Topman giving the denim jacket new life

Mark McNairy

Topman has been embraced by the British male population like nothing I've seen before. It was, at one point, my one stop shop for looking 'cool', that has since died down but I do still venture in to see what they're doing. My interest in Topman was piqued when I discovered their Topman Design line that shows at London Fashion Week, Topman LTD and their boutique section which features a number of different brands.

From time to time this retail behemoth steps back and invests its time in creating something worthwhile and unique, the latest of these projects is the Denim Jacket Project. Topman have teamed up with 5 designers: Oliver Spencer, Lou Dalton, Katie Eary, Shaun Samson and personal favourite Mark McNairy from the USA to provide an American take as well as their own in-house design team to put a new spin on the wardrobe staple.

Topman design director Gordon Richardson says: “We all own or have owned one but this project is the perfect excuse to re-evaluate the most iconic of all wardrobe staples […] we have reinvention on a grand scale, trompe l’oeil, overprinting and mesh put the denim jacket centre stage once again.”

Mark McNairy's (pictured above) may look like a regular denim jacket but upon closer inspection you can see that on one side there is a classic jacket line and on the other a shirt-like design. Constructed out of dry raw denim this is a piece that is both quirky and built to last.

Oliver Spencer

Spencer's take comes in the form of a biker jacket in this deep blue with contrasting metallic zippers and front breast pocket.

Shaun Samson

Shaun Samson injects one of his design trademarks of unusual fabric combinations into his take on the denim jacket by using a sport mesh on the back of the garment.

Katie Eary

Katie is one of the designers who used a lighter wash of denim for her piece which also has a detachable collar and animal print lining.

Lou Dalton

 Dalton also uses a light denim wash and like Katie presents a more classic slim silhouette.

Topman Design

Topman Design's comes in a darker wash with a cool polka dot effect as well as a more workwear oriented silhouette. 

The collection will be available April 5th at a very awesome £70.

GFSmith on Oliver Spencer

Watch this video Unionmade dug up by British based paper and print materials company GFSmith who did a short piece on Oliver Spencer. The film provides interesting insight into Oliver and the brand’s design processes, their attention to detail, and overarching vision. It's coincidental that I find this video today as earlier this afternoon I visited the Soho store. There's something otherworldly about going into an independent store, you smell the leather, everything is arranged meticulously and methodically and when you feel the fabrics and look at the individual pieces you get a real sense of how much work went into it.


[The video was made private recently so if you're able to watch go do it]

Oliver Spencer SS12

Oliver Spencer always delivers and his latest collection for Spring/Summer is no different. In this collection  choice pieces are refreshed and of course, there are new additions as well. The Travel Jacket is updated with a midweight cotton twill, with the Moss Henley joining the party, as well as a waffle knit crew neck, and the Polzeath Jacket, a version of the fisherman’s parka inspired by British outerwear. The collection looks set to take on a muted colour pallet consisting mainly of olive greens, midnight blues and cool grays.

I can't wait to see the rest.

[all images via endclothing.co.uk]