duran Duran and I wished to decorate these bands. My obsession has all the time been David Bowie. So I wished to create garments that he would come and purchase from me. That was form of my drive and dedication. And naturally, tens of millions of different children wished to additionally really feel like that, and no one was catering for it.
The place did you get the identify AllSaints from?
It stems from my initials. St is sort of a saint, and funnily sufficient, ‘The Saint’ was additionally my nickname. I used to be going to name it that or Stuart Trevor. However, I did not need it to be my identify, as a result of if I ever wished to promote it, I did not need another person to personal my identify, so I wished to provide you with a pseudonym for me.
Once I was at Carnival, I regarded up and realised I used to be on All Saints Street and I believed: “All Saints that’s one”.
When was the second you thought ‘aha we’ve made it’?
I nonetheless do not assume I’ve made it. I nonetheless rise up on a regular basis pondering, proper, I’ve bought to make it. I’ve bought to get going. I’ve solely bought a couple of years left. Joking, I am sufficiently old, however not that previous.
Again once I opened AllSaints in Spitalfields, I bear in mind a few of the mums and dads at my child’s college asking what I did, and once I mentioned I designed for AllSaints, they thought I meant the band. I ended up suing the band and received as a result of they tried to launch a clothes model with TopShop, however I owned the identify. The humorous factor is, they needed to go on tour with a merchandise assortment that learn ‘AF’ as a substitute of AllSaints on a t-shirt.
I attempted every part to get them to collaborate with me as a result of I believed they have been fairly cool. It might have been an enormous success, and it fitted me completely.
Lastly, when the mums and dads realised I meant the style model and never the band, they’d say “Oh my gosh, are you that actually cool designer? I really like what you are doing”. When that began occurring increasingly more, I believed, wow I’ve made it.
Do individuals find out about AllSaints the model fairly than the band?
Why did you determine to promote the model in 2005?
I had a silent associate and a working associate. The silent associate bought out to a man who had simply bought Karen Millen, Kevin Stanford. He was the husband of Karen Millen and he cherished AllSaints. I spent about three years hanging out with him, and he would give me recommendation on construct the model and streamline issues. He is a businessman, however not a designer. I am a designer who occurs to have eye for enterprise. He bought concerned and acquired out the second associate.
He ultimately provided me an enormous sum of money to purchase me out and after years of not paying myself a lot and investing revenue again into the enterprise. I made a decision to take it. I believed, I will simply take the cash and run. I might do it once more.
We had 15 retailers with the best children in every metropolis across the nation. After all, they’re all gonna sleep collectively. I would fairly they have been sleeping with one another than somebody from Ted Baker or Reiss.
Reflecting on the present local weather and environmental disaster, you based your eponymous line in 2023. Why did you determine to return into vogue retail?
About three or 4 years in the past, I used to be mentoring younger startup manufacturers that had a optimistic social or environmental affect. We spoke concerning the points with the style world, from excessive road to luxurious manufacturers, that have been filling up numerous landfills. Manufacturers dump their textile waste in Africa, Chile and Indonesia.
On social media, we’re bombarded with adverts and brainwashed into believing we want extra of every part. Then you definitely chunk. Then you definitely get dwelling and also you realise you could not get any area in your wardrobe and dump previous stuff. I believed, “I’ve bought to do one thing about this”.
I used to be introducing buyers to the startup manufacturers I used to be working with, however they saved asking me what I used to be going to do subsequent and if I’d begin up one other model. I believed the very last thing the world wants is one other clothes model.
I all the time put on classic. I usually put on jackets I sew patches on, after which in the future, certainly one of these buyers mentioned: “I find it irresistible! Can I purchase it?” So, I began promoting parka jackets just like the one I used to be sporting. So, what a few clothes model that does not produce any garments?
There may be far an excessive amount of clothes on the planet. We do not want any extra. What if I simply take all these classic items, as a result of I’ve entry to warehouses which have 1,000,000 classic Americana, and create one-off items?
In September 2023, I made a decision to arrange store in an empty constructing I owned in Hoxton. I began placing out this classic army stuff with the patches on, after which I met an artist who wished to color on them, and I bought him to color on them. I made a decision to host a vogue week social gathering in September 2023 and registered the identify Stuart Trevor.
The launch social gathering was on a Friday, and by the Saturday, certainly one of my buyers sat me down with an internet site developer to show Stuart Trevor right into a model. From there it went ballistic. Day by day persons are ordering from the location.
We take current inventory and we customise it, so we do not produce a great deal of inventory. Every order is bespoke and one-of-a-kind. Each garment comes with a label that I signal and date. Every product will say it’s ‘1 of 5’, for instance.
My daughter got here up with that concept. She mentioned, “If Vivienne Westwood and Michael McClaren had signed the stuff they created after they invented punk, then they’d be value tens of millions”.
I need our Hoxton studio to change into like Andy Warhol’s manufacturing facility however with out the heroin.
We encourage artists to return and hang around and so they can paint on the garments and we’ll promote them. We even have bands coming into follow. Plus, our 4 college interns are all the time hanging out whereas creating new upcycled designs.
We’re by no means going to cease individuals from shopping for issues. Folks need that dopamine rush that you simply get that comes with shopping for one thing new. At the least with Stuart Trevor, they’re not shopping for one thing new.
We’ll by no means take part in Black Friday gross sales and all that garbage. It is the worst factor that ever occurred to the style enterprise. Who’s going to purchase something within the two-three weeks earlier than Black Friday, and who’s going to purchase something within the two-three weeks after Black Friday? I feel our business must take a tough take a look at itself.
The place do you supply deadstock materials?
There are tens of millions of unused supplies. There are warehouses all around the world. Pals of mine, from the ex-CEO of Diesel USA to the ex-retail director of Ted Baker, ask me the place I’m going to get inventory from and I snigger. That is the very last thing it’s important to fear about, there’s tons of of tens of millions of clothes on the market. The US army alone spends $5 billion a 12 months on clothes each single 12 months and since Ferell Williams did camo for Louis Vuitton, it’s trendy once more. So, there are tens of millions of items of Americana in warehouses all around the world that nobody wished two years in the past. I can get it for very affordable costs after which we simply customise it.
I encourage all people to utilise these untouched warehouses, even when it signifies that I find yourself with out a provide of denim or no matter, then I will do one thing else.
What classes did you study when creating AllSaints that you simply’re making use of to this new enterprise?
I run it in a really comparable method. Once I ran AllSaints, I did not overproduce something. We didn’t have a lot cash, so if we weren’t promoting trousers very properly, I would not do trousers the following 12 months – I’d put that cash into T-shirts and leather-based jackets. I bear in mind my associate on the time saying, “Do not be silly. We won’t not have trousers. We would be the first store on the planet that you simply stroll into that has jackets and t-shirts and jumpers however no trousers”. I mentioned, “Mate, we’re not promoting them. Go some place else and purchase a pair of trousers”.
What are your plans for Stuart Trevor wanting forward, are you trying to broaden into brick-and-mortar retail?
The studio that we work in is a good looking previous Victorian tea warehouse. We encourage individuals to return there. We’re all the time having events and occasions.
Shifting ahead, the large drawback is lease costs. Until one thing cool comes alongside, that’s the right spot for an experiential store, we received’t do it.
Once we do open a retailer, we would like artists portray in it, somebody stitching on labels and patches, and a rock ‘n’ roll band taking part in within the night whereas snacks and drinks are handed out. We even need a restore store inside the area. So, if anybody on the market has an area, there is a man out right here searching for a spot…
We additionally need to create an area the place individuals may even deliver their previous clothes to us. We encourage individuals to return to us with a suitcase of their previous garments, and we’ll provide you with a credit score observe.
We’ve got a few completely different mottos however our primary messages are “the longer term is prior to now” and “life is enjoyable”. When individuals come to our place, we’ve got enjoyable. We need to make sustainable clothes that’s enjoyable.
