The result is an ode to the romance and the irrepressible vivacity of King & Tuckfield’s home city, contrasted with a grounded palette and manifested through fresh interpretations of nostalgic silhouettes.
This homegrown escapism was at the forefront of our minds.
Artist Liz Dexheimer inspired our palette this season - her abstract landscapes convey a sense of place that goes beyond any particular location.
Our collection is refreshing and upbeat, with an optimistic spectrum of apple green, dusty lilac, sunflower, and sky blue, which are anchored with earthy tones of rust, evergreen and midnight navy.
Tonal floral prints create a sense of calm as well as modernity, with our poppy apple green floral motif set against a bold evergreen background.
We also looked to our core shapes with a fresh lens, modernising them with exaggerated cuff ties and lapels. Staying true to our roots, we sought to combine the past and the present by taking inspiration from street style and tone-on-tone looks, as well as vintage references.
For our knitwear collection, we sought to build upon the success of our traditional handmade techniques, weaving intricate crochet stitches and lattices into new textures and surfaces. These principles of honest practises, innovative techniques, and human connection tie back to King & Tuckfield’s founding vision.
Autumn/Winter presents a heavily layered collection that explores the concept of timeless style by playing with proportions and shapes in a distinctly unique way.
We hope our pieces bring you a sense of comfort and joy, wear after wear.
This season we explored the roots of our brand, in which two worlds collide. We reflected on the legacy of World War Two, and the strength of character as our forefathers fought for a better future.
And we explored the beauty of dance, admiring the iconic duo Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev, who created one of the most magnetic partnerships in ballet history. Fonteyn and Rudolf are the perfect muses for our Spring Summer collection, which draws inspiration from their natural style aesthetic and the twists and wrappings of ballet cardigans and pumps.
Costume designers traditionally used vivid tones such as red, orange and yellow to create visual expression when ballet dancers performed on stage. We explored this concept, pairing the bright hues with a utilitarian palette of camel, sand and toffee. Our bold statement print was created through energetic brush strokes and splatter marks, capturing the expressive movement and rhythm of dance.
For our knitwear collection, we focused on traditional handmade techniques and crochet. These principles of honest practises, innovative techniques and human connection tie back to King & Tuckfield’s founding vision.
Longevity, craftsmanship and freedom are at the core of our Spring Summer collection. From elongated silhouettes to fitted bodies that accentuate the human form, we have a fluid array of shapes and styles. Effortless and versatile, the garments can be layered or worn separately, dependent on your mood.
This collection of keepsakes will stand the test of time.
]]>To get to New Zealand from London, you need to change more than your watch dials. It takes a few planes and maybe a hotel or two on the way there. Usually, a day or two in Singapore or Hong Kong. And once you get there you realise you are exactly 12 hours ahead of home. Make the mistake of calling someone during your lunch break and see what happens.
I left October 2nd 2014 and arrived 3 days later to Auckland, NZ for a week-long trip to the South Island merino farms. I’ve loved wearing base-layers, middle-layers or any-layers for over a decade, so getting the chance to go all the way to the beginning of the supply chain, was both an honour and an education. I had a good grasp of the technical side of things. What micron is and why a 17.5 is a good balance for technical-wear. Or the process from scouring to roving or how expensive and complicated a merino fabric printer can be (over $1m sitting in an air-conditioned 40sqm room by the way). What I didn’t know was how scientifically precise growing a flock is and how vast merino farms can be. To put it in perspective: the smallest farms are 1 square kilometer. The biggest ones 400 square kilometers. The average ones 100 square kilometers. Basically, as small as the City of London or half as big as New York City, imagining this spread across a varied terrain of flat land and steep sub-alpine mountains. The big farms need helicopters, a few days and few foot soldiers dotted in small cabins found across the land, in order to herd the sheep back to the low lands from the mountains during winter.
In these ragged lands, 700 Merino growers manage 3.3 million sheep and the space available to roam is big enough for them to mate and grow their wool uninterrupted. There is always a story of a sheep that roamed so far away that once it made its way back (skipping a year of shearing that is), it was carrying its weight in wool. To say that Merino sheep are hardy, is an understatement. They are well suited to the high altitudes and mountainous landscapes, where temperatures can range from 35°C in summer to -15°C in winter. And that’s what makes merino fabrics so unique. It is breathable, naturally fire resistant, odour resistant, a temperature regulator, it provides UV protection and is 100% biodegradable, to allow for the animal to “wear” it – so to speak - forever. These attributes are not added during manufacturing but come from Merino wool’s natural characteristics.
During my trip 4 years ago (or 1 year before K&T launched), I visited 3 farms, practiced 10 seconds of shearing (and failed), had long conversations over dinner in a couple of these small cabins with a number of scientists, growers and fabric suppliers and got even more excited about this miraculous fibre, designed by nature and not by engineers like myself. For thousands of years, nature has been carefully crafting the original performance fibre, to allow sheep to breathe and live. And once wool is shed it biodegrades almost 90% in 12 months and 100% a few months later. Engineered synthetic yarns might be cheaper, but not as resilient, super soft, thermoregulating or environmentally friendly as merino. And they are certainly smellier after one wear.
The purpose of my trip was two-fold. First was to verify the origin of the wool that King & Tuckfield was to source. Things like farming system sustainability and animal welfare. The second was to introduce the brand to the farmers, explain the reason it started and outline demand plans. Merino was and continues being the central fabric to King & Tuckfield’s backbone story.
There are 4 stages of production between grower and brand. Topmaker, spinner, weaver and of course garment maker. 8 in total if you count brokering, combing, treatment and dyeing. And independent bodies in all merino countries (Australia, New Zealand, S. Africa, Argentina and Uruguay), that facilitate and verify the transactions between all this supply chain and the brands. So, to be able to spend a few days with representatives from these stages was time well spent for all. Having visited more than 20 countries and over 50 mills and factories through my sourcing career, I never had the luxury of time or the opportunity to sit down and talk with representatives from the chain of custody, bringing to life what I have only experienced as a flowchart. This very trip is a testament to how transparent and caring towards the environment the merino wool community is.
Livestock farming and ranching is not easy. It is physically demanding, the hours tend to be long and there are no vacation days. Many factors which cannot be controlled such as weather, disease challenges, and predators can impact livelihoods. In spite of these challenges, farmers raise livestock out of a labor of love and an inborn fondness for animals.
The King & Tuckfield merino product traces its way back to some of these NZ farms I visited. I cannot say for sure if the top you’re wearing originated from the wool growing at the back of this little fella, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it does, given the life expectancy of a sheep on these farms.
"Even if I didn’t know Stacey, I would absolutely still be a super fan customer! I feel so lucky when we can work together. Stacey and her team are dedicated in creating quality garments that are timeless. I resonate with the considered backstory to the collections, encompassing personal stories and historical references, as I work in a similar way when designing with flowers. Understanding the brand’s DNA helps me to instinctively know what will work when binging flowers into a shoot or installation. It’s a pure dream from beginning to end".
Hazel Gardiner - holding dried Statice Sinuata
Hazel Gardiner is a London based floral designer, gardener and broadcaster. After surviving a rare cancer diagnosis over a decade ago, she founded a vintage clothing business, leaving behind a successful career in TV production. Her company was a quick success, but she began to yearn for a career in the horticultural world. During her recovery from illness, she designed and cultivated her own garden for the first time. After experiencing the mental and physical benefits of planting, growing and working with the changing seasons, a new passion was ignited. Wanting to explore this further, she re-trained in floristry in 2016. Hazel Gardiner Design was founded shortly after.
Hazel has established her own narrative in floral design often fusing fresh, paper, silk and dried materials. This signature style is a celebration of colour, movement and texture and her sought-after floral storytelling has led to work with internationally renowned brands including Nike, Elemis, Matches and SpaceNK. Hazel and her team provide a wide range of services from large scale events to intimate weddings to virtual workshops.
She is passionate about promoting seasonality and works with British flower growers where possible. Hazel is an advocate for sustainable floral methods and the promotion of diversity within the industry. Her favourite flowers are the tall, showy stems of delphiniums and foxgloves.
See more of Hazel's creations on hazelgardinerdesign.com
]]>This season is a tale of two halves. The early part was dreamed up in the King & Tuckfield studio in East London and was inspired by the elegant and discreet colour palettes Stacey remembers her parents wearing when she was a childThe latter part speaks to the situation the brand found itself in: London during lockdown. The resurgence of love for the capital’s parks, its greenery and the awakening of nature in the absence of traffic and pollution was palpable.
The result is an ode to the romance and the irrepressible vivacity of King & Tuckfield’s home city, contrasted with a grounded palette and manifested through fresh interpretations of nostalgic silhouettes.
In both menswear and womenswear, vintage cuts are complemented with considered details such as contrasting collars, balloon sleeves and shoulder pleats. The seasonal floral print has been designed using hand-painted water colours and features bright background hues to emphasise each brush stroke, at once delicate and dominant, hopeful and reflective to mirror the emotions associated with designing a collection during a global pandemic.
The collections are melting pot of pieces which find synthesis with the other through their luxurious fabrications which have been responsibly created and crafted. King & Tuckfield’s signature 100% sustainable Merino Wool features alongside cotton Tencel from Japan, double-dyed indigo from Italy, lightweight sheer Cupro and a biodegradable material which is produced using rose bush waste.
Spring/Summer 2021 is a collection that celebrates the joy of clothes, from their inception to creation, designed to provide the ultimate conscious wardrobe for people to revel in when socialising resumes.
]]>We launched in 2016 aiming to create product that lasts a person's lifetime. So, every time we design a new collection a lot of thinking across material, trims, make-up and even how this collection will transcend seasons and styling comes into play. Take our Smart Jeans for instance, where aside from being a casualwear staple it can be a versatile addition to your smart wardrobe anywhere and as often as you want.
In simple terms we design assuming a long-lasting product that will endure and create a history of its own. And we want our customers to wear and cherish our product the same way our parents and grandparents use to buy and wear clothes. And once you grow out of them we want you to hand them down the same way we used to wear our elder siblings clothes.
For this reason, we decided to launch our Hand Me Down category for Men and Women exclusively online, where you can return your pre-loved King & Tuckfield product and once we inspect it we will offer a 15% discount towards your next online purchase of any one full price item.
Extending the life of a garment by an extra nine months reduces its environmental impact by 20-30%. It also makes you happier knowing you invested in a lasting product that will continue it's journey on someone else's wardrobe with the net result of less consumption and better life for all.
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British manufacturers offer short lead times, cost savings on both transportation and production minimums, proximity to manufacturing facilities and quality control for the designer from beginning to end. There is, however, a challenge there. Today, only 8% of the clothes we wear are made in the UK, for the simple reason that there are not many factories left in the UK to begin with. A direct result of gradual manufacturing outsourcing to lower cost countries since the late 1980s, where there are obvious commercial benefits and great factories championing sustainability, working conditions and efficiency. And they are mostly cheaper than the UK. But cost is only a third of the issue.
Imagine a triangle with Fast, Cheap and Good on each point of the triangle. If you want something fast and cheap, it will not be good. If you want something good and cheap, it will not be fast. And if you want something good and fast, it will not be cheap. The mistake a lot of brands make is wanting fast, cheap and good. What we know from years of sourcing material and factories from all over the world, is that such thing is not achievable. Not even realistic. Any factory in the world when asked to make something good, will always spend time making it and this is not going to be cheap. Maybe cheap-er if you make it outside the UK, but not cheap per se.
We take a different approach. We start with the UK, because we know English factories have some of the best skills. A history of tailoring from the 19th century and a number of manufacturing facilities across the UK established in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s, might be nascent but not lost. There is a pool of craftsmen that emigrated from Egypt, Greece, Bangladesh, Turkey - countries with a rich heritage in garment making - in order to settle in English factories years ago. These craftsmen didn't just bring their suitcases along, they brought knowledge in handling tricky fabrics and industrial-size machines.
We seek out these factories (far and few in between admittedly) and we spend time together before the first stitch goes through. For use of a better word this is a DNA-matching stage, between the factory and King & Tuckfield. Do they get our brand story? Do we get their expertise? Is sustainability on their agenda? Do they take pride on what they deliver? No style in our collection is the same as the next one and sometimes we sit with the machinist, change settings or even whole machines (like the riveting machine) and run tests until both us and the factory are happy.
It takes a particularly resilient factory owner with a team of machinists, fabric cutters and quality controllers willing to make changes. The British are by far the best at that. Reasonable, confident, honest and with a dose of respect for the new.
We started King & Tuckfield with a single-minded belief: What you wear says a lot about who you are and where you've come from. We make product in a way that reflects that belief and if there are no obvious solutions when making a product that lasts, we will create them or we will not create the product.
“So what else, beyond jackets, can we do for you? We can make trousers if you want to give us some insight on your thread count”. The next day we spent 3 hours with Alex handing over our tech-packs and sketches for our next season's womens balloon trousers. There is a tricky part on them. Good.
By Yannis Boutlas, October 2017
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