Craig Green Reveals His Softer Side in Milestone ‘Double’ Collection
LONDON — Craig Green is discreetly marking the 10th anniversary of his business this year with a double collection that’s unusually soft-edged, with floppy knitwear, tactile surfaces and an overarching theme of intimacy.
He hasn’t lost his playfulness at all.
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In fact, he might as well be 10 years old what with the colorful, floor-grazing sweaters worn like teepees; pointy elfin caps, and voluminous ponchos inspired by striped shop awnings, some with room for two.
There’s a whole series of cropped jackets, trousers and even hats made from bits stitched together with thick lacing “just like a Meccano,” said the designer, referring to the construction sets that kids can use to make cars, motorbikes or dinosaurs.
He’s even reworked an Adidas Gazelle, wrapping an abacus-like structure around it, complete with sliding beads, and given some models crash test dummies — like big stuffed dolls — to hold in the photos.
In an interview, he described the collection as being about “the individual, and human interaction” adding that he was eager to explore a softer side.
“We’ve never really done that before. Everything has been very hard and constructed. Now we’re just allowing things to be as they are, to fall, drape and do what they want to do,” said the designer, who also worked muslin and calico into hand-frayed shirts with 3D stripes.
Half is dropping now into stores with the second drop in six months’ time. Key pieces available this season include the Tapestry jacket and trousers; the hand-frayed striped shirt and trousers, and the latch-down jacket — alongside the brand’s signature items such as the Uniform jacket and trousers, workwear shirts and quilted worker jackets.
Key stockists include Dover Street Market globally, Ssense, Selfridges, Harrods, Bergdorf Goodman and SKP.
Green is feeling a similar sense of freedom as he marks the big milestone. He moved his show to Paris pre-pandemic, but hasn’t shown on the city’s runway for the past year, although he’s been selling in the showroom.
Green said it’s likely he’ll return to the runway, but wanted to take a step back, reassess his approach and do something different.
“For me, it’s an end and a new beginning. In one way it feels like I started two years ago, and in another it feels like 100 years ago. It’s important to be conscious of the world, and to adapt in the right way,” said Green, although he didn’t offer up any details.
He may be looking ahead but he’s also honoring the past. The crash test dummies were made with help from his godfather, a professional upholsterer and the man who first taught him how to sew.
The doll-like structures, he said, are a nod to his history building architectural constructions around his designs — some seasons they resembled airplanes or temporary housing, while for spring 2023 he added suitcases, ladders, stirrups and parachutes to his tailored workwear designs and dramatic coats and capes.
Green staged his first show in 2013, a year after graduating from the fashion M.A. course at Central Saint Martins. He was the winner of the Men’s Wear Designer prize at the British Fashion Awards in 2016 and 2017 and the BFC/GQ Designer Men’s Wear Fund prize in 2016.
In June 2018, he was the guest designer at Pitti Uomo and before he moved his show to the Paris schedule, pre-pandemic, he was the hottest ticket at London Men’s Fashion Week.
In the past, he’s also turned his hand to films, creating costumes for the characters in Ridley Scott’s “Alien: Covenant” that were based around his fall 2015 collection. Actors wore Green’s hand-twisted jersey, long johns, skin-tight clothing and quilted vests in the movie, which was released last year.
His company is also a rare beast in London: a decade old, financially stable and independent. “We do our own sales, production and distribution — and we enjoy doing things our own way,” Green said.
More collaborations are in the pipeline for 2024. His six-year stint collaborating with Moncler Genius ended amicably, and he continues to work with Adidas and sell through retailers including Selfridges and Dover Street Market stores worldwide.
Green said some of those new collaborations are creative but “outside fashion,” and he didn’t rule out designing womenswear in the future. “We’re still working things out,” Green said when asked about the prospect.
He’s also thinking of more ways to mark the anniversary, possibly with a show of looks from the archives later this year.
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