Ahead of London Collections: Men, we catch up with one familiar face of the front row–Darren Kennedy. The television presenter, journalist and style purveyor is a man of many talents. Designing for Louis Copeland as part of an ongoing collaboration, Kennedy recently launched his sixth collection for the label. The Irish style aficionado also recently partnered with Specsavers to launch a summer collection of curated eyewear under the name Darren Kennedy Recommends. Connecting with Kennedy, we discuss menswear today, personal style and the upcoming shows.
What initially drew you to fashion?
It’s a funny thing as I never set out to work in fashion whatsoever. Growing up, I initially aspired to be a vet and it never crossed my head that fashion was something you could actually make a living out of nor had I any desire to do so. Finishing school, I started a degree in International Business with French and Spanish and went to the University of Bordeaux so it wasn’t until my early twenties that the idea of working in fashion started to cultivate.
How did you get involved in the London fashion scene?
I hosted a TV show with the BBC so I was spending more and more time in London so when I heard that London was going to host its first standalone men’s fashion week, I pitched up and took a seat. From there it just kinda happened. It’s one of those things that I don’t think you can over plan and it works out best that way.
What shows are you looking forward to seeing?
Topman Design opens LCM and they always put on quite the show. Tom Ford is amazing, not only because it’s Tom Ford but because he hosts and old school salon style showcase (rather than a full on runway show) and he talks through each piece. It’s always very intimate and personal. Coach have been knocking it out of the park with menswear over the past few seasons so always exciting to see what they have up their sleeve. Oliver Spencer is another strong London presence.
What are some of your favorite fashion labels and why?
I enjoy Comme des Garçons because they’re very offbeat, creative and pioneering in what they do. I’m really drawn to that clean Japanese aesthetic and the PLAY diffusion line is lots of fun with its iconic bug-eyed heart logo design. A.P.C for timelessly styled, low-key menswear. The look is casual yet always polished. London based designer Katie Eary for her eclectic aesthetic, that’s often flamboyant and she goes atomic on print. She manages to reinvent her style each seasonal. And of course It would be remiss of me not to mention my own label ‘DKxLC’ (Darren Kennedy x Louis Copeland) a capsule collection of modern tailoring. We recently launched our sixth collaboration.
What do you think of menswear today?
The menswear scene is on fire! There’s an amazing energy, creativity and excitement. Couple that with the fact that menswear is experiencing the highest growth rate of any other fashion sector means you’ve got creativity and finance in one space. The days when men were just passive consumers of fashion are long gone. Men are discerning style aficionados who take pride in their appearance and the industry reflects that.
Who are some of your style icons?
I’m a big fan of Steve McQueen’s style and the iconic masculinity of the 1950’s. David Beckham is always on point and like him, James Franco excels at downtime dressing. I’d love to collaborate with Tom Ford. I think he’s a genius, not only in terms of design but as an entrepreneur and businessman.
How would you describe your personal style?
It varies from day to day and to be honest I don’t overly think about my own style. It has been described as ‘tailored with an urban edge’ which I think is probably fairly accurate. I like to have fun with clothes and tend to gravitate towards colour.
What is the process behind your collections for Louis Copeland?
I’m very hands on and involved in every part of the design process right down to the most minor styling details–from the conception and mood board stage to the creative direction of our campaign. Working with Louis over the past number of years, we’ve cemented the design details which have become a signature of the collection. This season, we use those pillars as our base but push the design element further than ever before with eye-catching prints, in a varied colour palette. Across the range, there’s a mix of fabrics from super lightweight modern wools, silk blends and for the first time, there’s a seersucker.
What projects are you currently working on?
Believe it or not, I’ve already started working on the next DKxLC collection for A/W 16. This year I also launched the ‘Darren Kennedy Recommends’ range of eyewear at Specsavers so working on my second edit which will launch late summer. I’m off to Florence for Pitti immediately after LCM and will be filming content for my Youtube channel, which I launched earlier this year and Instagram. I’ve also a couple of TV programmes in development too including a documentary which I enjoy making immensely. Another big project is to take a holiday!
