The word ‘suit’ can evoke a world of different thoughts: from the businessman with his uniformed scorn, to ladies and their romantic ideals, it is hard to pin down what makes a handsome man in a good suit. We here at Black Box love suits; I recently took the opportunity to sit down with Huw Bennett from the brand Vanishing Elephant and talk to him about what ‘the suit’ means to him.
-Hi Huw.
-Hi Rye.
-Please introduce yourself.
-Is this thing working? 1, 2, 1, 2. Okay, I’m one third of Vanishing Elephant. I’m from Sydney, Australia. We are a men’s wear label, but we’re about to become a men’s and women’s wear label, as of August this year. Ummmmm that’s me…
-I recently did a write up for Vanishing Elephant on our blog. On researching your brand what struck me was your strong vision for menswear and how successfully you capture this in your collections. Can you tell me your thoughts on what sets you apart?
-We set ourselves apart from the start, for example, making things that push a guys comfort zone. But at the end of the day they are just staple pieces that have been around for fifty, sixty years, and just adding a modern touch to it, whether it be, the fabrication or the colours, and some of the finishing’s. The whole thing is re-inventing our take on classic aesthetics.
-What effect would you like to see Vanishing have in the way men approach dressing?
-Guys wearing suiting again, take it back to being a little bit more formal. I think there’s a lot to be said for tailoring, and dressing neat, but not taking it too serious. It’s very easy, but I’m as guilty as anyone the majority of the time: I’ll wear jeans and a tee shirt a pair of trainers, and as nice as that is I think we’ve lost some of the subtleties of what it is about being a man and going out, you know, dressing to impress….. Our generation, guys in their twenties, even early thirties, have lost that connection with the way they dress and how that reflects their personality, and what they do in life.
-I think Vanishing Elephant suits are great. I hound Emma and Harriet at Public Library ‘til they let me buy their samples. I have three now. [Blush]
-Thanks Rye Rye. A suits a suit, it really doesn’t matter if it’s a Vanishing Elephant, or it’s vintage, or it’s an incredible suit that has been hand made for you, it still bona fides your persona, and I think suits are really personable, and you can tailor them, touch them up, and they will become a piece that is for you and you only. I really like the whole work wear aesthetic [men’s style in the twenties and thirties] but that was a whole different world, so we take a few lead ins, but still try to keep it neat and casual. I really like watching old movies, or in a lot of literature and text, the way men dress to go to work.
-Same, same, same. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong time.
-Haha. In those days guys could only afford one suit, and there would often be patches, and different colours, because that was the amendments, and the only thing they could afford, so it was like the centre of your universe and you wore it so often, if you ever got the chance dress it up, you would. Some people were so poor that they couldn’t go out on the day they had to wash their suit; it would just be drying all day, and they’d just have to walk around home in their undies, or whatever. Haha.
-Call me working class, but I’d be happy to only have one pair of leather shoes, one tailored suit, one brimmed hat, and call that my wardrobe. I’m so used to a suit I don’t think I could live without the hidden breast pockets on the inside of a blazer. Okay, one last question: if Vanishing Elephant were commissioned to design new clothes for the Emperor, what would they be?
-Ha, ummm, depends where the Emperor is from. If he was, like, Royalty in Scandinavia that would be spot on with some suiting we are working on at the moment, or if it was Japan, we could get a little freaky with the waist measurements and make them a little higher and linen or something, get real fruity. [Laughs] From reading this people are going to think I’m Humphrey Bogart or something, but all I’m wearing is a tee shirt, a pair of dirty chinos, and some sneakers.
-[Laughing] You’re okay. Thanks for your time Huw.
-You’re welcome.
