Hardy Amies

Hardy Amies Spring Summer 2015 Collection
‘Interiors’

“We began by exploring a substantial body of work from Hardy’s interior design collection, specifically focusing on the prints of Hardy’s own range from the 1970s and the influence of interior designer William Haines. This formed the beginnings of the story and provided an interesting colour palette to work with.”
- Mehmet Ali, Design Director

Haines had been a matinee idol during Hollywood’s silent era, but the arrival of talkies led him to follow his interest in interior design. After an initial introduction by Hardy’s first investor, Virginia Countess of Jersey (formerly Mrs Cary Grant) the two gentlemen became firm friends, a relationship founded on travel and a similar lifestyle, which is embodied in the SS15 collection.

The pair’s sailing trips on the West Coast lead to Ali’s interest in researching archival outerwear yachting pieces. The Yarmouth Sailing coat, made in Italy by a specialist seam sealing supplier in bonded cotton with a brushed cotton cord collar is perfectly complemented by further elements of the collection. These include printed grid patterned swimwear, luxury espadrilles and canvas double monks; the latter of which are a continued collaboration between Hardy Amies and Grenson.

Ali’s signature unstructured jackets and blousons also draw design details from the Yarmouth and have been given an additional seasonal update being made from a subtle ‘woven chevron’ fabric, perfectly accented by footwear in the same pattern. This seasonal textile was informed by further research into the Haines archive which uncovered woven chevron effect upholstery swatches and wallpaper cuttings depicting a ‘printed grid’ amongst a further wealth of prints, which Haines designed exclusively for Sir Hardy.

The printed grid also features in a selection of seasonal reworked duffle bags, similarly appearing on chinos and suit separates in reworked seasonal hues.
Haines’ iconic colour palette runs throughout the collection, referencing some of his most iconic projects such as Ronald Regan’s White House and Betsy Bloomingdale’s home. House classics are updated accordingly, such as the double breasted jacket in a chambray blue and the four pocket utility mac in pistachio green. Concealed button down garment-dye poplin shirts appear in the same pistachio and a light coral; these softer hues offset with brighter accents of yolk in accessories, knitwear and outerwear.

This bold shade of yellow is also something that featured heavily in the initial archival research.

Presenting the perfect capsule summer wardrobe, the Hardy Amies Spring Summer 2015 Collection balances aesthetics with function, updating the iconic ABC of Men’s Fashion by catering to a Modern London Lifestyle, whilst still embodying the essence of Sir Hardy’s own notorious adage that “a man should look as if he had bought his clothes with intelligence, put them on with care and then forgotten all about them.”

As Ali himself acknowledges, “it’s the ‘forgetting’ that’s the important part.”