Antidote had the pleasure to chat with the two brothers from Australia’s mens accessories design label Winston’s Legacy about how they started, what inspires them and much more. Though they are from way down under, their styling has made its way around the world, one gentleman at a time.
Though your relatively new in this business? How did you guys get started?
We literally bought a sewing machine and started sewing. My brother and I first had the idea back in 2008 when we lived together in London and fell in love with the attention to detail in the English gentleman’s wardrobe. Around mid-last year we decided it was time to take the gamble. I quit my job and spent countless hours teaching myself the craftsmanship of sewing and slowly reached out to potential retailers in our city (Sydney).
Do you guys find any difficulties being located down under? If so what are they?
The only challenge we face at the moment is the cost of our postage to international customers. We offer complimentary worldwide shipping which we think is both valuable and important for a start up. We want to give our customers the easiest buying experience possible – so if it means us paying a little extra for free postage to gain new clients in the US, France, Dubai or Canada, then its all worth it. Apart from that – not an issue in the slightest – fashion is evolving and we want to be at the forefront of it all when the younger generation begin to ditch their surf wear and elect a fitted pair of chinos & a hand-crafted Winston’s neck-piece.
Whats a typical creative day like?
Up at 6:30, straight onto the web with a fresh pot of coffee. We spend the first few hours going through blogs and catching up on the latest trends around the globe. We then ship out the orders from the previous day and spend the rest of the afternoon crafting up product, followed by long evenings researching potential new retailers and preparing for the next day ahead, often treating ourselves to a single-malt.
In your opinion are there any other brands Down Under or anywhere that we should be on the look out for?
100%. Urge Footwear are a massive name here and in parts of the globe – they were one of the reasons we started the company. They don’t specialize in high-end, unrealistic footwear that belongs on cat-walks. They are more about comfortable, versatile, affordable shoes. They put pride into making everyday footwear for both men and women who happen to fit our target market.
Are there any other brands or lines that inspire you, or you would like to work with?
Urge. Zanerobe and Vanishing Elephant would be pretty next level to collaborate with. None in the piepleine at the moment – we are keen to keep 100% of our attention on Winston’s for now before we look elsewhere.
What can we expect this coming year?
It may sound cliché’, but you can expect us to release pieces that are fairly unique. We want to expand our range, ensuring that our online sales continue to grow and that we are picking up new retailers that complement our vision.
Where do you want to be in 5 years
We don’t necessarily want to create a brand that is going to saturate the market wherever possible – we got into the business in the first place because we found it difficult to find things that no one else would be sporting on a Friday night out. We want to grow our retailers and expand our product and really make sure that every piece is crafted with detail. We just have to remember that it takes 10 years to become an overnight success – so for now, head down – bum up.
Who is style policing you guys?
GQ magazine has always been a bible for us. We like to think that we have a certain style that others around us would like to portray so for now we are just relying on our own style instinct.
What are your suggestions to wear for this upcoming season?
I would suggest something relaxed. Make sure your comfortable in whatever you wear – don’t let the Bow tie make you feel like a goof dressing up for fancy dress… wear the shit out of it and make sure you pick up a nice couple of ties. Everyone can sport a navy neck tie – but a cotton tie with a floral pattern or some colour never goes astray… A few plain white tees never hurt either.
What song or track can you guys not get out of your head right now?
Chet Faker – Talk is cheap.
Where is the next travel destination this year or next?
We have big plans for travel next year – we want to include a (leisure) holiday to Mexico, New york for Business and we are heading over to the UK for the Rugby World Cup late next year so we will have to stay for an extra month and source out some new retailers.
Finish this statement ; What we’ve learned…..
Persistence, persistence, persistence. If success were easy, everyone would be doing it.
Are you guys attending a festival this year, which one?
None in the pipeline, we are literally in our little sweatshop too much at the moment, however potentially Coachella next year before Mexico..[spacer] [slider source=”media: 4704,4705,4703,4702,4701,4699,4698″ title=”no”] [vimeo url=”https://vimeo.com/84449961″]