An Interview With Albam : Crafted Clothing........ by Shaun Dangerfield.

Albam clothing. A name that runs from the tongues of Casuals, Dressers, Business men and Fashionistas alike.

There was a bit of chit chat on an internet forum I use regarding a new breed of British labels that have graced us within the past few year's.

Obvious choices from Heritage Research and Universal Works made the grade but to stand the test of time Albam were the first thought in my head with a continuous crafted line of clothing that seems to get better each year.

A good grip on the market and on what certain individuals want from their clothing they never fail in impressing me with various stand out pieces that will see the test of time unlike those who have jumped onto various wagon's and made things "Fashion" in what feels like one big cross over mash up from various labels who seem to be lost in the game.

Albam's bi-fold wallet's and various canvas tote bag's in the making.....

Albam was born in 2006 and has continued in reaching out to various soul's of good taste. With some great outerwear of recent time's they excelled in the releasing of the Fisherman cagoule's, Hillwalker parkas, and Alpine ventile jackets. Obviously everyone will have their own personal highlight's of a label but for me their shirting and Japanese denim is sublime, from their workwear denim to the selvedge denim chino's they are items you can add to your wardrobe and will wear continuously and age beautifully.

Without wanting to sound biased of a certain area Albam's knitwear is again outstanding in craftsmanship and quality from fine knit to waffle cardigans and heavy shawl collar effort's.

Albam's Alpine ventile jacket inner showing the taped seam's and their iconic Fisherman cagoule sketch's.....

Being quite passionate about their clothing I caught up with James from Albam who has kindly taken time out for a short interview with me.

Q. Firstly thank you for taking time out for us it's nice to get an insight into the things we love.

As labels and trends come and go in various forms it's refreshing to see a label still making clothing that they believe in and have not lost focus of their market or try to cash in on the way fashion has gone and tied itself in with a host of other label's who seem happy to cash in on the current trends of work and outdoor wear.

We were discussing Albam on one of the clothing forums I post on and everyone was in agreement on how Albam worked, you don't seem to bring out collection's as such but individual pieces that stand the test of time as there does not seem to be a shelf life with your clothing. Do you concentrate more on getting certain pieces right before you move on to the next and hence only bring out a handful of items at a time ?

A: Not a problem at all, the questions are all good to answer! The way we do things has evolved since we started in 2006 but we are always trying to stick to our principles of designing and producing a garment that is simple, timeless, from great fabrics and at a price that is reassuring rather than highly priced to give it a cache. The latter is very difficult when prices of the raw materials is increasing, but we are committed to using great ingredients (materials, manufacturing) in our products so it stands the test of time.

In terms of design the whole team and our customers influence what we do and as a result the Albam influences are diverse from workwear, technical outerwear (which is something I can wear personally when out climbing) tailoring, bench made shoes, wardrobe basics, modernism, crafted products etc etc. I think this allows us to touch on items that might be on trend without going the whole hog into a look. I was in our Beak Street store today and customers are varied but they seem to have one shared obsession which is for buying a well made garment but wearing this in their own style. It can take us a long time to get something right and often it takes longer than planned, but we are a small team and want to get things as right as we can before getting it into stores. Our newly delivered Japanese made shirts have taken about 6 months longer than originally planned but we are really pleased with the result.

What it means for the stores is that our style evolves continuously and for our customers they can dip in and out which we really like. But when it is gone then it is usually gone!

Q. Going back to my original point the majority of your clothing seems timeless, what I love about your clothing is that I can pull on one of your carpenter shirts from a couple of seasons ago and it looks like I have just bought it and is part of a continuous line, unlike other labels fashion collections your vision seems to be very focused on great modern clothing and I have noticed a few copying your designs. The Fisherman's cagoule for starters, does this flatter you that other's seem to be copying some of the style's what you have put out there ?

A: Personally I think clothes get better the more you wear them. Great fabrics just get better with age, denim, wax cotton, shirting cloth, shoes. And that gives the garments a timelessness for your wardrobe. One of our benchmarks is that we don't want someone to look like they are wearing head to toe Albam from the standpoint of how the garments are made. That is why we use specific factories for specific garments and play to their strengths rather than dictating and removing this handwriting. We were sorting out our archive in the studio and it is really interesting to see garments that we first produced and those now. Sure, we have learnt and are still learning a massive amount but the garments ring true to this benchmark. Simply put, if the garments get better and better then you will want to wear them more and more!

Albam is a young brand, we are 4 years old and our influences as mentioned in the last question are diverse so we want to put this out there. We are always looking into the past at military, outdoor gear etc but we are not a reproduction brand or want to put out a single look that has a time limit on it. How we design is all we know and a reason that we have our studio in Nottingham so we don't just walk around the stores in London and get ideas that way. Trends are a funny thing as they are felt so of course they cross over with other brands. The cagoule is something that crops up every now and again but we are looking forward and just keeping moving.

Q. What goods have you got planned for us due out this spring and summer ? I am personally waiting for the Ventile jacket and ripstop nylon windcheater, I like that about you though, your pictures and words keep us guessing until something is released.

A: The windcheater is the next piece out, something that has taken a bit longer than planned and then hit the snow etc so we held it back. Lovely piece, some simple details and great for layering. There is a new Ventile piece which again we took a bit longer to get right, it is a longer parka style which I am really looking forward to.

Spring/Summer is a strange season for us because people want shorts and T Shirts which takes away the excitement sometimes, but we have got some new jersey silhouettes coming out and are working away on washes and details on these to give some other great pieces. There are a few lightweight outerwear styles influenced by the Ivy League colleges but can be made a bit sportier or classic depending on how you put them together. We have some brilliant developments on our footwear which give our footwear a new line. Bench made in England but we have pushed a technical side.

And I keep forgetting about the SS trail parka, based on the AW10 version but in a new lightweight beeswax cloth that we have developed the base fabric on and in some reminiscent colours!

Q. Something else we like about Albam is the short runs of clothing you do, it's very much a case of when it's gone it's gone, even now your Fisherman cagoules and Hillwalkers go for as much as your original r.r.p or more in some cases.

As others keep re-releasing their own classics or bringing them back out season after season we love your approach and new ideas, do you have plan's to make sure you release new pieces instead of regurgitating older design's and keeping thing's fresh each season ?

A: The short runs! The most flattering thing and I say this in all honesty is that our customers work 5 days or more a week and then want to buy and wear the styles that we design and produce. I just think that if this happens then why do you want to see everyone wearing something that you have bought. A few people maybe but not a whole army. We owe that to our customers. It is crazy to think that people buy and sell what we do amongst themselves. Crazy in a good way!

We have our core styles, jeans, sweatshirts, T shirts that we produce consistently because these are basics and we have a number of shirt blocks that we use throughout the year to give consistency to fits etc for customers. Then we get stuck into new ideas, from a business point of view we should just make more of the same garments but we have more ideas than time in the day so lets bring these out. Of course if customers keep asking for a particular garment then we do remake although in an evolutionary way updating certain details. The Fisherman, Hillwalker and Trail Parka are examples of these but they have allowed us to develop the Ventile styles so it is a bit of give and take. We are not bankrolled by a big corporate (and with no intention to be).

Q. You seem to be getting bigger as each year passes, can you see the variety of people who buy into your clothing ? I was in Cardiff a few month's ago at a Backroom night (house/techno) and got talking to a good fella who co-runs the night, purely by chance as I noticed he was wearing your jude check shirt, he was amazed I knew what it was and it definitely got me thinking on what a wide background of individuals you have buying into your clothing, obviously you know your clientele and from business men and lads at the football, ravers, fashionistas and rich kid's it's quite a big click don't you think ? there are not many label's in my opinion that scan over those very varied walks of life, that must make you happy ?

A: We are working hard and we need to grow steadily to be able to develop the range and brand. When we look back it is very strange for us as it has happened organically and we are pleased although see all the areas that we want to improve all the time!

Customer wise we have a very diverse base. I think it is great but again as a brand we are diverse in our outlook. What we try and do is remain consistent in our quality, attention to detail and design ethic irrespective of what the garment is that we are designing. Guys are attracted by the details of a garment, the authenticity and we aim to do this but with a design base that attracts customers from all the backgrounds you mention and more.

Q. Can you give me an insight on where you are going to take Albam ? it must be very exciting having 3 shop's open, is the world your oyster ?

A: There are many plans for Albam but only a few happen. At the moment we are learning and I would like to think getting better with each season. We are working on a way to explain our diversity but in a way that makes sense. No diffusion ranges, or watered down versions of Albam, just a way that brings together all the elements and facets of what we do. That might mean our stores have varying product or an emphasis on certain items more than others but it is most definitely Albam.

This will sound a cliche but times are exciting within Albam and in general. Of course we would like to have more stores but we are not going to rush, just take our time, keep improving and we will find our natural size over time.

Q. What outerwear do you have planned for the future ? it's something I wait for each year, I look forward to seeing what your bringing out in the hope that some time in the future you reveal this amazing apple green waxed hooded fishtail full length parka with chambray inner, there is definitely room in my humble opinion in this big bad world for such a jacket, hint hint, but what outerwear do you have in the pipeline ?

A: There are lots of styles, some of which will tick your requirements! Tailoring, technical, casual. Jackets we could just go to town on if the business would allow!

Q. I enjoyed the Factories publication, do you have anything new due for release ? with all the fantastic colour's and texture's of various item's you have produced like the waffle knitwear, tight knits, striped sweater's, Japanese denim, waxed cotton and the like I would love to see a photo or picture collection collating your past clothing, something showing where you have come from and to where you are at now, there is definitely an increase in people buying back into publication's, fanzines and book's, with all the filtering through of various niche clothing publication's like The Inventory, Lightning, Free & Easy and Oi Polloi's Rig Out is it something you see yourselves branching out into but with more insight into Albam, like an upmarket fanzine ?

A: Factories was a long term project with John. Something slightly more art based. But for Albam it set the stall out as to the top level of the brand. From this we have a huge photo collection that we are wanting to collate and get out to our customers but we are working on the medium. Our archive is also being catalogued and we are sorting through styles that we want to capture and include our customers who have those items, be it outerwear, denim, footwear etc. So there are some things that we have planned for 2011. In terms of fanzines, the publications that you mention are fantastic, all of which are on the coffee table at home. We are a single brand and if we were to do a fanzine on us then it is a bit more of a vanity project unless it has substance like rig Out, Inventory. Never say never but these guys a doing a great job and we wouldn't want to put something out that looks a bit wanky and not as good!

Q. The last thing I have to say is not so much a question but a compliment, I love how you keep thing's quite personal, you keep in touch through email and your blog and it's the little thing's that count certainly for me and others who I speak to, from day one when I started buying your item's you have always sent a handwritten note in each parcel no matter how big or small the order is, we like this as it makes Albam as a whole feel grounded and is one of the reason's why the likes of myself keep coming back to you so thank you and good luck with everything in the future.

A: A handwritten note is the least we can do if you guys are supporting us. We thank you and everyone that likes what we do and shops with us. It is a two way thing and we enjoy it. Thanks for the questions and thinking about us!

James, Albam Clothing.

Hope you enjoyed that, Shaun.