CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN

Beacon & Armour was founded to champion the narratives of all people and to bridge them with ethically produced hardware rooted in heritage. We seek out stories from every corner of the world and pair them with curated specialists to deliver compelling experiences and quality craftsmanship. We believe in hard work, authenticity, equality and purpose. Only by working together can we achieve a synergistic effect that cannot be rivalled.

Their mission is to honour heritage through ethically-made hardware that will last you a lifetime. Which is reflected in the message of their first collection : Pass this jumper on to your ______.

This campaign was designed around the art of Kintsugi – It means, ‘to join with gold’. The broken pieces of an accidentally-smashed pottery are carefully reassembled and then glued together with lacquer that is mixed with very luxuriant gold powder. The damage is not covered up, and the fault-lines becomes beautiful and strong. The precious veins of gold are there to emphasise that brokenness has philosophical richness and depth. Because these jumpers carry the weight of history; like passing down clothing from one generation to the next, buying these heritage jumpers for someone would be like passing heritage on to them.

Combining the art of Kintsugi with this philosophy, the point is to restore these two pieces of history with jumpers that are ethically-made here in the UK

Their first collection consists of two 100% British wool jumpers; The Guernsey – a traditional fisherman’s jumper that can be traced all the way back to the 17th century; and The Submariner – which played a key role in British history worn by the Royal Navy in both World Wars.

HUGO the younger brother range of the Goliath Fashion house HUGO BOSS are launching a personalisation Pop-Up in London this coming week (22nd to 25th November 2018)

Fans of the signature HUGO reversed capsule will be able to customise a limited edition collection of t-shirts and sweaters printed with their name – or any word they like – at an special four day Pop-Up. The HUGO brand is all about celebrating individuality – and they want to encourage customers to embody the spirit of the brand and use the personalisation Pop-Up to make their own statement. 

HUGO is designed for those who take their own approach to style, and next week we’re offering customers the opportunity to create their own personalised unisex t-shirts or sweaters at Westfield London in White City. Those who can’t make it down to the pop-up will also be able to customize online.

The signature HUGO reversed logo capsule has become a favourite amongst the Instagram community for its selfie ready design. In fact, the entire reversed logo concept started because the brand noticed that the HUGO logo was appearing backwards on social media when fans tagged #iamHUGO in their mirror selfies…. and so HUGO simply reversed the logo on the product itself! To convey the HUGO spirit of individuality, customers are always encouraged to create their own unique look and then post their images under #iamHUGO and tag @hugo_official.

How many different style variations is it possible to create if you’re buying a shirt? Well if it’s hand- finished and has the Apposta label in the back, around 3.4Billion! Think about it, What material, what colour or pattern, what cuffs, what body shape, what collar, a monogram, a contrast insert, a pocket, what buttons (and even how they are sewn on!). There are 30 different collar types, 8 cuff types, 6 body fits amongst the myriad personal choices. Added to this they offer more than 2900 fabrics, primarily from Italy’s best mills. WOW !

This service is totally unique and what’s more it works. A hard earned reputation based on the quality of their product, service and affordability. 96% great to excellent rating on Trust Pilot, based on over 1300 customer reviews is stunning testament to this. Check out their Trust Pilot rating (https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/apposta.com) for validation of that. 

The literal meaning of APPOSTA, is on purpose, intentionally, deliberately, a stylish highly experienced addition to the world of the individualisation. The company is based in London, a decision the co-owners made in view of the capital’s growing status as a world renown hotbed of tech innovation, research and development. Gianmarco Taccaliti, 4th generation shirt-maker and co-founder and his tech expert partner Gianluca Mei have, in Apposta, created a business which is harnessing cutting edge digitally driven systems to produce unique, individually designed products on a large scale. In this instance merging the unmistakeable quality, experience, expertise and skills of traditional Italian craftsman made shirts yet allowing a virtually limitless choice of unique combinations and variations – the one in a 3.4Billion Shirt! 

To start this entire mind boggling, but surprisingly simple process, you can choose between creating a shirt from a blank canvas or personalising one, and in either case you can select a standard size or use your own measurements (which are of course stored in the event that you want place another order sometime in the future). They will quite happily make your shirt to a standard format, but in reality the customisation processes has been designed to be user friendly so why would you not want a design which, when finished/manufactured, is guaranteed to be perfect and completely unique to you?

Yeah but surely this system must be super expensive, right ? Well, with so much on offer to choose from you might actually overlook the best part – Importantly the price of your shirt is determined only by your choice of fabric – all your personal customising and having a shirt made to measure, from the very first pick you make, everything else is then included, giving you a truly bespoke garment. From order to delivery will usually take just two weeks, which is honestly, exceptional for garments cut and finished by hand in Italy. Prices range from £60-£200, with Special Reserve cloths priced from £470-£740. Ideal for a Christmas gift for a very loved one or even YOURSELF ! 

Yes the most wonderful time of the year is almost upon us and our thoughts start to dwell on, “Ohhh God what do I buy X for Christmas?” Or even “What do I want for Christmas?” Now, hear me out here, if I said sock! Normally, you’d be right to tell me to foxtrot Oscar and shove those aforementioned socks where Santa won’t find em. But let me tell you about Morrow Outfitters. 

Morrows Outfitters is a family run business established in 1912, suppling high quality garments for the everyday gentleman, and are specifically famous for their range of socks. Let’s take you back to 1912 – Albert Morrow opened his first shop in Liverpool. He was committed to providing high quality products and also appreciated the importance of satisfying the needs of his customers. It was for these reasons that the business flourished for three-quarters of a century.

In 2011 Philip re-established his great-grandfather’s business in London. Philip is the fourth generation selling menswear under the Morrow’s name. Philip Morrow knows every supplier, he designs every sock, manufactured in the Midlands and he’s always ensured that the family heritage isn’t lost. The factory used is a fourth generation business, having been in hosiery industry since 1895. They are one of the few remaining independent hosiery manufacturers in this country

Philip became aware of the trademark for a high quality sock: the ‘hand-linked’ toe. This is the process of closing the toe seam by matching the stitches on either side of the unfinished sock. These stitches are linked together to provide the wearer with an essentially seamless toe. This is the alternative to machine linking which overlocks the seam and often causes discomfort and irritation when wearing well fitted shoes. All of the socks sold by Morrow’s are made using this traditional method which requires considerable skill.

The present aim of the business is to take the best of the past, including business methods and style, and combine it with a contemporary twist to fulfil the needs of the present day customer.

Morrows Outfitters have had a very busy 2018 – they’ve opened their first permanent store on Putney High Street, London and have a number of Christmas pop ups open/opening throughout London for the festive period.