Guest post: Menswear, British designed and made - Daniel Jenkins of Purposeful Activity

Daniel Jenkins of Purposeful Activity is on a mission to design and supply the best British-made menswear and to support British clothing manufacturers.

Dan kindly agreed to share his enthusiasm with Grey Fox readers. Here he explains how he works the British menswear manufacturing industry, discusses the future and expresses his dislike of fake 'British heritage' menswear.

Dan Jenkins of Purposeful Activity

When I started my own business 6 years ago, the menswear retail world was quite a different place. The journey from then to now has been interesting. We've probably seen the biggest shift in how we approach the way we create, sell and market clothes since the end of WW2.

It has become trendy and fashionable to engage with Britishness and the traditional garments of these isles. This, coupled with the success of ‘London Collections Men’ as a launch pad for new and emerging talent and a magnet to the best known labels to show their wares in London, has led to friends of mine, who care little about clothing, discussing Craig Green, Agi & Sam et al with as much knowledge as they would apply to D&G.

If I’d have known this when we started then I’d be patting myself on the back. We had little idea that this was around the corner. Our decision to support young talent from the UK was initially borne out of a sense of frustration.

I’m proud as punch that we’ve worked with many of the new leading lights in British-made menswear. I get excited when I see press for the likes of Lou Dalton because I see the huge amounts of work they’ve put in to reach that level.

As an organisation we could quite happily have carried on doing that. However, I firmly believe that it’s important to test yourself and try to make a difference in whatever you do.

It’s easy to become disheartened if you listen to the discussions about the difficulty of working within the current British system. Yes, we have the world's best creative talent, great media, ready customer base. But, too often young labels suffer with production issues. That may be because they are unable to meet minimums, or sometimes it’s simply because they become constrained by a system that can be one size fits all.

I was aware of the good intentions of many but, felt that instead of coasting along I had to do something. Why wasn’t it possible to opt out of the current system, manufacture products here, which stood up against anything else available?

My premise is to create elegant, simple, well-made garments using the best British factories possible and to charge a fair price. Then, taking that idea of simplicity, apply it to our business model - forgoing large unwieldy collections, focussing on individual products, all paid for by the revenue generated by previous sales.

This way of doing things is long-term. It would be easy, if not cynical, to launch a quick five-season label, manufacture in the Far East, make a ton of cash and then go off and do something else. Sadly for my accountant, that doesn't appeal to me. I’d rather grow slowly, while building real relationships with factories.

One of the great things about using British factories is that I can be at any of them within a few hours. If I want to try something, I can phone up our shirting factory and a sample will be on my desk the next morning. It's the same with tailoring and underwear. You lose that when you base your production in a country other than your own. The ability to look someone in the eye and talk to them is vital.

All of our factories are wonderfully different, from our newish tailoring & outerwear factory through to our 100 year old shirting manufacturer and our very traditional, yet world-leading, underwear maker. They are all experts who can tell me to stop being so silly, but can also properly replicate my vision. I have no need to challenge them about finishing a seam properly, it’s just done.

They know you want the best, so they don’t bother with anything else. It’s a real pleasure to watch them work. To see skills honed over generations. It leads to a product which I'm proud to be associated with and to have my name attached to.

This morning, first thing, I was at the mill that weaves our tweed looking at their new loom. I’m writing this with a small piece of new fabric next to me that I watched being woven this morning. We might turn it into something we might not. I like that freedom.

Unfortunately, there isn't a “yellow pages” for manufacturers. It’s a case of phoning people, trial & error and frankly realising that your initial reaction was correct. I enjoy the challenge of finding a new gem. However, the difficulty finding manufacturers is one of the downfalls of the industry.

Another downfall, which may become an issue for consumers, is the trend towards espousing high-church englishness but, not committing to British production. I'm a businessman I understand the commercial realities involved with foreign production but, I just don't buy the sometimes-used argument that our factories aren't good enough to produce these items. Covering something in union flags and making it elsewhere places a strain upon those that produce here.

So the question is what next? The last two years has seen a shift away from British fashion’s love of a party. Whether it’s the new financial realities of the world we live in or something else I’m not sure, but, for the first time, you can see small scale producers creating menswear which will be both interesting and (whisper it) profitable.

This is great in the short term. However, we need to change the mindset of the population at large. If we can get large numbers of people interested in British-made basics then large scale producers will return to the UK, so stimulating the economy and creating jobs. It would also, I believe, lead to a drop in the price of clothing made here, making us even more competitive worldwide. Simple really. 

Click here for Purposeful Activity British-made menswear.