Spotlight: Edward Crutchley

Origins

Born in Northern England, Edward Crutchley moved to London to study at the prestigious Central Saint Martins before joining the Louis Vuitton team in Paris. Eventually, after 13 years at LV, Crutchley decided the time was right to branch out on his own and, three years ago, founded his namesake brand. The main inspiration to take the step came from his boss at Louis Vuitton: “Working for Kim Jones was totally the reason. Kim’s such an inspirational person to work for and he was really supportive of me trying my own thing,” says Crutchley. “I knew I had something in my head that I needed to get out and that’s the reason I decided to launch my own brand.” In 2015, Crutchley showed his debut collection at London’s Fashion East and, since then, he’s put together seven collections and presented at London Fashion Week Men’s.

What It’s Known For

Nowadays, Edward Crutchley is known for its luxury and exclusivity, with the designer describing his brand as “true modern luxury.” It wasn’t always like that, though. Back when he first founded the brand, Edward Crutchley tried to mold his vision to suit the market. “In the beginning I was really trying to do a take on what was already going on, that whole sportswear thing that was happening.” This version of the brand never really took off, and so Crutchley decided a change of direction was needed, leading him to the luxury that the brand is now known for, “I realized that what I make has to be a reflection of and expansion upon my thoughts and obsessions. Also I wasn’t selling anything at the beginning so I thought bugger doing what I think people want. I’m going to do what I want.”

Going into the future, Crutchley is getting ready for his first ever runway show at the upcoming London Fashion Week Men’s, for a collection he describes as “totally bonkers.” It’ll also be the first time that womenswear will be shown alongside men’s for Crutchley, a move that makes senses considering that some of his previous menswear collections have included pieces for women.

Inspirations/Materials/Fit/Manufacturing

In his search for modern luxury, most of Edward Crutchley’s biggest inspirations have come from the people he has worked with and learnt from. As well as Kim Jones, who he describes as “the biggest influence on my work, if not my life,” Crutchley has worked with Clare Waight Keller, the recently announced artistic director of Givenchy, and Kanye West. He describes working with Kanye as “an amazing experience. I’ve never known anyone like him. His brain never stops and he’s like a constant stream of amazing ideas.” Similarly, working with Keller played an important role in developing his brand: “Clare really taught me what luxury looks and feels like. It was while working for her at Pringle that I really started to understand and come to love luxury in its purest sense.”

This focus on luxury is also reflected in the materials he uses, which are a key part of everything that the brand produces. “Textiles are the main way you experience the clothes you wear. They are what you touch and what sits next to your skin,” he explains, “so many amazing things are possible through a good knowledge of textiles.” The importance of textiles to his brand is something that Crutchley thinks shouldn’t be a surprise. For him, “Every fashion designer should be obsessed with fabrics and it’s a crime that more aren’t.” In other words, it’s all about keeping it high-end for Crutchley, even if others aren’t. “We spend a lot of time working on the most immaculate fitting and construction that we can,” he says, “I’m not interested in making yet more fashion fodder. What I produce has to be the best, most exclusive and luxurious product I can manage.”

Highlights

Where to Buy/Price Range

Browns Fashion

From £215 to £1,450

With the numerous amounts of brands out there on the market today, it’s often difficult to narrow down on what to actually go for. While seeing a particular garment worn by your favorite artist or on a set of streetsnaps might sway you, it’s still hard and almost impossible nowadays to find that real connection to a label; where you don’t even have to purchase an item to appreciate the brand. In our latest series called Spotlight, we distill brands to their essential points such as origins, key pieces, fits and more, so you can get the full picture without having to scour the web.