One reason I look for that care is because I think for someone to
make something that's going to last, there is undoubtedly an amount of
love as well as skill that goes into that. And things that last are
important. I'm happy to pay more for something if I see it as an
investment. I would rather spend £80 on a saucepan if it means that I'll
be buying one that lasts. I've always felt that about things, rather
than thinking something is too expensive. I've noticed that the French
think like that about clothes – they'll have fewer but better quality.
Even when I had no money I'd save up and travel to London to buy a
Cacharel shirt. It's about knowing what you want and saving for it. I
have a 1980s Bang & Olufsen portable radio – the sound is so good,
the design is very streamlined and it's visually so nice. Good quality
rides over to everything, though. It can be apparent in something like a
cotton T-shirt that has faded well – it doesn't have to be expensive. I
prefer clothes that get better with age – cotton raincoats that get
softer, moleskin that wears in well. We should respect what it takes to
produce something that is of a quality to last, and I feel we should be
thinking about that now, especially in terms of protecting the
environment. We should be more careful with our water, with everything.
Hand in hand with good manufacture is having an edited approach to
dressing. I like to have only a few clothes in the wardrobe that I wear
and wear. I'm not somebody who has lots of different things (apart from
notebooks – I'm a sucker for stationery). In design, I prefer to get
something right rather than the more commercial attitude of doing it in
lots of different colors. I really don't like that thing of going and
buying very cheap clothes and throwing them away.
Persuading people to this viewpoint isn't hard when you can actually
get them to experience good design. Experiencing something that has worn
well in a good quality material that gets better with age, that makes
you feel fond of it. It's like getting to know a person you really like –
you don't just dispense with them. I don't understand how people can
throw Anglepoise lamps away. I've pulled quite a few out of skips.
probably have this attitude from being brought up after the war.
You got used to mending things. My father always said: "If a job is
worth doing, it is worth doing well." That seeps into you, I think. I
used to love finding something at a jumble sale and cleaning it up. I
remember finding an old shirt at the jumbles and really loving the cloth
and the tiny stitches it was made with. That made me want to be in
control of making something like that. I've always been a maker-designer
in that way, not a fashion designer.
Recently the Made In Britain campaign has been getting louder. On the
whole I'm in favour of it, but I don't think you can put back the
clock. I wouldn't suddenly let down the manufacturing we do elsewhere
simply to be made in Britain: we go where the work is good, it's a
global industry now. One wants to support those who make a great
product. Our knitwear is made mostly in Scotland.
the manufacturing industry to thrive in Britain it needs investment to build nice, light factories. Younger people also need to be employed – currently it is a problem because of the poor wages. Also, good quality knitwear comes from handed-down knowledge, and you can only do that when an older person is teaching the next person to come into the trade. Good manufacture isn't all mechanized. It's about knowing and handling and about visual things as well. It's common sens....
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