Tailor Joshua Kane reveals designs to be as big as Burberry
He has made a name for himself as the dandiest tailor on the London fashion circuit and has amassed a cult following which includes Russell Brand, Jennifer Saunders and Jamie Campbell Bower.
But Joshua Kane has a bigger ambition - building a fashion house as big as Burberry.
He built his eponymous label from scratch three years ago and is so determined to create a loyal business that he even lets staff lodge at his Islington flat as they find their feet.
The designer, 31, known for his trademark waxed moustache, told the Standard: “I just count myself fortunate to do something that I love and wouldn’t choose to do anything else. There are a lot of people from social media and fast fashion, they just expect things as a given - they want instant celebrity gravitas, ‘Oh I’m a designer! Look at me!’
“That whole graft has kind of gone a bit which I don’t love, as that was what was instilled in me. I love that. It’s that older, bespoke way of thinking.”
Kane was on the books at Fulham FC as a goalkeeper when he was a teenager, and he was also an accomplished skateboarder before deciding to focus on fashion. After graduating from Kingston University, he worked at Brooks Brothers, Jaeger, Burberry and Paul Smith, working his way up to become a senior designer.
He hopes to open up tailoring to a younger audience - and he wants his bespoke label, based at his flagship store in Old Spitalfields Market, to grow to rival the likes of British powerhouses such as Burberry.
He said: “I want a unique product. I need to design all my own fabrics, I need a product that is more luxury than any of my competitors within my relative means. I chose not to take any investment and own 100 per cent of the company. Everything within these walls is mine and I intend to keep it that way because that’s what’s going to keep us unique.
“It’s that slightly rock’n’roll ethos of, ‘We’re going to do it our way’. It doesn’t matter what it costs. Our margins are actually very humble in comparison to what we do because I want to build brand loyalty."
"I want to build the next British, home-grown, in-house, designed and made, fashion house that outlives me. It’s a statement of what men’s fashion can be. It’s not about cutting corners. It’s about making enough money to pay the staff and grow organically."
ArticleTailor Joshua Kane reveals designs to be as big as BurberryJoshua KaneBurberryRussell BrandJennifer SaundersHe built his eponymous label from scratch three years ago and is so determined to create a loyal business
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