SPEAKER_05 0:13

Hello and welcome to another episode of the Men's Wear Style Podcast, episode 36. My name's Pete Brooker, I'm your host. How are you doing? Today I'm gonna be talking to Stacy Wood, CEO of King and Tuckfield, about her love affair with Eco Denim and her current CrowdCube campaign that you can invest in if you so wish. I Bung de Tenorin. I like to think that as a potential shareholder I might get granted access to the VIP section of a King and Tuckfield party. You know, where you don't have to queue up for anything, can you get all the decent canopies before those vultures get 'em first? You know, this is how it's done these days. You get in there early, seize the opportunity, seize the moment. Can you imagine bugging a tenor into Facebook back in the day like Bono did? You know. Although I'm pretty sure Bono might have put a bit more in than that. It's imagine getting that in an email. Dear Pete, Bono believes in your concept and would like to help you raise capital for your start-up. That's brilliant. Are you looking to become a majority shareholder? Uh not exactly. He's got a tenor. In cash, look, you'll sign it. Anyway, um what was I talking about? Yeah, anyway, we'll be talking about Stacy's aspirations for King and Tuckfield, how she's managed to astutely pilot a successful design-led fashion house at a time of austerity. I'm gonna also speak to Beck Lodge's editor at large for Men's Wear Style, and she's gonna talk about her chat with Craig McGinley, him of King R for Fame. He's also appearing in Amazon's Outlander. Talking of Amazon, we're gonna be also mentioning about how they treat their staff on Black Friday. There's a couple of articles floating around the net, so we're gonna talk about that. In fact, Beck's has written in the show notes let's talk about Amazon and if they are bastards or not. Stay tuned for that. But first, you can check us out on menswear style, which www.menswearstyle.co.uk for all the latest fashion and lifestyle reviews and interviews. Download Men's Wear Style from the app store and follow us on the social at menswear style. You can reach out to me or us if you like if you want to get featured on the show by writing in to us at info at menswearstyle.co.uk, okay. Here is that interview with Stacy Wood, CEO of King and Tuckfield. It's my great pleasure to introduce to the podcast Stacy Wood, CEO and founder of King and Tuckfield. How are you doing today, Stacy?

SPEAKER_02 2:39

I'm good, thank you. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_05 2:41

No problem. It's a pleasure to have you on. So, Stacy, I'd like to actually just read off a little bit of your bio from the website King and Tuckfield. Um, and people can go to Kingandtuckfield.com and we'll put all the links in the show notes as usual. Stacy Wood Founder, I started King and Tuckfield for two reasons. First, because I was obsessed with how Denim and Merino can shape genderless shapes from World War II underpinnings to coal mine uniforms and ballet tops, and second because I was always inspired by my family's favourite pastime, which is ballet. The two things were linked from the beginning in my mind. I was never a good dancer, let alone a ballet dancer, but I am dazzled by the intensity of dance, swayed by the exploits of my family through the bleak years of the forties and fifties, and their impeccable dress scents alongside the attire of famous dancers from that era. Fast forward to the last twenty years, majority of fashion brands seem to have conveniently passed on the significance of premium material and provenance altogether, while the connection and the human element between the clothes and the wearer has been lost. Stacy, how does that feel being read back to you? Probably a bit weird.

SPEAKER_02 3:50

From when we first wrote that.

SPEAKER_05 3:51

Since our launch in 2016, we have been accurately aware, in fact, and that slow fashion, sustainable materials and a tailoring approach to every K and T product is finally speaking, uh sorry, financially speaking, worth a little, but absolutely necessary to our brand. We consciously diverted from the successful recipe of safe shapes and use of widely available material like polyester and second grade cotton, and instead focused on becoming commercially sustainable by making the timeless story of family bond part of yours and the clothes you wear. So it's been up and running since 2016.

SPEAKER_02 4:24

Yeah, so we've been in the market since 2016, and um for us it was really important with everything that was happening with the high street, with everyone really buying buying into this fast fashion landfill, all of that, it was really important for us to look at fabrics and ways, ways we could launch something that was different to what everyone else was doing. So, you know, we looked at we specialise in Denim and Merino, which is which is in our bio, and we focus really strongly on British heritage, tailoring, sustainability, and responsible manufacturing. And there are a couple of reasons why we do that. We don't we do it for personal reasons mainly as well as sustainability, but we use um merino wool as it was worn as a base layer underneath the army uniforms, um, which is really relevant for us. Um we use denim because it was worn down the mines, and there are little touches within our collection which bring it all together. So within within the denim, so we use like 14-ounce denim, we use eco eco denim, and we use um recycling.

SPEAKER_05 5:21

What is eco-denim? Sorry to cut you off. What is so what is the process of eco-denim?

SPEAKER_02 5:26

So it's less water, um, less pollution, less toxins and chemicals and things like that. So it's produced in a slightly different way.

SPEAKER_05 5:33

See, I think this is what a lot of the people don't realise is how much water and fresh water is used in the process of making denim, and how much chemicals are used in the process of making stonewashed denim and distressed denim. Um and this is, you know, through a lot of great documentaries and footage that you can find readily available online. I think people are slowly getting educated in this area. So I again I'm sorry I cut you off, but so you've moved over to eco denim, or you you've always had eco denim.

SPEAKER_02 6:02

Yeah, and we've um and within the within the denim we have um what we call pink line denim. So you know sometimes you get the red thread on your selvage denim. We use pink to represent the ballet of this story. So we have this hard, durable denim with this elegance of the ballet. So we c we try like like to juctaposition quite a few different things. Again, back to the heritage of my family. So my grandmother, who was a ballet dancer and very elegant and you know, very feminine and super cool, she used to drink pints of Guinness, which always used to make us laugh. My kind of woman. He saved saved up for a Rolls-Royce and he wanted a Rolls-Royce, much to my mum was not very happy about that, but he wanted a Rolls-Royce, so there's that element of driving of a super super super expensive car, but then also working down the mine. So it's those kind of things that link everything together for us as well. Um, just going back to the Merino as well, um, we when before we launched King and Tutfield, we travelled to the Merino farm in New Zealand, um, which was an exper which was an experience, um, because we wanted to ensure that our merino, we could follow it from farm to shop, and also that it was ZQ'd and it wasn't mulled and all that type of stuff. When I say mulled, it means that the animal wasn't harmed when it's shaved, and the animals are looked after in a in a in a in a sustainable way as well, which is really important for us.

SPEAKER_05 7:32

When you say we, who else, who's your team?

SPEAKER_02 7:35

So I have a team. So my business partner is um business partner slash fiance is um a guy called Giannis, who when people watch the CrowdCube video, they'll see him on there as well. Um, and then I have um Sue who's production development, I have Janelle, freelance freelance designer, and then I have Rachel who's freelance sales. So there's two full-time, which is me and Sue, and then everyone else kind of comes in and in and out of the office. We've got a really small studio based in Du Beauvoir, um in East London, um, which is which is great for us. We don't need anything big, but we do everything, literally everything from there. So we design from there, we pick and pack online orders, we pick and pack wholesale orders, um, we do everything, literally everything.

SPEAKER_05 8:19

As a the brand is so relatively young, only going for two years. What was your history coming into this and what did you bring experience-wise into the brand?

SPEAKER_02 8:27

Yes, I've um I've worked in the industry for around about 18 years now. So I've been building and developing brands over that time. Um, probably more slightly more middle market brands, so Scotch and Soda, um, Samsung and Samsung. I kind of curved my career within the industry. So when I first left university, it was really important for me. I always wanted to have my own collection. And when I first left university, I wanted to um I was like, I'm a little bit too arrogant, I'm a bit too cocky, I don't want to launch my own collection just yet because I know that my arrogance will just get in the way. You know, you're 21, you think that you know everything, you think you're gonna be the next famous designer, or you think you're gonna be paid hundreds of thousands of pounds because you think you've just come out of university and you're the best thing. Anyway, so I was probably that type of I was probably that type of.

SPEAKER_05 9:14

What uni did you go to?

SPEAKER_02 9:15

Uh I went to Northampton.

SPEAKER_05 9:17

Uh-huh. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 9:18

Yeah. Um, and then so I was just like, right, okay, I need to calm down. What can I do? What do I need to do so I can launch a brand and and know what I'm talking about? So I thought, okay, I need to build up contacts like buyers and things like that. And I didn't have a clue where to start. And there was a job going at replay um for a wholesale wholesale manager. So I was like, okay, denim, it's one of my favourite things. This sounds quite good. I can build up my contacts. So I worked for I worked for replay and relaunched their um business into the UK for three years, three, four years. Then I thought, right, okay, so I've built some really good contacts, but I still need to keep that in mind, and now I need to learn more about production development. So I started working for a British brand called GeoGoy back in the day when it was like Pete Doherty, Amy Winehouse. Um, so it was quite early on within within as launching that, and I worked on the women's side of the business. Um, so I worked for there for around about three or four years again, and then um still keeping into wholesale, so I could still keep my contacts. And then I thought, right, now I need to know more business. So I started working for a distribution company that sold like Scotch and Soda, Samsung Samsung brands of that type of level, um, and worked for them for seven years. Um, and for the past year I was working for them. I was still I was working on King and Tuckfield as well. Um, so I just needed to know more about business. So I kind of curved my career into a way and then thought, right, about it's about time that I did my own thing.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 10:44

So that's when I started doing my own thing. And yeah, and the rest is currently history.

SPEAKER_05 10:49

Interesting. So when you start your own thing, you now think, right, okay, are you a designer at this point? Have you got ideas in mind of what your brand is going to look like?

SPEAKER_02 10:59

I knew I always wanted to be denim focused because I'm a bit of a denim geek. So I knew I always wanted to be denim focused. Um, and I knew that I didn't want it to go down the route that other brands were going down, you know, like the high street or over-ordering or having excess stock and just just making not mistakes, but just being being in that world. I wanted something a little bit more premium, I wanted product that was made to last. And I always knew that I wanted it to be something to do with my family. So a couple of years before I even launched the brand, I started looking through old family photographs and albums, finding out more about my father, which I didn't know because he passed away when I was really young. Um, and it's been really interesting finding out more about him, and the more I find about him, the more the more I can then lead the brand down that way. So it's really, it's really exciting. We find out new things all the time. And sometimes I'll find like I just went through some stuff the other day and I found a little love note love note for my father to my mum, which is really sweet, which is which is quite nice.

SPEAKER_05 11:59

So well, thank God it was to your mum. Otherwise you've got otherwise, I mean that was the whole bridges of Mid Madison County. That was that was that film, right?

SPEAKER_02 12:08

But just on the back of that as well, I'm not sure, I know that you know King and Tutfield, but in our jeans, we um so we actually put a postcard in the back of the women's jean, which is a picture of my great grandfather, which was a love note to him written from my great-grandmother. And what's what's um what's really nice is that the day we the day we received our first order of wholesale is the it was the day it was written a hundred years ago to the day.

SPEAKER_04 12:34

Wow. Talk about serendipity, right?

SPEAKER_02 12:42

We're very um picky about how our jeans are made, and we don't want any branding on the back. We want people to be able to walk down the street, look at someone's bum and be like, right, that's a pair of cane and tuck your jeans by the stitching, by the pocket positioning, all of that. Um, so we have um a white handkerchief, branded handkerchief, it just says K and T on it, tucked in the back pocket of the jeans, so people can take it out, use it as a handkerchief, just in remembrance of my father. Um yeah, so we do that. So two nice quite added touches as well.

SPEAKER_05 13:11

I think this is what people will really like about your brand, and what I was drawn to personally is the emotion and the narrative behind it.

SPEAKER_02 13:19

With this day and age, we're able to see that quite easily through Instagram, through social media, all of that type of stuff. Um and we do do we do talk a lot about that online. Sometimes, yes, it is quite difficult if people don't know about the brand. Um, but hence how we put like postcards in the back pockets. We have little um story labels on all of our garments as well. So people can read little stories about the brand too. Um but yeah, it is one of those things that's quite difficult, but we feel that the more people find out about us, the more intrigued they are with what we're doing, and then they find out about the story slowly.

SPEAKER_05 13:52

The problem with how I view a lot of this stuff is how there doesn't seem to be a lot of people that want to buy into this delayed gratification because everything is so instant and so readily available at such a very cheap price. So uh, for example, you know, you can go onto any TED talk and listen to a speaker talk about the detriment of what fast fashion is doing to the climate and you know how buildings are collapsing over in Bangladesh and killing people, yet people are still going out and buying these products. And then right at the end of this video, you'll find out that this guy is actually who's doing the talk is the brand manager for a nice solo or yeah, or Genology, or you know, these people that have have made these wonderful environmentally friendly brands, but have had to spend 20 minutes to get to that point um because they've got so much of this stuff that should actually be taught in schools.

SPEAKER_02 14:38

Yeah, I completely agree. I think I think it will, um, and I think it's just gonna take some time. And like you said, education that's one word that I've got written down here in quite big letters, because I think that um not only should it should it should it be sh I think now now the now the government are really looking into sustainability, I think there's gonna be a bigger shift, but I think we can all see what's currently happening within the market, within the high street, the huge shift which is happening, um, and the whole industry is radically evolving. And for brands like for smaller brands like mine that really do concentrate on how things are made, on sustainability, on um responsibly manufactured garments. Um I think that there's a place, and I think there will there will be a place after people are educated. Like, don't get me wrong, it's it's running running a business, running a small brand when people are still very do have that quick, disposable fashion in front of them is tough. But we're willing to take the long game, we're willing to grow organically, we're willing to to make sure that we do everything in the right way and hopefully it will pay off, which we really believe that it is paying off. You know, just for instance, um a lot of people don't know this, but if you extend the life of a garment by an extra nine months, it'll reduce its environmental impact by 20 to 30 percent. What's quite interesting when I found this out, I thought, right, okay, we have to do something. Not only does our product last a long time anyway, because the fabrics we use and how things are made, I was just like, what else can we do? So we started circle circling our garments. So we recently launched a hand-me-down category online where we can circle worn and cherish King and Techfield clothing. So it's basically like having a hand-me-down, which has been very successful actually. Um which is something we really wanted to do. So our garments are made so well that when they go out to someone else, they just look like brand new.

SPEAKER_05 16:24

So, how does that work? What's the what's the process of that?

SPEAKER_02 16:28

So people can so people have to obviously buy, they have to have King and Chutfield in their wardrobe. So people can um buy King and Chutfield, they can then send it back to us, then we give them a 15% discount on anything, anything full price. We then take that back, we then rework it if it's you know if the jeans have got a hole in or you know something like that, we can then rework it and then we sell it back on our website so we know it's not getting thrown away, it's not going into a landfill, anything like that. It's coming back to us, we can then circle it and we can hand it, we can then hand it down for a fraction of the price. And what's quite nice as well, not only do our customers buy something when they've not been able to get hold of it if we've if we've sold out of it, but we also have a new area of people coming onto the onto the website because they necessarily can't afford full price king in Tuckfield. So it's quite nice that we're getting new customers through that route as well.

SPEAKER_05 17:15

I guess that will also be, like you say, the long game. So you're making sustainable products yet you're only two years old. So I'm I'm thinking that this will be something further down the line that people will be investing in rather than kind of like slow, it's doing well with what we've got.

SPEAKER_02 17:29

It's slow, it's gonna be a slow burner because you know. But sometimes you know, you buy a green jumper, a green jumper like I've got on, and people will be like, Okay, I want to wear that now, but I've worn that green jumper so many times that you send it back and get the new version, you know, the new colour, the navy or the yellow, or you know, something else.

SPEAKER_05 17:47

So interesting. Okay, well that's a great idea. Um I want to talk about the CrowdCube campaign that you've got running. Um, but before that, I just want to touch upon Richard Bidou, the collaboration that you did with Richard. Yeah. So I've I've seen the video, I believe it was Jim Chapman that came in and just talked to you talked to you guys. What I really liked about that video was how Richard was clearly just very invested. This wasn't just him phoning in like a collaboration piece where he'll just go, Oh yeah, yeah, change lapels, see you later, three pumps down the line, he has to wear it. It sounded like he was in there right from ground zero.

SPEAKER_02 18:23

Yeah, we have really similar, we have really similar views um about British manufacturing, tailor-made, responsible manufacturing, sustainability. So it was really interesting. Like I've actually not known Richard for very long. I've probably only known him for a year, maybe a year and a half. And um I invited him into the showroom because he didn't he said he didn't do denim. I'm sure you saw in the video he didn't do denim. I was like, that's impossible for someone not to do denim, it's the most durable fabric that you know, and it's and for me, I was I was just like a little bit taken back. I was like, I've got denim brands.

SPEAKER_04 18:57

How dare you, Richard?

SPEAKER_02 18:57

Like denim, you know, what's happening here? So I invited him in and had a conversation, told him about the brand, and um showed him things that we were doing, like in a tailored way, and he was actually like actually, you know, I love it, and he walked out with a pair of pleated denim trousers, so it's quite it was quite funny. So it's nice to see that he's now again a fan of denim and fallen in love with denim all over again because I think people just think five pocket denim, they'll think of denim dress, they'll think of denim shirt, but they won't think of it in more of a tailored in more of a tailored way.

SPEAKER_05 19:26

I've got uh I've so I've met Richard a couple of times, um he's a he's a super super nice dude. Uh so I have two things to say about Richard. He's obviously clearly interested in sustainable fashion, but not interested in sustaining his lungs. That is one thing that he hasn't subscribed to in life, because I've seen the man light a cigarette pretty much off another cigarette butt. Second thing I'd like to say about Richard, so he's got a dog called Vince, I think, is that right? Um Vinny.

SPEAKER_01 19:53

Uh yeah, Vinny, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 19:54

Okay. Now, I thought about this when he he was leaving uh a press do, he goes, I've got to go, got Vinny at home. I was like, okay, cool, cool. And I just thought that's genius, because if you had a cat at home, no one cares about the cat. The cat looks after itself. If you've got a baby at home, people are going, What the fuck are you doing here leaving a baby at home? But a dog is somewhere in the middle of all that where you have to leave and look after a dog, and people are like, Oh, please leave, go back and tender the dog, how dare you leave it on its own. So you can go to any press event, press the flesh, be there for ten minutes, eat a few canopies, and then deliver that line, and you're out of that party. Hey listeners. So we had to hit pause here because Stacy needs to go below her nose. Um, this is gonna sound a little bit tinny because I haven't got the microphone where I'm editing at the moment. Apologies for that, but it gives me a chance to tell you about the other podcast I do called From Tailors with Love. I do that with my mate Matt Spacer over at Bondsuits.com, and we talk about the brands and the style of James Bond because we're utter Bond geeks. So have a listen to this clip and we'll be back with Stacey straight after.

SPEAKER_00 20:59

They're all look too tight. For instance, uh uh the one that I took on my website when I uh corrected the fit, you know, through Photoshop. That suit was another blue suit that that had some serious problems, and and I just took a f you know a picture of um Dano Craig just standing completely still with his arms uh at his sides, no unusual motions there, just and I mean you can still see that there the suit was far too tight.

SPEAKER_05 21:26

Matt, I love the fact you're going in and photoshopping. I like to think that also in years to come, when they re-release the Bond films on DVDs, you'll be able to go in and digitally remaster the suits in some way so that it doesn't look like they were made for a teenager. I didn't say that, that was Pierre Legrand from The Huntsman. He said that. He said that Bond dresses like a teenager. So you can check that out on iTunes. It's called From Tailors with Love and it's Rudine Marvellous. Okay, now back to Stacy Wood. Stacy, can you tell us a little bit about the CrowdCube campaign that you've got? Going on. So we're we're raising some funds, 150 grand is a target. What are we why, first off, are we going to CrowdCube?

SPEAKER_02 22:08

There's a couple of reasons really. First of all, um to date um the business has been self-funded. So I sold my London apartment, my business partner remortgaged his. So it's things like um uh uh uh things like um new discounts on new product exclusive lines, they get the opportunity to have a product that sells out really quickly. So sometimes product on our website will sell out overnight, especially if it's an exclusive or it's an in-collaboration. So they'll have exclusive um access to 48 hours before anything launches live on the website.

SPEAKER_01 23:43

Cool.

SPEAKER_02 23:43

Um they'll have yeah, they'll have unique discounts. Um they can they'll be invited to parties, um, events that we run, fashion week, all that type of stuff.

SPEAKER_05 23:53

Um so there's that going on.

SPEAKER_02 23:55

We always keep up with what we're doing as well within the crowd keeping pictures, what's new, what's happening. We don't just talk about what we're trying to what we're trying to sell, we always keep people updated with new fresh things that are happening.

SPEAKER_05 24:06

God bless you. Can if you ever have uh a meeting with Tom Ford, can you just pass that on to him as well? Because he does nothing on his site. I check that site out every day for a news, because I'll get a Twitter notification and it's from Tom Ford. I'm like, oh, it's a new high heel chew, or it's the same high heel chew that he had a year ago. I mean, that guy has just put his feet up permanently now, which is so frustrating for me because uh I'm a huge James Bond nut, so I'm looking, I'm just saying anything, anything James Bond related, but he's not interested.

SPEAKER_02 24:34

Um is there the only reason why you follow him?

SPEAKER_05 24:38

Yeah, absolutely, yeah, absolutely. So we're looking to get 150 grand. Um at the time of speaking, we're nearly halfway there.

SPEAKER_02 24:45

Yeah, we're nearly halfway there. Um we've got about 22 days, 22 days left. Um yeah, and so far we're really happy with we're so far we're really happy with where it's going, how it's going. Um it's not it's not easy by any stretch of the imagination, running a business or trying to trying to get funding, um, anything like that. Um but yeah, I think I think offering it to people that really believe in the brand is is is really good, and that's how we really and that's how we want to that's how we want to to do it. We want everybody that's part of us to be or that buys us to be part of us.

SPEAKER_05 25:26

I think you've got a a great collection going on with the website, and you know, I I was really enamoured with some of the stuff that Richard did with you. I mean you referenced the 40s and 50s in there. I I'd say that's pretty much what I was thinking along the lines almost with the Edward Sexton look with the exaggerated lapels. I mean, I know he has a very nostalgic approach to his designs as well. I guess lastly, my question is do you have other contemporaries that you look at with your designs? And do you think, oh yes, I can I can riff off that and that's where that's come from?

SPEAKER_02 25:55

No, no, no, no, no. We're um we we don't follow trends and we don't take influences from other designers, we're really focused on the heritage, the brand story, uh my grandmother, my father, um, and the forties and fifties, and we take the forties and fifties and just put a contemporary um twist on it. And like I was saying earlier, you know, we always look at the judge positionings of a story, but we don't we don't really take influences from other brands, you know. I always feel that if people are worrying about what other other people are doing, they're concentrating too much on worrying about someone else and they are building their own business. So for me, you know, people I I I really love it when I see people that are doing, especially new business businesses that are doing really well. What I don't like seeing is when the bigger brands copy the smaller brands, I think that's disgraceful. Um and I wouldn't copy somebody and I don't expect people to I don't expect the people to copy me. But then sometimes I do find copying flattering.

SPEAKER_04 26:52

There's a part of you, isn't it? There has to be a mini slice. It's like, oh they have ripped me off. That's sweet.

SPEAKER_02 26:56

But yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I don't mind I don't necessarily mind people copying, but I don't I don't copy other people. We have our own ideas and you know, we don't follow trends. We want to be we want to be around for we want to be around for a while with what with what we do, so you know we make we make a product which is durable, it's stylish, timeless, and will last.

SPEAKER_05 27:22

Mm-hmm. Great. Well it looks fantastic. Congratulations and and best of luck for the rest of the campaign. Uh you can find the show notes over at menswearstyle.co.uk, but I I just think everyone should head head over to your website first because it'll be a lot easier, which is KingandTuckfield.com. Thank you, Stacey Wood from King and Tuckfield. Um, we'll put all the show notes up on Menswear Style, but in the meantime, if you did want to just head over straight to CrowdCube and make a make a pledge, then or an investment, it's not really a pledge, is it? It's not a it's not a cult. Uh you can you can do that over at CrowdCube, but it's King and Tuckfield with the Ambersand, so don't spell out the word and, it's King Ambersand Tuckfield, that weird little shape on the number seven of your mech. Right, now I am going to speak to Becklodes. Becklodes, editor at large of Menswear Style. Hey Becklodes, how are you?

SPEAKER_03 28:13

Hey Pete, I'm good. How are you?

SPEAKER_05 28:15

I'm fine and dandy. It was awesome to see you in the week.

SPEAKER_03 28:19

Yes, we did have a little meetup, didn't we?

SPEAKER_05 28:21

We saw each other at a shaving event.

SPEAKER_03 28:24

Yeah, it's nice, actually. A new shop for uh Mueller, the German shaving company.

SPEAKER_05 28:29

Oh my god, is that how you say it?

SPEAKER_03 28:31

I think so.

SPEAKER_05 28:32

I've been saying it wrong all week. I've been calling it Mule.

SPEAKER_03 28:37

Oh no. I'm not sure. I'm just thinking of German I don't know, maybe I've got it wrong, but it could be Mule.

SPEAKER_05 28:43

It's well, M-U-H-L-E, Mueller. I think yours sounds better. They've opened up on Carnaby Streets, a German shaving brand. Uh I recommend everyone go down actually, because it's a really nice little boutique, isn't it?

SPEAKER_03 28:54

Yeah, really nice. I was really impressed with it. Everything looks it's quite it's very small, it's you know just narrow, but it's it's it's very well laid out.

SPEAKER_05 29:00

Bex, we uh we just spoke to Stacy Wood, the lovely valiant Stacy Wood from King and Tuckfield. Obviously, she's got a very fervent love affair with Denim. Keeping on the denim trend, in the news this week, Levi's have opened up a massive store. That is over in Times Square. What is what's going on with Levi's at the minute?

SPEAKER_03 29:21

Well, they seem to be doing really well. I think having a read through a couple of articles and things like that, they you know, people might might not be buying masses of them, and they're actually doing really well, and they're actually they're quite a sustainable brand, I believe. Is that right?

SPEAKER_05 29:36

They had a campaign campaign a couple of years ago, didn't they? Something like made of progress. But what impressed me most about Levi's most recently actually, you remember we spoke about last week the Stacey Dooley Dirty Fashion Secrets, a documentary that went out. When she went to the Copenhagen Sustainability Summit.

SPEAKER_03 29:56

Oh yeah, no one would talk to her.

SPEAKER_05 29:58

No one would talk to her, even though they were there to talk about sustainability, fast fashion, how we how it's fucking up our planet, etc. But the one person that did speak to her was the Levi's guy, right?

SPEAKER_01 30:08

Yeah, that's true, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 30:09

I think it's the people that have got nothing to hide, that aren't scared or don't have any skeletons in their closet. But when Stacy Dooley was talking to the Levi's guy, it's like, hey man, we know there's a problem, we're fixing it, alright? We're on the case, we've got a campaign going. It's good because they've actually seen a a bit of a rise. I think there's like a five percent rise in in the sales of jeans in this last year. So it looks like Denim and Levi's in particular have survived that weird dip that came in with activewear, the likes of Lululemon coming in and creating all of these synthetic materials.

SPEAKER_03 30:41

And Levi's like, you know, as a brand, they've got so much history in the fact that you buy a pair and you can wear and wear and wear and wear them. Like you don't need to buy a pair and buy a new pair in a couple of months. Like they, you know, they're a very durable brand. So um they were made to be, you know, worked in and all sorts of things.

SPEAKER_05 31:03

So um moving swiftly on. I noticed you uh did an article on the Menswear Styles site that you interviewed Craig McGinley, right?

SPEAKER_03 31:10

I did, yeah, I had a really nice chat with him over the phone. That was really good to talk to him just about things that he's uh getting up to and his his kind of journey really, because he's not um I always thought of him as well as someone you'd you'd see him at fashion shows, you'd see him uh being papped, you know, looking good in a suit on a red carpet. But his his passion is acting, and he's come from a background of actually starting out his professional career, started out in sport in rugby. Um but due to an injury he then went into a bit of modelling and then uh he was uh coaching athletes and things like that, and by accident he fell into doing an advert because he was he was helping a weightlifter, uh it was it was a weightlifting photo shoot, I think, for the Commonwealth Game Games or something like that. And the weightlifter was really short, so they're like, Would you mind stepping in and acting as this weightlifter?

SPEAKER_01 32:08

Oh, good show.

SPEAKER_03 32:09

And I was sort of freezing cold, sort of holding up a bar and uh trying to look good, so uh not very glamorous, but it led on to glamorous things, and he's now uh acting as a lead role in the Amazon Prime series called Outlander.

SPEAKER_05 32:26

I read the interview because I mean he's just got an absolutely breathtaking head of hair, hasn't he, Craig McCoy?

SPEAKER_03 32:31

He really does, yeah. He looks good to suit too, which I thought he kind of wore all the time, but he definitely doesn't. He said he wasn't into that at all, but now he is.

SPEAKER_05 32:43

I guess I shouldn't really say this, but I do like the parts of the interview where obviously he's on the blower, he he wants to talk to you back loads, but um he really wants to plug his show as well.

SPEAKER_03 32:52

Of course.

SPEAKER_05 32:53

So you'll go through the entire interview, what does he like to wear? You know, what time of day does he get up? And then you go, right, so tell us about Outlander. And he goes, Yeah. Well I I can't tell you too much about it.

SPEAKER_03 33:04

I when he said that I was a bit like, oh.

SPEAKER_05 33:07

Dude, dude, why are we on the phone? What are we doing here?

SPEAKER_03 33:10

It did actually uh launch, I think was it last week, beginning of last week. Um so I unfortunately it was just before it was launching, but yeah, I would have thought maybe we'd have had a little bit more, but I think it was kind of under wraps, but yeah.

SPEAKER_05 33:25

Okay, alright. Well, best of luck, Craig McGinley. Um so that's out on Amazon Prime. It is okay, alright. I won't be checking that out. Um moving That's only because I don't have Amazon Prime, nothing.

SPEAKER_03 33:38

Yeah, me neither.

SPEAKER_05 33:39

It's Black Friday today, Bex.

SPEAKER_03 33:41

Is it today? Gosh.

SPEAKER_05 33:43

No, we'll well it is today, yeah. We're recording this way ahead of time, but it's Black Friday as this comes out. I I guess some businesses are quite ambivalent towards Black Friday. I know the smaller ones and the independents are. You know, it is a very divisive day, obviously it's a it's an American tradition, and it's seeped its way over here because it's it's done so commercially well over in America and typically through Amazon, right? So isn't it like 60 oh I've got the facts up here. 45% of all Thanksgiving Day online purchases and 60% of purchases on Black Friday are made through Amazon, which are staggering numbers, right? But what Amazon do and what Amazon say to get their employees pumped up around this time is give them the rhetoric that we're bringing people Christmas across the country. Come on, guys, get to work. It's Christmas. Think of all them presents that people are gonna get and unwrap. And if you're working in Amazon, you go f fuck off, mate. When's my next fag break? Do you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_03 34:37

Oh, Christmas elf, yeah. It sounds pretty pretty hectic, but I mean it must be absolute hell working there on Black Friday. I mean, just reading that article, like I mean, every day, anyone who works there, I'm sure, they know they have like timed breaks and things like that. But if you're back sort of five minutes later than you're supposed to be at risk of getting fired and just tens of thousands of parcels that have got to be sorted, and it's just yeah, woof, really hard.

SPEAKER_05 35:04

I mean, in honesty though, when I read that paragraph, so he says we didn't specifically have timed bathroom breaks, but the brake system was rigid. Associates got a 30-minute lunch break, two 15-minute breaks, and an additional 15 minutes of time off tasks. Masturbating basically. If they did nothing for a set of period of time, the system would note and they were off task. If they had an emergency they'd need to leave the area for, I could scan their badge or go back and change their time off task later on for an actual task. But bathroom breaks weren't something we were supposed to change time off for. This routine, the 30-minute lunch break, and then you two 15-minute tea breaks, that's just standard fare in every every production line that I've worked on in my life, and there's been a lot of them.

SPEAKER_03 35:48

I think it's just the way it's very electronic. You know, they're scanned when they go, it sounds like you know, they're scanned when they come back, and if they haven't been doing anything for five minutes whilst they're working, someone has to come and talk to them and ask them why they haven't been scanning packages for the last 30 seconds or something.

SPEAKER_05 36:05

God, that does sound that does sound like your cattle, basically, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_03 36:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 36:10

Have you done retail on a Black Friday? Have you ever worked retail?

SPEAKER_03 36:13

Probably not the retail. I worked in a shop, uh a couple of shops, but probably not where there was a massive like Black Friday sale.

SPEAKER_05 36:20

It's hellish. And it's it came out of nowhere. So when I started working in retail, everyone started talking about this Black Friday thing. I was like, okay, cool. That sounds like a great movie. When's that out? And then they were like, no, no, no, you've got to do overtime. It's like, oh right, are we watching the movie here? And it's like, no, no, it's you gotta really and it was horrible because like in Amazon, like they say, you can't take days off. So anyone that wanted to take a day off around Black Friday, not allowed, it's all hands to the pump.

SPEAKER_03 36:45

It is very we, you know, we have very much been influenced by the American Texas, and I remember it as well. I remember you just you saying that, I remember that when it first sort of came over here and um it started off well not slowly, but it it has just taken off. It's ridiculous, even going out in the shops today. And it doesn't just happen on a Friday, you know, they started the sale started a few days ago, and it's now over a whole week rather than just a couple of days, and I think it can really have an effect on small businesses. Like um, seven feet apart, they did a story on their Instagram um saying that they apologize but they're not going to do any sales, they're happy with their prices, and if they change they don't want to adhere to what everyone else is doing because it means they have to change their pricing, it mean then has an effect on their production line. Um it really has an effect. So um I do I do feel for small brands, and I'm glad it's it's good to hear that they are sticking up for themselves.

SPEAKER_05 37:44

So the first brand that I noticed weren't doing anything completely admonishing this this commercial this odd commercial ritual um was Private Wyatt. So they had they put an Instagram post saying that Black Friday sale 0% off. Um and then if you read through some of the comments on that, um they said, Oh yeah, this one guy goes, Oh, this reminds me of when Patagonia did something similar. They would put a picture on the Black Friday sale saying, 'You don't need this jacket.' So okay, cool. And Patagonia just do so many cool things. I love I don't actually own any Patagonia stuff. I guess people have to make their own mind up. Maybe it is a fad. Uh, you know, it does disrupt a lot of things though, and people and brands have to plan so far ahead with it. I know that I was talking to my mate who runs uh the commercial side over at Base London. We're talking to him like in August about potential collaborations, content ideas, and I said, How about doing some discount codes? And he goes, Well, as long as it doesn't um interfere with our Black Friday. I was like, Whoa, that's in November, and you're thinking about that now. And he goes, Yeah, yeah, like if you want to do discount codes, then nothing's gonna happen in November.

SPEAKER_03 38:47

Some I don't know, I feel like maybe sometime people are gonna get fed up of it, because I think the Christmas sales are only a few weeks away. Like, everything's gonna be on sale anyway, everything's gonna be 30-40% off, and quite a lot of retailers okay, some re retailers are doing 20% off everything, which is of course a saving, and yes, you can buy some Christmas presents, but quite a lot of it is tat and just yeah, it's it's just buying it for the sake of it.

SPEAKER_05 39:18

And uh I've heard also people are just getting very disenchanted with some of I don't think disenchanted is the right word, but they're becoming self-aware of all of the the offers that they aren't quite as good as they used to be. So you'd have to get in order to get your deal, sometimes you'd have to download an app. In that app is a little game, you play the game, play, and you know the brand wants you to play the game with others to kind of have a look for a little treasure hunt, etc. And after all this, you think, fuck man, I've got to get on with my day. There's a life out there, you know. I'm not hunting around for a five percent discount um for the next half an hour.

SPEAKER_03 39:49

I think it's still it still is bigger in America than it is here, like people queuing the day before to get their TV that's 50% off and things like that. I think there are bigger sales there. Um yeah, you know, you can save money, and if you're clever at shopping, then I'm sure you'll find some great deals.

SPEAKER_05 40:06

Um I love I love watching the the videos that come over on Black Friday from America, you know, the people that barn storm all of these uh Walmarts and just fucking go nuts and stampede over each other. It's like something out of that zombie Brad Pitt film, right? Anyway, Bex, it's been lovely having you on. Where can people find you?

SPEAKER_03 40:24

I'm on Instagram, BeckLodes.

SPEAKER_05 40:27

Go seek her out. And it's loads, L-O-A-D-E-S.

SPEAKER_03 40:31

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 40:32

Okay, until next time. Cheers, Bex.

SPEAKER_03 40:34

Thanks, peace.

SPEAKER_05 40:35

See you later, bam.

SPEAKER_01 40:36

Bye.

SPEAKER_05 40:37

Beck Lodes there from Men's Wear Style. Thank you, BeckLodes, and thank you, Stacy Wood, for jumping on. Thank you for listening. That's it for this week. We'll be back next week. We'll be talking to Ravik from Undandy. Yes, he's also got a Crowd Cube campaign. They're all at it, aren't they? In the meantime, remember it's only fashion people, and you're never fully dressed without a smile.