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We speak with the stylish gentlemen about his latest projects and his distinctly ‘cool’ personal style
With a keen eye for contemporary sartorial street style, Nick Wooster has crafted a reputation around his modern take on tailoring. Wooster brings to the table an eclectic approach to styling, which is far from traditional with its tendency to involve the pairing of incongruent ideas. For example, the tension of masculine and feminine, sartorial and street, or military versus couture is the reference point for the season. Unusual fabric combinations and patchwork in jackets, pants and shirts are pivotal to his latest collection for Wooster + Lardini.
Following his visit to Hong Kong, we speak with Wooster about personal style and what he’s noticed on the runways this season:
When it comes to defining my personal style - I have no idea. I like to find what I hope is cool? There’s no rhyme or reason, it’s just based on how I feel about the world. It’s classic with a twist. A really distinct twist.
I hate the word “trend”. It automatically assumes that whatever is interesting now will somehow not be interesting tomorrow. There are definitely tatler_stories and ideas that bubble up. What’s interesting to me about menswear and what I like about it is that trends usually go on for a while so if you missed it the first season it’s not like you’re out of luck, it just means, okay, you can jump on this train whenever you feel comfortable.
The thing to me that seems the most interesting right now is this idea of gender-neutrality. I don’t think men want to wear dresses or emulate drag, however. It started with Rick Owens. Crotches have come down, and volumes have increased. From a distance, a pair of shorts can look like a skirt. That coupled with Gucci doing silk chiffon blouses, those are two different sides of the same coin.
It’s this idea that barriers and the provenance of one or the other, male or female, are being broken down. I do think that’s an interesting idea. Is it going to be for every guy? Absolutely not, but it’s an idea that at least can drive something interesting in the business and give people something to keep their eye on.
Currently, I’m working on the Lardini project, which will be delivered in January; I’m working on next autumn right now. I’m working with Cadillac, Bridgebox, Tiffany & Co. this year; I continue to work with United Arrows in Japan. I worked with Tiffany on the launch of their new watch line. Victor Cruz, Marcus Samuelsson, and I were influencers to help start that product. I just got the watch last week.
Stay tuned: Read the full interview with Nick Wooster in an upcoming issue of Hong Kong Tatler
