Hybrid Styles Menswear At The Helm Gallery, Brighton
- reptilicus
- Sep 23
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 7
Photograph by Freya Kay Jones (@freyajonesphotos). Models, Rux, Barney, Paul and Alex
The Collection
September 22nd was the launch party for Slow Fashion Week. The week not only wants to encourage the public to buy less fashion, to slow down their consumption of fast fashion, but it also wants to celebrate community action, creativity and also to celebrate what Brighton has to offer from its own sustainable fashion brands. Slow Fashion Week 2025 builds on it's previous year's event, which saw over 2,500 visitors attend and was named Event of The Year 2025 at the Brighton Girl Awards.
I decided to be part of the launch party at The Helm Gallery, as it was an opportunity to show some of my designs in a public setting rather than on social media. Initially it was going to be 6 shirts, however, I thought I needed to add something else to play off the shirts and give the brand a better identity. I thought bags and hats.
I had previously made a record bag and I felt the shape and style was practical, big enough to carry my lunch, keys, mobile phone, water bottle and also to carry some shopping. It had one small pocket for my keys but nothing else. Many times, things got lost in the dark depths of the bag or were not easily accessible. I felt more pockets were needed and my new tote has three pockets. So much more orderly! Lined with recycled shirts and denim.
If you have not read my previous blog about the bucket hat, you will discover how this style of hat is a staple accessory within fashion, often an iconic accessory worn by the likes of Run DMC, the Beastie Boys, Liam Gallagher and featuring in the collections of Louis Vuitton, Prada and sportswear brands. A hat and a bag seemed to me to be the most logical accessories to enhance the shirts and to also feed into the design aesthetic of my brand.
see at the end of this blog spot for citations of these three images
Design Aesthetic
One of the most obvious characteristics of my shirts/accessories is my use of applique and circles. Circles have often featured in my past shirt designs. I find circles very pleasing on the eye, and the use of the target configuration is a hint towards the roundel that has been adopted by Mods, particularly in the Mod revival in the 1970's and 1980's. I like making shirts and shirts can be worn by all genders and are ageless, their popularity spanning across centuries of fashion and utilitarian use.
Shirts, like a painter's canvas, offer the space to add additional pockets, shapes, additional detailing, both front and back. I also use squares and rectangles. Colours, checks and stripes are carefully considered and combined to create a visual synergy. Even though the shirts, the hats and the bags all feature circles, a mix and match of colours and checks, they some how compliment each other, even if all worn together. This design aesthetic is what defines the Hybrid Styles Menswear label, alongside the attention to detail and craftsmanship.
Adapting Patterns
The initial pattern I bought had a very large brim, the sizing was strange, so I adapted the pattern to reduce the brim and made the sizing to reflect industry standard sizing.
Like the Hybrid Styles tote bag, the bucket hat is made from recycled shirts and eco denim. The added bonus is you are purchasing two hats in one, a unique one-off design. The hats do not have care labels as the label would ruin the aesthetic of the hat, when worn. There is a small size label.
Sourcing Sustainable Materials: Keeping The Consistency of Design
Most clothing brands source and buy fabrics and embellishments in bulk and are, more often than not, new fabrics. Shirting, buying eco denim is not such a problem, however, the eco denim I usually buy had sold out in the colour I wanted, so I had to buy a different shade. This all adds to the fun of sustainable design and why my shirts and accessories do not come in specific batches and sizes of one colour. This adds to the uniqueness of the items I make. I was talking to a former designer at Maison Martin Margiela, Laurence Teillet, who was Head Designer for the Artisanal Collections in Paris. Designing, sourcing and reworking vintage clothing and accessories for Women and Men. Buyers would ask for this design or that design but they were told we cannot guarantee that exact piece but expect something similar. I have posted a link to a webpage, where she talks about creating the Artisanal Collection. Really interesting and inspirational.
The original tote bags straps were made from luggage webbing, the sort you wrap around your suitcases to protect the loss of contents. I found the webbing in my house, only to discover it was my wife's! She was very good about it, but I had to source webbing from somewhere else. I tried looking for vintage webbing but did not see anything I liked, and I confess, I purchased a brand new 5cm wide French webbing, compromising my mantra of sourcing second hand materials.
When designing for a sustainable brand you still need to retain quality of craftsmanship, stitching and make, but one needs to be prepared to be also led by what materials are available. For the straps on my tote bags, time was against me and I had to make 6 bags and 6 hats within a week and a half. My aim is to source a supply of second hand webbing and keep sustainable integrity. I am not quite using 100% sustainable materials as the Bondaweb I use for my applique is purchased. I use it because it ensures the applique is strong and will withstand many washes and it is easier to keep the applique fixed while I stitch
There is a lot of thought and constant decision making when creating my shirts and accessories. I want my menswear to look well made, innovative, considered, cohesive and sustainably made. Deconstructing and remaking a shirt can take upto 2 to 3 hours.
A bucket hat, 1.5 hours, a tote bag 2.5 hours.
Thank you for reading this article. If you have time, please leave a comment.
Liam Gallagher in 1996. Photograph: Brian Rasic/Getty Images, from an article in The Guardian, August 20224
photograph by Hamilton James, American, born 1946, National Museum of African American History & Culture
Paul Natkin/WireImage/Getty Images
Laurence Teillet
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