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| Cast & Lane cotton pique shirts |
I was impressed with their fit, quality and construction and even tried one with a casual tie, which worked well - ideal at a time when men are looking for smart, quality but comfortable styles of clothing. Keen to know more, I spoke to the brand's founder, Giles Bethule:
GF: Please introduce yourself and Cast & Lane - how did the brand come about?
GB: My name is Giles Bethule and I'm the founder of Cast & Lane. I started working on the brand in September 2020 and the webstore went live in March 2021. In many ways, Cast & Lane is the realisation of a longstanding ambition – I have been interested in fashion since I was 13 years old and had planned to launch my own fashion business for many years.
GF: Please introduce yourself and Cast & Lane - how did the brand come about?
GB: My name is Giles Bethule and I'm the founder of Cast & Lane. I started working on the brand in September 2020 and the webstore went live in March 2021. In many ways, Cast & Lane is the realisation of a longstanding ambition – I have been interested in fashion since I was 13 years old and had planned to launch my own fashion business for many years.
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| Giles Bethule - founder of Cast & Lane |
The idea for Cast & Lane specifically was conceived during the pandemic: I had just started working from home and my wardrobe had to adapt accordingly. In particular, my shirts were not especially comfortable for wearing around the house, yet I still had to join Zoom calls and look presentable in front of clients. It became clear that the solution to this problem would be a shirt that looked smart and elegant but was constructed from a more comfortable material.
I set about designing what has since become our Four Seasons shirt, identifying suppliers, building out the Instagram mood board, and so on. Ultimately, the Four Seasons shirt is just a starting point – I hope to be able to build out the offering to encompass a complete wardrobe, with the binding thread being a focus on 'casual chic' (which we call 'dressed down elegance').
GF: What are the aims and style themes of Cast & Lane?
GB: Cast & Lane is focused on what we call 'dressed down elegance', the concept that casualwear and elegance can and should coexist in harmony. While our primary focus is casualwear, we want to approach this in a thoughtful, intelligent manner and create clothing for the ages. Prior to the pandemic, a lot of men's wardrobes were, broadly speaking, segmented into formal "weekday attire" geared towards the workplace and casual "weekend attire" for leisure. The so-called new normal upended this dichotomy as the boundary lines between work and leisure were significantly blurred. In some respect, this marriage of the two modes of dress was merely accelerated, having started some time pre-pandemic. But what we now have is a situation whereby, perhaps more than ever, men still want to look and feel elegant without necessarily wearing a suit or black tie and the like. Our goal is to help with this transition.
GF: What are the aims and style themes of Cast & Lane?
GB: Cast & Lane is focused on what we call 'dressed down elegance', the concept that casualwear and elegance can and should coexist in harmony. While our primary focus is casualwear, we want to approach this in a thoughtful, intelligent manner and create clothing for the ages. Prior to the pandemic, a lot of men's wardrobes were, broadly speaking, segmented into formal "weekday attire" geared towards the workplace and casual "weekend attire" for leisure. The so-called new normal upended this dichotomy as the boundary lines between work and leisure were significantly blurred. In some respect, this marriage of the two modes of dress was merely accelerated, having started some time pre-pandemic. But what we now have is a situation whereby, perhaps more than ever, men still want to look and feel elegant without necessarily wearing a suit or black tie and the like. Our goal is to help with this transition.
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| Cast & Lane products |
GB: In addition to our Four Seasons shirts, including the newly-launched chambray blue version, we will soon release our first model of trousers. We previewed these in our debut lookbook. They'll be constructed from a robust cotton drill fabric, feature a wide leg, double pleating, and two jet pockets. We will also release our Oxford shirts later this year, as well as a few fun items, such as souvenir t-shirts and caps.
With the latter two items, the idea is to demonstrate that our conception of elegant casualwear isn't confined to a rigid interpretation of elegance, which tends to lean too closely to classic menswear; rather, we take a more holistic view of what 'elegance' could look like. Basically, the wardrobes of icons like the younger JFK (and his wife Carolyn), Senna, Princesses Diana and Caroline de Monaco, and so on – albeit at scale. Looking beyond the near-term, the dream is to build a full wardrobe, so while it's early days right now and there's a long way to go, I aspire to design everything else from shoes to jackets and so on.
GF: The shirts are beautifully made and cut - what inspired their design?
GB: Thank you! I wanted to create a shirt that balances style, function, and durability. From a style perspective, I knew I wanted a generous collar – which, funnily enough, is the feature our customers praise the most – without lining because it looks equal parts classic and casual; a square pocket because I think they’re quite fun and I associate them with vintage tennis polos; and a box pleat with a sports loop, both of which I drew from the equally sporty classic Oxford shirt. The flat hem with a side split is perhaps the most functional feature, since it makes it a lot easier to wear the shirt either tucked or untucked – I feel uncomfortable wearing shirts with curved hems untucked.
GF: The shirts are beautifully made and cut - what inspired their design?
GB: Thank you! I wanted to create a shirt that balances style, function, and durability. From a style perspective, I knew I wanted a generous collar – which, funnily enough, is the feature our customers praise the most – without lining because it looks equal parts classic and casual; a square pocket because I think they’re quite fun and I associate them with vintage tennis polos; and a box pleat with a sports loop, both of which I drew from the equally sporty classic Oxford shirt. The flat hem with a side split is perhaps the most functional feature, since it makes it a lot easier to wear the shirt either tucked or untucked – I feel uncomfortable wearing shirts with curved hems untucked.
Most pique cotton shirts I have come across tend to be made from a relatively light fabric, which makes them difficult to wear outside the summer months, so I pressed our suppliers to take things up a few notches. There aren’t many similar shirts made from fabric as thick as ours. That’s another feature our customers often comment on.
GF: Do you have a personal style or style icon/inspiration? Has this inspired Cast & Lane's looks?
GB: I don't have a style icon per se, but on our website there's a Reference Shelf of most of the people whose personal style (at least in those particular images) I admire and look up to in many ways. In one sentence, I look up to anyone who can be just as comfortable and effortlessly stylish in a t-shirt and jeans as they are in Black Tie (or the equivalent).
GF: Do you have a personal style or style icon/inspiration? Has this inspired Cast & Lane's looks?
GB: I don't have a style icon per se, but on our website there's a Reference Shelf of most of the people whose personal style (at least in those particular images) I admire and look up to in many ways. In one sentence, I look up to anyone who can be just as comfortable and effortlessly stylish in a t-shirt and jeans as they are in Black Tie (or the equivalent).
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| From the Cast & Lane lookbook |
As I mentioned earlier, we want to avoid adopting or working from a narrow conception of ‘elegance’, so naturally, I like personal styles aligned to this ethos. The usual suspects come to mind: Miles Davis, Bryan Ferry, Eric Clapton, Agnelli, Hockney, Stefano Casiraghi, Ralph, Armani, Perry Ellis, Calvin Klein... the list is endless of course, but those are some of the more familiar names. It goes without saying, but there are lots of people from the present era whose style I look up to as well.
GF: What are your plans for the future of the brand?
GB: In addition to continuing to raise awareness of the brand, the near-term goal is to launch the upcoming products I mentioned earlier. I won’t speak at length about where I see Cast & Lane in 3, 5, 10 years and so on – mainly because that depends on a lot of factors beyond my control! – but I do hope the brand becomes a success and contributes meaningfully to people’s wardrobes. Importantly, I hope to be able to continue making even more stylish, quality clothing at accessible prices in the years ahead.
With thanks to Giles. Look out for Cast & Lane's Weekender trousers, due for launch soon. For more information and to buy go to Cast & Lane.
