Stephen Jones
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How did Stephen Jones start his journey in fashion?
Hi, come in. Welcome to Fashion Neurosis, Stephen Jones.
Hello, Bella, my darling. How are you?
I'm very happy to see you here and our long friendship being cemented by me in the chair and you on the couch. Can you tell me what you're wearing today and why you chose these particular clothes?
It's quite a long story. Well, first of all, I thought, well, what unites us? Because fashion is really about communication. And I thought, well, Vivian unites us. And I thought, well, if I'm going to be lying flat on my back and I'm wearing a hat, I have to have something which is a little bit soft. I can't have something with a brim. So I thought, well, maybe the Vivian tweed crown or the Vivian crown could be suitable. So that's what I'm wearing today. And it's not the tweed version, but one which is made from woolens and lame and different fabrics. And then I'm wearing an MA1 jacket, which was given to me by Khaled Sotsani from Di Cicorso Como a few years ago. And then underneath, I'm wearing a T-shirt from Vivienne, which I bought, I think, in about 1977, 1978.
It's a seditionary as well. And then my original bondage trousers, which amazingly enough, I can still get into. Gosh. And... Socks from Pantherella, which were a special edition by Sanderson that I thought looked quite wonderfully Baroque. But when I put them on, my husband, Craig, said to me it looked like his mother's sofa, which wasn't exactly the effect that I wanted to have. And a pair of shoes from a company called Milk Boy in Japan, which was... Milk was a... Actually, a company which was started between Hitomi Akawa and Reikawa Kubo before she started Comme des Garcons. And it was a joint company financed by Hitomi's mother, but then they went their separate ways. And the shoes from Milk Boy, I mean, it's like a young skater's label for boys.
And for girls, she really invented the kawaii, very, very sweet Japanese look, which was, you know, in a way traditional, but she did the modern version of it. So that's what I'm wearing.
Oh, it's so good. Especially to see the crown because I remember though some of the fabrics because when Vivian was thinking about it, when I was working for her and she was working on the the tweed collection, she sent me off to Berwick Street Market to bring back jewel-like velvets to be in the crown. And I remember the velvet that acts as the ermine on the one you're wearing and the ones with glitter and getting all these really kitsch cuttings of velvet from Borovik. So I don't even know if that's still there, I doubt it.
What role did punk culture play in Stephen's design philosophy?
Oh, Borafix is very much still there.
Is it?
It's smaller than it used to be, but absolutely. It's there selling lots of different sorts of fabrics, but still supplying theatres and brides and Central Saint Martin students.
Well, it was such a great shop and they had hundreds of different things, but they seemed to specialize in this, you know, these crazy things that you wouldn't ever be seen dead in, but actually were unbelievably useful and, you know.
They used to do a fabulous range of polka dot nylon and black polka dots. Oh, yeah. on fluorescent pink, fluorescent green, fluorescent blue, everything. It was extraordinary. And you know that they were going to be at the end of the pier next season in some sort of very, very British play or something.
Camperama.
But it was through Vivian that, because I have a memory, which we have spoken about it, but I'm not quite sure if you do remember, but you phoned me up one day and said that Vivian was making some caps. And did I know where you could get the peaks from? And I recommended a company up north called Bracia, who still exists. And that, I think, was the first time we spoke to each other.
Yeah. Because it was when Vivian was set up in Greenland Street in Camden. And Stephen Linard, I think, was downstairs. And Trevor, who made the shoes for Vivian, the rocking horse shoes.
Mm-hmm.
So there was a little kind of... It was such a dump, the place. But it was a hive of, you know, creative activity.
What date was this then?
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How did Stephen Jones start his journey in fashion?
0:08–3:45
2
What role did punk culture play in Stephen's design philosophy?
3:45–6:46
3
What makes a hat a powerful fashion statement?
6:46–9:43
4
How has Stephen collaborated with iconic designers?
9:43–13:30
5
What challenges has Stephen faced in the competitive fashion industry?
13:30–15:57
6
What is the significance of hat etiquette in fashion?
15:57–19:51
7
How does fashion serve as a form of protest?
19:51–23:43
8
What lasting impact has Stephen Jones had on the fashion world?
23:43–1:11:32