The Man Behind
Kent & Curwen
Daniel Kearns
Daniel Kearns unbuttons his handsome double breasted, Navy Blue military style coat and settles into the chair opposite me. Situated at the rear of his stylishly appointed flagship shop in London’s Covent Garden. He crosses one perfectly careworn Doc. Marten-booted leg over the other. Then proceeds to chat with unbounded enthusiasm about the latest project in his roller coaster career as a clothes designer. With his finger rarely, if ever having left the pulse of 21st Century man along the way. Which as he then goes on to explain, to a great extent, that ride has now come full circle in his role as a Creative Director for the recently revived, quintessentially British brand Kent & Curwen.
The Man Behind
Kent & Curwen
“When I first moved to London in 97/98, Covent Garden was an area you would go, recalls Daniel. “ You had Paul Smith over there (Kent & Curwen shares a Floral Street address with the iconic Nottingham-born British clothing legend). You also had Duffer Of St George down the road. This is where I’d go shopping. And I think it’s coming back. People are so much more diverse in how they shop now. They don’t necessarily want to be dictated to, so our approach is very much part of inclusion.
This notion of ‘team’. You felt like you were amongst like-minded people.”
This idea of being part of a team runs like a seam all the way through the Kent & Curwen story.
The company began life at the headquarters of English tailoring, Savile Row, in 1926 where they were at first providers of neckwear to various public schools and British regiments, before adding sportswear to their range, including their iconic cricket sweater.
Ninety-two years later, after the label had been laying essentially dormant, one of football’s most famous faces, David Beckham was the man who decided to revive it. From there, it was then a matter of finding someone who could turn it into a label for a modern audience. While at the same time retain the qualities and spirit of the original version. And the man who sat down to be interviewed by the former Manchester United, Real Madrid, Milan, PSG and England star, and got the job, was the 43 year old Dubliner.
“David put me at ease right away”, Daniel recalls. “It was a pleasure to talk to him and he was so passionate about what this brand could be. And it seemed like we had very similar aspirations for it. We immediately started just getting into a brainstorming conversation.”
This relationship with Beckham is clearly central to the dynamic of this Kent & Curwen for a new Millenium. Because both men have so much in common, while at the same time have very diverse histories. Daniel was born the son of judge in Ireland – “I remember dad getting his gowns made” – and played rugby at his Prep school, before going on to study at Dublin’s National College of Art & Design, while at the same time completing and apprenticeship in tailoring. He eventually found his way to London and the Royal College of Art to complete a master’s degree in menswear. Which in turn led to a stellar and diverse array of jobs working for and with the likes of Dolce & Gabbana, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent.
This relationship with Beckham is clearly central to the dynamic of this Kent & Curwen for a new Millenium.
Clearly, all of these names would have been entirely familiar to East London born David Beckham as he has frequently been cited across the years as one of the best dressed men of his generation. “He’s an icon in so many ways,” Daniel confirms. “And he’s a pleasure to work with because he gets it. He’s got impeccable taste. He looks great in the clothes. I know he’s been a professional model and he’s an athlete, but the fact that he enjoys wearing the clothes in his day to day life gives me immense satisfaction. “If David loves the clothes and wears them all the time, that will perpetuate to other people. That’s my ambition for the label.”
What that label looks to have provided is the perfect manifestation of two soul mates who have found the ideal mutual ground on which to collaborate.
“It’s like seeing it through a filter”, is how Kearns looks at the space in which the two are doing their thing . “It’s culture, and counter- culture. David and me, we’re the same age and grew up with the same TV, knowing the same music. And I’d equate that as being part of British heritage, which is what Kent & Curwen is all about. It’s something we’re quite proud of. Something that’s unique to Britain. It’s reverence, and irreverence. Tradition. Codes of dress. Then breaking those codes. Music has always done that in a big way. Art has done that in a big way. And fashion at its best, too.”
If David loves the clothes and wears them all the time, that will perpetuate to other people. That’s my ambition for the label.
Daniel then walked me a round the shop as we looked in more detail at the clothes in the current range. All the time under the gaze of a motley crew of young men who stared down at us in Kent & Curwen clothing from rugby fields and boxing gyms. Indeed, as Daniel points out, one of the young models captured in image, is one of two brothers who wear the clothes for the label. They were discovered at an ameteur boxing club called Repton from London’s East End, and which happens to be situated just a few miles from where David Beckham had grown up.
And what we were looking at were thoroughly modern takes and echoes of staples of the male wardrobe, often sourced from an exhaustive exploration of Kent & Curwen’s archive, and with a particular sportswear/utilitarian twist. Including the distressed DMs Daniel was wearing. Which made it to the collection because David had told Daniel the story of how he once wore a brand new pair of the boots, and they so damaged his feet he had to miss training the following day.
So Daniel worked with Dr. Martens to create an already aged boot. What’s more, and further to this very personal connection, for Spring/Summer 2019 there will be a range with a ‘Madchester’ theme which celebrates Beckham’s time living in Manchester, and one of his favourite bands, The Stone Roses.
Which struck a particular chord when Daniel told me how he describes the philosophy of the brand.
“For me, it’s like doing a cover song,” he says. “The cricket sweater, the rugby shirt, the regatta blazer – it’s a standard, but you’re bringing it to a new audience, making it relevant to them.” ●
The cricket sweater, the rugby shirt, the regatta blazer – it’s a standard, but you’re bringing it to a new audience, making it relevant to them.
