SPEAKER_02 0:06

Welcome back to another episode of the Men's Wear Style Podcast. I'm your host, Pete Brooker. Today we're talking to Peter Durado. He is the head of design and creative director over at Stenstroms. You might remember Peter's been on the show before to talk about Stenstroms. He's going to give us a quick recap of the brand and bring us up to speed as to what's happening there now.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

All the links we'll put over at mensworthstyle.co.uk so you can catch us there. In the meantime, here is Peter Gareto of Stenstroms.

SPEAKER_02 0:36

Well, it's my great pleasure to welcome back to the show Peter Durado, Creative Director and Head of Design over at Stenstroms. How are we doing today, Peter?

SPEAKER_00 0:46

We are doing great. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

How did I get on with your surname? Closing. In the ballpark, I hope. Listen, well, Peter, it's great to have you back on. We were just talking uh in the green room there. We can't remember how long it's been since we last spoke to each other, but perhaps give us a little catch-up, remind us of yourself and the brand stenstrums, please.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

Okay, thanks. Um, I've been in the company for 30 years, so I've been there for quite a while. Uh, I um actually started uh when we had production here in uh Helsingborne, and I was a sales guy at that time, and uh then I was working together with uh a guy that worked for our company for more than 40 years, so I must more or less say that he educated me, and I was uh um yeah, I was running out in the factory, you know, seeing how everything was produced and everything. So and um from the start, I'm electric, yeah, I'm an electric engineer actually, so I'm not uh in textile at all from the start. Um but I've been working there for such yeah, many, many, many years, you know. So and uh like I think 15 years ago, I I I got uh to to take care of uh the collection and everything, and uh so I've been uh irresponsible for the last 15 years.

SPEAKER_02 2:17

And what brought about the change from being an electrical engineer to fabrics, textile, and and going on to be head of design?

SPEAKER_00 2:26

At the moment, you know, I um I met a girl, a Danish girl, and and and um and Helsingbor was somewhere in the middle. I'm I'm uh from a city close to Stockholm from the start, you know. And then I I ended up in Helsingbor together with that girl, and I was like 25 years, uh years old, and uh and uh in the end, you know, it's yeah. Oh that's a bit of fate now. So where is she now? Is she still around? She is still around, but not my wife. She she is we have a daughter together, but we haven't uh we split up like uh 50 years ago or something.

SPEAKER_02 3:01

Yeah. Oh well, listen, lots of history there on your personal life, but we've got a for sure. What about Stenstrom Zelda? I mean, people can go online and we'll leave links in the show notes to the website. But when I was just having a recap the other day, I can't believe the amount of history that the actual brand has. I mean, it's maybe you can touch upon it better than I can. When did it when does it go all the way back? And and what have we got now that's kind of linking the history to the present day?

SPEAKER_00 3:31

The company is 125 years old, so it's uh a quite old shirt factory, and we have been producing yeah, shirt from the start. Um, and um there's been like a few families involved in the business. Uh August Stianstroms uh was there for many many years, and then uh after him, um there was some other families uh taking care of the business. And uh now uh Anders Bengton is uh the owner of Stienstroms today and has been since uh end of actually uh during the 80s, end of the 70s. I think we we took over. I remember the exact dates, and and um I've been working there for 30 years now, and um when I started working there, was the turnover was not that fantastic. I think we are like 10 times bigger today than at that time.

SPEAKER_02 4:34

Right. Wow, that's that's quite the boost. And uh, I hope you bring that up at every annual talk with your boss about bonuses, you know. Remember the figures 25 years ago.

SPEAKER_00 4:49

No, but it's it's really a different time, and it's also a different uh different collection compared to to when I started, but but uh I think um today it's more a shirt concept, and um I mean we were a specialist shirt producer, but I would say that we are a shirt concept today, you know, and there are other things that uh added to the collection. We have a knitwear, we have a yeah, Jersey shirt, all these things, and and a few other pieces, you know, so it's a little bit more of a concept today, right?

SPEAKER_02 5:21

Maybe you can tell me about your day-to-day as well, your your job as head of design and creative director there. Are you seeing a lot of the owners? Is there a lot of discussion? Are they in the building at all? Or you what is your nine to five?

SPEAKER_00 5:37

Anders is there, but he he's not uh our CEO anymore, but he's uh taking care of the company, and uh he's also involved in a few things uh concerning the business, but but he he left uh his part like uh CEO at a few years ago to to another guy called Fredrik, and um I think Anders did it quite well, you know, because he he uh understood that there was new technical things that needed to be done, and uh uh I mean Anders is also taking care of a lot of other things, you know. We we built a new building, a new office, and he took care of that part, you know. It's a huge uh building, it's uh 11 stores. Oh, really? It's a big one, and um is that in Helsinki? It's in Helsingborough, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:29

And is that are the shirts made in the store as well? Where are they produced?

SPEAKER_00 6:35

No, they are not uh we we are produced, we have our own factory in Estonia, okay. Uh we had we had that um for many years now, and actually we stopped producing in Sweden, I think 2003 or something, so we haven't produced shirt in Sweden for many years.

SPEAKER_02 6:53

And do you get to go out to the factories at all in Estonia?

SPEAKER_00 6:57

Yes, I do. I need to go there sometimes, and um, I think it's quite uh good, you know. We we have a close uh cooperation with the with the people there. Uh I mean sample production, uh all the major measures are made there, and all these things, and it's a lot of things to take care about there, and it's it's it's quite important to have that factor.

SPEAKER_02 7:18

Yeah, yeah, I bet how was it during COVID?

SPEAKER_00 7:22

Uh that was tricky, but you know, we were not so uh hysteric here in Sweden. We we still worked, you know.

SPEAKER_02 7:29

I went everyone was open still, right? I mean, you guys were yeah, you guys never shut up shop, but what about what about your factories? Did they did they close down?

SPEAKER_00 7:38

Uh they they uh I mean the production was running low at that. I think we lost a lot of business during that these years, you know, and especially for the formal shirt, it it uh it more all more or less stopped, you know. So I think we were quite lucky to have a few other things like casual shirt, uh network and other things that uh that still was running okay. But uh it was quite a dramatic uh period, I must say. When you think about it now, it's just a little bit okay what happened here, you know. But now, I mean, now we're back to normal again.

SPEAKER_02 8:12

So you're quite for yeah. I went the other way with COVID. So I would actually wear formal shirts if I was just having breakfast, you know. I'd I'd get like a because I'm thinking, I'm never gonna wear this like for the next year. God knows when it's gonna see the light of day again. You know, I've got my bespoke shirts in in the cupboard there, so I would get my uh dinner jacket on, and the missus would do a double take. Like, what are you doing? Well, it's breakfast, why not dress up?

SPEAKER_00 8:38

That's fantastic, that's fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

Yeah, and well, then I would tell her what when we would go out, I would obviously just go out in my pajamas once we were released. So I've still got to get the uh the shift back to some kind of normality. Um listen, um P, I want to know also uh the main difference really, apart from the illustrious history of the brand, what other would you say the main difference is uh between Stenstrom's and perhaps your contemporaries, other brands and shirt makers in the same area as you?

SPEAKER_00 9:15

I think um what happened in the last years it's uh it it might may might seem it sounds a little bit um strange, but I think the competition in the area where we are, you know, to to work with the best meals in Italy to still have the good production in in uh Europe and still be offering an okay price. I think that's quite tough today because I mean there are sheep shirt makers that that they're not doing a bad product, but it it's a sheep product, and it's a sheep shirt and it's sheep fabric and everything, and it's just exploding, you know. Just go to Italy today. There are so many concepts, you know, with with quite uh uh it the first look at at least looked quite okay, you know. And then you have all these exclusive small meals in uh or produceries in Italy, handmade shirt, uh tailors, all these things, you know. But somewhere in the middle, or I shouldn't say the middle, but um a premium good shirt, the competition there, it's not perhaps so huge right now, you know, to work with fantastic fabric, good production, all these things, and a shirt that also works well every day, you know. I think we discussed this last time, you know. I I compared it to a car. I think you know, when you go get get a daily driver, you need to have something that you can rely on, you know. You can go for a Ferrari or Lamborghini, you know, but you can also go for something that works every day, or yeah. So I think I think that's that's uh it might seem when I when I tell you it it it sounds perhaps a little bit um uh boring, but I I think in the end, you know, when when when you have a product that works well, it's it's it's it sells well as as this as yeah, and also the craftsmanship as well, right?

SPEAKER_02 11:19

So you can for sure you the the people that you've been working, I guess the the seamstresses at the factories, for sure, they're long-running, you've got a great relationship with those, so it's kind of a I imagine a blend of the two. You've got to have the fabric, you know, you've got to make sure it lasts, people can feel it, they can notice the quality, but then also the the quality of the actual cutting and the pattern making as well.

SPEAKER_00 11:43

Yeah, but I think also our philosophy is that if you take one hour shirt, you know, the interlining uh it's quite soft fuse, you know. We we use quite uh to to wear a Steanstrom shirt, it's it's it's quite nice product to wear, it's not so stiff in color scuff, you know. We we try to really to make it nice to wear, and I think it's a little bit semi-casual, even if it's a dress shirt.

SPEAKER_02 12:11

And has it always been like that? Or do you think it's because people are a bit more relaxed now? You know, we're not seeing so many ties, it's kind of just the shirt and jacket in the in the office and at home. Do you think it's that kind of work from home philosophy where people are wanting to be a bit more relaxed in the shirt than than perhaps maybe 10 years ago?

SPEAKER_00 12:27

Yeah, yeah, but actually, when I started in the company, we had the that kind of philosophy already then, you know. So I think uh I just took the philosophy and and and yeah, more or less copied it and tried to to to make it better each year, you know. Yeah, I think the philosophy was already there, you know, to make a nice shirt to wear every day.

SPEAKER_02 12:51

Are people coming back to buy formal shirts again though? Now that we're kind of got over the COVID bump.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

Uh yeah, I think I think we sell quite well. We sell well on the the formal shirt for for sure, you know. But but I think also the competition from t-shirts and uh knitwear is it's huge at the moment, but but um uh the formal shirt is there for sure.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

And you do made to measure, right? On your side, can you talk me through that process? And and if I was after a made-to-measure shirt, how would I be able to do it using the online platform using your website?

SPEAKER_00 13:25

No, we don't do it that way. We still uh we still believe in uh in our independent retailers, so I mean uh our online business is good, you know, but uh the most important for us is still uh the independent retailer. So I think um we have the platform for online business, but we like also when the consumer looks at our page and then they go to the shop, right? And hopefully, you know, we have educated the the retailer so they know how to to make made to measure and all these things, you know, and they take the made to measure there, and you can select what kind of fabrics you would like to and do all the adjustments that you that you like to.

SPEAKER_02 14:11

And yeah, I looked on your website, there's quite a few shops in London that you can sell through. So is it the same? Uh but forgive me over. I've I've forgotten off the top of my head, is it Selfridges? One of them do you go to Selfridge? Are you no right now?

SPEAKER_00 14:23

We're not there. No, we're not there, you know. But uh, I think if you look at the department stores today, uh especially Selfridge is I don't think they have many shirts left there, you know. It's a totally different business.

SPEAKER_02 14:34

Yeah, um, yeah, lots of um lots of stuff for the kids I've noticed in Selfridges at the moment, they're kind of buying into that book.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

But I think you know, the the department store at the moment they are uh concentrating on um concepts or um yeah designer brands, and then uh you need to have the small independent retailer that knows a lot of the product, you know. Then I think we fits better together with that.

SPEAKER_02 15:08

But getting back there are certainly some shops that we can get to in London, but also across the UK, yeah. But uh I'm gonna be biased because I'm in London. What would be the process then if I was to go into one of the resellers and I wanted to get a made to measure shirt? Do I speak to the guy and they have like different swatches of fabric available? How do you share?

SPEAKER_00 15:28

Yeah, yeah, okay. Um yeah, first of all, I mean it's it's the fit of the shirt. You know, we have uh um okay, we are not we are not doing a bespoke shirt, we are doing a made-to-measure shirt. I mean, uh so you probably would um adjust one of our fits. So you you will probably try a slim line or or uh yeah some some different fit, and then you would do some adjustment out of uh the fit that you're trying, right? And then you choose what kind of buttons, what kind of uh stitching, what kind of uh color and cuff, and all these things, and what kind of fabrics you would like to to have.

SPEAKER_02 16:10

Ah, okay. So yeah, basically it would be uh you have a shirt and you have a block size, and then you might take a dot out here or there. Um, but you get to choose the different colours and cuffs. That's interesting.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

That's yeah, no, but it you really can take the made I well, all the measurements are possible, you know. You you don't uh no no, you don't take that shirt. We we we adjust we you have the measurements, and then we send that to the factory in in uh in Estonia, and then then we make the shirt for you. That's so try the shirt to to see how it fits, you know, and you make the adjustment from from that shirt.

SPEAKER_02 16:46

That's quite close to bespoke, then I guess it's just you don't get the paper pattern at the end, like you would do if something bespoke. No, for sure, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:51

No, it's it's it's more or less a bespoke shirt, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:54

But it's very close to that.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

We can do the most of these things, you know. But I would say a bespoke shirt, uh to compare what you mean with a bespoke shirt, but um, I mean, like you you you you try that and and then you maybe open up and sue it again, and things like that, and that's a tailor, I would say. Now it's uh a factory that's still uh is doing the the shirt.

SPEAKER_02 17:18

And do you get any odd requests? Can you entertain like the lapidus cuff or the the good fellow's spear point cuff that Joey Pesci wears?

SPEAKER_00 17:27

Yeah, we do uh strange things, you know. We sometimes you see combination of fabrics that they put together and then uh buttons and threads and things, and it's it's like crazy things, you know. So but but we allow these things so it's so it's possible.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

And is there a minimum run for these? Like, do you have to order?

SPEAKER_00 17:47

You can just make one shirt, you know, and we will save your measurements so next time we know exactly your your fit if it's if it's a good measurement, you know, then then we have it.

SPEAKER_02 17:57

Pretty damn cool. And you're doing collaborations as well. Well, you started one.

SPEAKER_00 18:04

Yeah, we did, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:05

How did that work out? With that Matthias, the the one that you did in October, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

Yeah, Matthias Lefebvre, yeah. Um he's actually a Danish guy, but he he's um we worked with him for a while, you know. He he always wears our products and he likes our products, and actually he um he knows knows Stianstrom since many many years, you know, and and he likes the product, and then um we talked a little and he has a little bit of uh I would say uh retro style that I would say fits quite well to uh to us and he styles steel in a very good way. I I like what how he's wearing steel strums, so we we allow him to do some some pieces together with us. Uh so um we will have a a collab that uh will uh be launched in start October. Okay, and it will it be a limited run? Will it be an exclusive? Yes, uh limited. So um it's it's a it's a small small capsule that we will be launched on uh right some shirts, some knitwear, some ties, some accessories like scarves and things like that. Nice and a suede jacket, I think, and a few other things.

SPEAKER_02 19:30

I think so. But tell me who Matthias is for people that haven't heard him.

SPEAKER_00 19:38

He is uh he's a Danish guy that um I think he lives in in London and together with his uh girlfriend Cinderella, that's uh I think a quite good singer. And um he is uh co-labing with a lot of brands, but uh he's an influence right, he is uh he's doing a lot of nice uh uh promotion for brands, and and I think he's doing it in a very, very good way because I think this um the style he has in uh everything he's doing, if it's a car, if it's uh yeah something to drink or a per perfume or whatever, it's always his taste, and I think he's doing it quite well. That's why we like to work with him.

SPEAKER_02 20:29

And did he reach out to you or did you just catch him wearing all of your clothes and thinking, huh?

SPEAKER_00 20:33

This is he he he's starting starting to give us a idea, you know. If because uh collabs uh is not that we normally we we haven't done it, you know. We have we have done a few things, but but uh now we said that okay, this is a good opportunity for us to do something different, and and and we turn 125 years years this um now, and uh you know a lot of um times we have done capsules just for the anniversary, but this time we we thought okay, let's do something different, and um so this is a part of the celebration, I would say.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

And how did you get along working alongside him? You're the creative head of design, right?

SPEAKER_00 21:18

So I I tried to stay away a little, you know. And no, but I I I think I must. I mean, when I started working with a product, like like I had this guy that worked in the company for 40 years, but he allowed me to to work and have my own ideas, you know, and to make my own mistakes. Um of course he told me sometimes, okay, let's do it like this, and we we do it like this instead, you know. But I think if I should tell Matthias that we shouldn't do these things, it wouldn't be such a great cooperation, you know, and I think he He he brought actually the best out of me, and I hopefully I helped him a little as well, you know. Uh, I also have two two girls that I work together that works quite close to to me, and they took uh they also have been in this process uh developing the knit part, knit wear, and uh also the accessories, ties and scarves and these things, you know. And it's it's a very good cooperation.

SPEAKER_02 22:25

Interesting. Yeah, it's it's it's it can go either way that when you have someone that's got so much experience, like your mentor, when you first join like 40 odd years of experience, and then you come along, the young whippersnapper, the guy that's going to be basically taking over the reins. You could either have the nicest guy in the world that goes, Great, this is the legacy, let's take it on. You're now in charge, I'll pass you on all the information, we'll do it together. Or you could just get the complete arsehole that basically wants you to make all the mistakes and wants him to wants him to look good by you looking bad. Do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 23:02

Yeah, for sure. No, but I think um I have a very I have very much respect for Matias. I I like his uh way of uh styling the products and and doing his his his thing, you know. He's a good guy, I must say that that uh uh when I saw the photo shoot as well. I I didn't even uh you know I I don't I didn't even take part of that. He's it's actually his process, you know, and I think it's amazing. Uh the photos and the video he he created.

SPEAKER_02 23:32

It's it's oh he's doing his own content around it, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

He did, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 23:36

Oh nice.

SPEAKER_00 23:41

They are really really fantastic. So it's really a cool concept. Um no, for but for sure it's it was not perhaps the the most easiest uh cooperation, you know, because uh he don't he don't understand the process of uh doing the product, he thinks everything is so easy, but but I mean uh for us it's a little bit okay. We do it every day, you know. We know okay, you need to change this, okay, and you need to do this. It takes time, you know. But for him, it's a little bit okay. If the brown is not correct, you know, it takes uh three months if the fabric is not there, you know, or something. But he uh the understanding there perhaps that was the the most challenging part of uh of the process to to make uh the product exactly like he he liked them. But I think we did a good cooperation, it's it looks good.

SPEAKER_02 24:37

Oh good. Yeah, I I had this myself when I started design college. I went to night school and studied design, fashion design with the idea that I can shake up the industry in my mid mid-40s. Um I can do this, it's not as hard as it looks, and then you before you even start drawing your designs, you have to learn about seam allowance, you have to learn what what fabric manipulation is, you know, what is certain fabrics capable of. And then I thought, Jesus Christ, this is hard work here after six months of ignoring stuff. Yeah, I mean, it's like can I not just draw it on like physically? Give me some magic markers and I'll just scribble on it and call it a life.

SPEAKER_00 25:20

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:21

Well, he'll do well to do it to get any bad photos out in Iceland. I was just there. I mean, what a beautiful place. You can get some well, you can even get some volcanoes exploding in the background now.

SPEAKER_00 25:31

And almost, but but it looks fantastic. It's it's really uh it's it's it's um I'm very proud to be a part of this uh concept, I must say.

SPEAKER_02 25:42

Great. Well, I can't wait to see it, and it's coming in October, right? October, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:47

We'll have a launch in uh in uh in uh London, and the week after we will be in Stockholm.

SPEAKER_02 25:54

So oh, so where are you gonna be doing the launch? Do we know yet?

SPEAKER_00 25:58

I don't know actually. I'm I'm um the marketing uh director, they're working on it right now, and I I'm not sure if it's uh settled yet, but but uh I I think it's we we are talking about I think the one of the first days of October we will be in London. Uh that's that's what I know.

SPEAKER_02 26:17

Okay, great. Well, when you're in town, give me a call. It'll be great to catch up. We'll do some coffees and uh I'll bring the camera and I'll get some. Oh good, thanks. It'll be nice. Yeah, no, that'd be great. All right, brilliant. Thanks, Peter. Always great catching up with you. Uh the Stenstroms, and we'll leave the link over on the show notes. Throw out the website there while I'm while while I have you, Peter. It's just slipped off the page. Where can people go and and and shop for the shirts?

SPEAKER_00 26:46

Yeah, they they they can go to stenstroms uh.com and have a look. And uh, I mean we have a few other shops. I I don't know exactly in London where we are, but but uh have a look at our website and I think we have a store location there as well.

SPEAKER_02 26:59

So you do, and uh I'll put it put the link in the in the show notes so that people can find it. Not just in London, but everywhere. Brilliant. Thanks, Peter. Enjoy your evening, great catching up.

SPEAKER_01 27:11

Thanks, talking, nice talking to you.co.uk for more menswear content and email info at menswearstyle.co.uk if you would 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.