PB: 0:11

Hello, welcome to another episode of the menswear style podcast. I'm your host Pete Brooker. Today I'm talking to the head of design over its DNS drums Peter Iaido and a quick little backstory on Stephens drums that I've peeled from their website, which you can find by the way at Stephens drums.com. Our history began in 1899 when the Swedish Taylor Augustine's drum found himself overwhelmed with orders. His reputation as an outstanding shirt fashioner had spread in town. All the elegantly dressed man in Helsingborg wanted one of his masterpieces, and Stenstrom found it hard to keep up. To meet the needs of his sophisticated clients. He decided to build a shirt factory understand from strict supervision, a larger number of quality shirts could now be produced. With time his business flourished, and word spread far and wide. More people discovered Stevens from his garments, eg many of the world travelled and demanding sea captain's sailed through the harbour of Helsingborg. returning to their home countries dressed in Stan's rooms elegant outfits, they unknowingly helped him become a global exporter. Still, today's DNS Jones is internationally renowned for its pristine quality, using only the best fabrics and trims. We craft classic and contemporary clothing, the perfect fit and feel based on 120 years of sustainable craftsmanship. And there it is, I felt it probably better to read that in the first person because it's a nice little story. But here to tell us more about the brand is Head of Design. Peter Urie Adel.

Unknown: 1:45

Okay, I'm Peter, I've been working in the company for 27 years. So I've been I started more or less a salesman's and we actually had another company as well at that time called Oscar Jacobson, I think in in Great Britain, it's famous for golf clothes and also for suits and jackets and things like that. And so I worked for both of these companies to start with both Frasca Jacobson and unforeseen steps. Like 15 years ago, I started to work with the product. Because actually, when I started in the company, that was a, we were producing shirts in Helsingborg, here, where I'm located. So we had actually a real factory behind my back, you know, I was sitting in my office and the production was just behind my back. So I'm more or less was running out in production and doing things all the time and step by step by what's involved in the product. I work together with a guy that's been working in the business for more than 40 years, you know, everybody, everything about shirts, you know, so,

PB: 2:53

right. And so is your background in shirt making pattern cutting?

Unknown: 2:58

No, not at all. Actually, I'm electrical engineer from the start.

PB: 3:01

Alright, okay.

Unknown: 3:05

But I mean, I worked. I worked in the in the factory and steel stands for 27 years. So I think I picked up a few things.

PB: 3:12

And so on the website is there's a nice picture of this factory. Is it the same factory that's still going today?

Unknown: 3:19

No, it's not. It's like this factory that you see on the homepage. I think it's the early factory where it was started. And the factory, or actually today, it's office. It's started there in 1967. I think so it's even before my time.

PB: 3:38

Right. Okay. So, talk a little bit about so what's your day to day role in the company?

Unknown: 3:46

I have kind of two roles in the company. I'm Head of Design. And I'm also working as a creative director more or less so more or less. I make the direction where we are going you know, it's we also do late ladies wear and I don't do ladies wear but but we I tried to keep it a little bit together. Right.

PB: 4:11

Okay, so maybe talk about the seasons, does it season based? Or is it how often do you come up with new designs and rotate?

Unknown: 4:22

We have two main collection. And then we have like two small drops like we do one extra drop in April and then we do one drop in in October. That's a little bit an extra collection to pick up things that we think is important maybe that we didn't have in the main collection. Right. So So that's more or less how we work? Yes.

PB: 4:48

What is that? Like for people that haven't been on the website or unfamiliar maybe in the UK we have students from so what is like the philosophy of the brand, the design? What do you try and emulate

Unknown: 5:01

First of all, I think, from the start, I mean, we are very old shirt producer. So the shirt is the main product. But I mean, the last years, the shirt business actually changed a lot. So I would say that we are a shirt concept today. I mean, one day you wear a t shirt one day, you need something or, and then you wear a shirt, I would say that my philosophy is to wear our product seven days a week, you know, it's not just the business York, it could be a casual shirt, it could be T shirt, but all of the products that we are doing, we are doing on a high level, you know, we work with really good materials, the top suppliers in Europe. So try to keep it on a very good level,

PB: 5:47

right? And do you do so you do need to measure these different from the ones that are on the website, or you just a made to measure company.

Unknown: 5:58

We do a lot to make to measure and the short you see on the web page, it's it's our basic short, it's actually more or less what you get when you do make two measures well, you can add things you can change things, of course. But but the short, the product that you see, it's, it's more or less the product that you can change the way you want to

PB: 6:20

write. I mean, the shirts look fantastic. I think what's really appealing about the site after I went on it were how many different kinds of shirts that you can choose from. But not only that, if you have a shirt in mind, maybe you've seen a shirt and a film, and I kind of look at films and TV and always try and think well, where can I get that? You know, a lot of the times it's probably been specially made for the actors, you know, a lot of the stuff you don't see is ready to wear on on websites, because you don't have a lot of logos on shirts and stuff like that. But I found there were a lot of different items and different garments on the site that you could that's just a sale going through by the way the little thing

Unknown: 7:02

is my

PB: 7:04

son has just bought a shirt, it's okay. So, I mean, do you try and

Unknown: 7:12

I guess create a

PB: 7:13

broad range for everyone. And for everyone that wants to come to the site, there's always going to be something for them. Do you have that in mind?

Unknown: 7:24

We have I mean, we have actually different lines on the on the homepage. If you look there on the web, you can see like, there's more shirt that's business shirt. And there's even a line called at 99 the 1899 line is even a little bit more exclusive. It's more stitching per centimetre, this is split to get set in sleeve and all these dates, the really luxury details on that shirt. And I mean not everybody needs that kind of product. You know, I wear a lot of jeans shirt or denim shirt. I prefer these things someday another day. I would like to have a I mean a night probably nice, proper white shirt with a tie, you know? So I mean, it's today I think we I tried to do products for more or less. A modern man, you know, it's not like a businessman is dressing a certain way. If we don't need to, nowadays, you know, it needs a little bit more like a feeling now I would like to have this and now what would like to wear this and what do

PB: 8:35

you think people what are people coming to the site for with shirts now? Like is there kind of a trend of a certain type of shirt that's coming through more that you noticed in the last couple of months maybe

Unknown: 8:48

we are quite strong on linen especially in the

PB: 8:52

as the linen shirt just sold.

Unknown: 8:56

But I mean lean especially spring you know that? I mean Lean is really really huge article for us right now. And that's a casual linen shirt. But there are also people that like to make a made to measure linen shirt and a little bit more formal linen shirts, but right now I think it's a lot of linen shirts, even if it's still cold here.

PB: 9:15

Right? Um, where are you getting the fabrics from? So they're all made in Sweden or target?

Unknown: 9:21

Yeah, I work a lot with Italy. I work very close with with the big meals there. I don't know if you should mention them. But But I mean, our linen is from Thomas Mason, one of the most famous producer of short fabric and actually we do a special special linen together with them. And they call it the Swedish linen because I like to change to it because I need a little softer than it normally it's

PB: 9:49

so nice. And do you get a chance to go over to these meals? Now the world's opened up again.

Unknown: 9:56

Yeah, quite free frequently in Italy more or less I wouldn't say each month but we have like a good cooperation together with them. I actually had the guys from Albania, Thomas Mason online yesterday talking to them about next fall, winter, fall winter 2023. So we are already starting to work on these things right now,

PB: 10:21

I guess and has, like, we were talking just offline about the pandemic and World Wars. As any of this thrown any spanners in the work for you. Can you plan that far ahead with competence?

Unknown: 11:18

Right now, I started to believe that we can, but I mean, it's been two years that you couldn't, you know, it was like, very frustrating. You couldn't travel the same way as you used to, you couldn't get the same. I mean, for me, it's very important to meet people to talk people to talk to people and feel the fabrics and see the fabrics and reality. And I mean, there's there's been so much going on also, like on on the computer and papers and patterns that way. And so it's been quite tough to work work during the last two years. So I think right, now, we're going to back to some some kind of normal, I would say,

PB: 12:02

Yeah, well, that's good. I'm glad to hear that. I mean, I do have a I have a friend who is, has an E commerce shirt shop, and I won't name names, but he's certainly found it pretty tricky. In the last couple of years, I think mainly due to the casualization of people in the workplace, and, and also people just not going to the office. So you might put on a shirt for a zoom call. But you're not necessarily looking for a quality shirt. Because you know, can you really tell over a zoom call you it's really something that is in person, I think, when people can tell the quality of a shirt. So I mean, did you notice any kind of like, dip? And were you struggling at any point?

Unknown: 12:47

Yeah, yeah, for sure. We were I mean, like two years ago, I was thinking, Should I open a pizzeria? Or what should I do? Now? No, it was totally different. I mean, it was from one day to another, you know, we, we were not selling business here. We just you know, it like dropped, nobody bought the business yet for four was like dead, more or less, you know, but luckily, we are selling other products. And step by step a actually, it happened before the pandemic, I would say. So we were a little bit prepared, because we have always been selling kind of growth of casual shirt. And I don't actually agree with you, because I think a casual shirt needs also to be high quality fabrics and things like that. And when you start to wear even a shirt, that's Washington and casual, I think it needs to be nice fabrics, nice buttons, nice trims everything there as well, even if it looks casual, you know, so So I think we were quite well prepared. And also the knitted programme, like with merino wool, cashmere and things like that, that that was good during the pandemic, for sure. So we actually increased in that. That area.

PB: 13:58

That's interesting. Yeah, I do feel like you have to have a quality shirt, be it casual or not, I think. I think what he found and maybe I found also was the lack of need to buy more shirts at that time that you know, you'd probably have like a shirt that might be on its way out. But you don't feel the pressing need to kind of revive your shirt wardrobe. I had a question shirt question for you, Peter. It is a question that I do tend to ask a lot of my friends who are into shirts, and I'm hoping you can shed some light on this quarter edge stitching on collars. Now, is this a sign of a higher bespoke garment or a higher quality shirt I should say? Or is it better when the when the stitching is very close to the edge of the column?

Unknown: 14:53

Think it's totally the design element actually.

PB: 14:58

You think? Yeah, it

Unknown: 15:00

is actually I mean, it depends how I think one thing is if you take like removable collarbones inside the collar, you know, if you have like, I think there's plus and minus in this discussion, you know, if you want to have like a really pointed, pointed caller, I'm sorry about this. So

PB: 15:23

he's a busy man. It's funny,

Unknown: 15:27

though. No, but I mean, you know, when you put this collarbone inside the collar, sometimes you can get it really out on the point of the collar, right? Yeah. And then I mean, it's also how you like your shirt to look, because I prefer when my shirt is little bit curved in the colour, you know, it should be a little bit. I liked that kind of look, you know. So for me, it's more of a design element than then if it's nicely done. So I mean, we do both on the 1899 Everything is I think it was like two millimetres stitching on the normal shirt. We also have two millimetres thickness, but normally on the basic shirt is five millimetres, so I don't I don't know. It's it's a quality sign? I don't think so.

PB: 16:21

So it's not harder to do the stitching that's closer to the edge. No, I don't think so. Okay, because that's the kind of the rumblings the debate that goes on is because if it's closer to the edge of the colour, then it's naturally harder to do. Because it's more you haven't got as much leeway Do you know, I mean, you haven't got as much.

Unknown: 16:42

I need to ask the lead the people that makes the show.

PB: 16:49

Were hit pause, bring the stuff in. Well, thanks anyway for indulging me. It said the debate will rage on I'm sure. So talk to me, please, Peter, about some of the concessions. We also mentioned offline that you have some here in London, I think of free concessions if I'm right in London, one in one inches. I know because it's just around the corner from me.

Unknown: 17:13

Do you probably know better than me? I'm just going to go by the website. But do you

PB: 17:18

have any plans to do any standalone stores in the UK or elsewhere?

Unknown: 17:24

We have a few standalones shops. You know, we have one in Copenhagen, we have one in Hamburg. We also used to have one in Stockholm. But we have a big area on quite famous department store called NK now, it's was actually very new because before the pandemic and it's almost 400 square metres. It's a really, really big area on so we we have standalone shops. But I mean, now two years, we haven't actually discussed to build new shops, you know, we're more or less focused on just to try to get the production running in a correct way again, after after the pandemic.

PB: 18:07

Interesting. Well, if you do come to London, I hope you are you'll consider because I've been certainly interested in seeing either a pop up shop, or something that might be a flagship store in London, where do you do you? Do you feel like there might be a place for you in London? Do you think there might work particularly?

Unknown: 18:25

I think we had the look before the pandemic, actually, maybe it's not my area. You know, I'm trying to be the the sign. I love London. I love a lot of places. I think there's that other people that would would say that's where we should be your everything? I don't know. I know. I don't know the places so well, you know, I know. Yeah.

PB: 18:47

I mean, Germaine Street, really? I think would be your first port of call.

Unknown: 18:51

Yeah, probably. Yeah.

PB: 18:52

Yeah. How do you how do you think about the E commerce versus bricks and mortar? Does it does one play into the other for you and you put more focus into one or the other?

Unknown: 19:04

I think if you have asked me that question a few years ago, I wouldn't say that why should we be online you know, why should we but but today I'm it's a difficult question because I'm really proud of our retailers and we really like to have a good cooperation with our retailers. But our retailers need also asked to be seen on the web, you know, so it's two ways you know, so we need to sell on our webpage and we also need the retailers so I think a mixture between these two is necessary

PB: 19:41

Yeah, have you had to augment the site at all since locked down as in Have you had to put more different things on the site because you know, people will be going to the site more

Unknown: 19:54

I think we have been running this site for a few years now when we get more and more experienced for each year you know, and I think the problem is that it's so easy to put things there so in the end, you can't see what's what's online you know, because that's so many things so sometimes you need also to focus what you put there.

PB: 20:16

Like the the website I think it I like a website where you don't get lost in terms of you don't click on something and you go down a rabbit hole of crap. How do I get out of this? It kind of goes where you your eyes and your brain wants to go and add products is super clear as well. Stevens drums.com is the place to go more, leave a link over on the website menswear store. Okay, okay. Peter, lastly, do you have any? I don't know maybe like a top five shirts that you've seen maybe on an actor do you think like there's cuz I am fascinated by films and shirts, I own shirts from certain shirt makers that have done stuff of Roger Moore and that. Yeah, when we go offline, I'll show you. Okay, fantastic. Do you do you have any? Are you kind of motivated? Do you see, like people that would look good in a shirt and go, Oh, crikey, that shirt looks good. We must. We must do something like that.

Unknown: 21:14

Yeah, I think it's actually what you're talking about, you know, when you see perhaps an old movie or something, you see some details and there's like, okay, and then you starting to think about and then you then you make a test and things like that. For sure, I mean, a movie is is very, very important to to get your inspiration from and at the moment, I'm wearing a denim with the double pockets and like a western style a little more dressed. For me these things. I get the inspiration quite frequently from from from watching a nice old movie or something. Uh huh. Even even if you haven't seen it for a while, you know, you're starting to see it once again. And then you realise Oh, this is cool. You know?

PB: 22:04

It's so what kind of films was there anything recently that you've seen me going? Oh, actually, I like that. Let's get back to the drawing board.

Unknown: 22:11

What have I seen recently?

PB: 22:14

I'm putting you on the spot and Opia Yeah.

Unknown: 22:19

What did I see you recently right now? Sorry, I can't remember. I need to get back to you on that. Because English Syria right now on Swedish television that I think is fantastic. But give me a few minutes.

PB: 22:33

No worries. I'll buy some time. Well, so Peter, it's been a it's been a great pleasure to speak to you. I've always been fascinated by people that design shirts. I'll just pause this real quick and and say goodbye. And then I'll just get my my shout out from one of the films that Roger Moore was in. I think that'll interest you actually. I think that's interesting. I'll say goodbye for now and, and best of luck for the future.

Unknown: 23:03

Thank you very much.

PB: 23:14

You've been listening to the menswear style podcast be sure to head over to menswear style.co.uk For more menswear content, and email info at menswear store dot code at UK if you'd like to be a future guest on the show. Finally, please help support the show by leaving a review on iTunes or wherever you're listening to this podcast. Until next time