Ahead of his debut men’s launch during London Collections: Men, British GQ connects with House of Holland designer Henry Holland to discuss why now. From House of Holland to his start at Fashion Groupies, Holland has always been known for his trendy t-shirts with bold logos and cheeky fashions, but the designer focused his core business on womenswear. He shares, “In fact, we used to put men’s looks in the women’s show, but more for a bit of a laugh than a serious thing. I would watch the videos of our women’s shows, and whenever a boys’ look came out, the front row all picked up their phones. I would fume, ‘It’s costing me money to send these boys out. He’s not got a shirt on, could you at least pay attention?'”
Continuing, Holland confesses, “But it was more or less an afterthought. We were basically trying to make menswear out of the same fabrics we were using for women and we didn’t have a separate tailor or pattern-cutter. And it just became more and more apparent that we were on the wrong schedule for press and also for sales. Menswear buyers and department stores never came to see the clothes. So we concentrated on women and got it to the point where it was working quite well and then decided to revisit menswear. I put a team in place, I brought a designer on board as well as a pattern-cutter. I wanted it to have the same DNA as the womenswear, but some things can get quite clownish when translated into menswear. The challenge was to create a collection that carried through the brand’s humour and tone but [was also] something desirable for a man to wear.” Holland also has a trick up his sleeve. You’ll be able to buy this collection in stores, the same day it is unveiled.
