Menswear: shifting towards sophistication in 2021

Kent and Curwen: has a rebel spirit at heart

If any men’s fashion designer has a say in how you’re going to dress this year, it’s Daniel Kearns. As the creative director of three fashion houses — Kent & Curwen, Gieves & Hawkes, and Cerruti 1881 — the Dublin-born designer works around the clock to carve out modern interpretations of men’s fashion.

The three houses, each with a distinctive signature and category, only have a common owner to link them. Otherwise, Kearns is left to his own devices to bring your wardrobe everything from luxury sweatpants to formal tailoring.

Kent & Curwen might be a familiar name to David Beckham fans. In recent years the ex-footballer and fashion enthusiast was closely linked to the label, though the partnership discontinued recently.

Kearns describes the brand as poised between the dichotomy of “tradition and rebellion; uniform and conformity, and rebelling against that conformity”. From rugby shirts to military-inspired pieces, he describes the task of designing the clothes as taking something preppy, turning into a casual look and making it relevant for today.

Kearns, who grew up in Ireland in the 1970s and 1980s playing rugby and listening to punk music, comes naturally to the task of remixing heritage items with a contemporary feel. In fact, it’s one of his greatest strengths.

Meanwhile, Gieves & Hawkes is steeped in British military history. The brand outfitted the Royal Navy since it was founded. Over the years, it has amassed a following of gentlemen who have a penchant for slick, smart and traditional tailoring. Of course, the obstacle facing Kearns is modernising the suit at a time when it is under siege. The lockdown periods of 2020 built strong cases for sweatpants and hoodies, effectively rendering classic tailoring redundant.

Daniel Kearns grew up here in Ireland and spent many years living and working in Paris

However, as the brand approaches its 250th anniversary in 2021, Kearns is committed to its mission from made-to-measure business to ready-to-wear lines: “It’s been a new challenge to design tailoring. People still want to look smart.”

He has noticed that men are stepping away from the two-piece formal suit to suit their daily lives, opting for relaxed silhouettes or styling trousers with trainers.

He said that lockdown was beneficial for the made-to-measure offering: “People’s body types might have changed — they might have grown in size or gone down in sizes. The made-to-measure side of things is doing really well because of this.”

Cerruti owes its laissez-faire style to its Parisian background. Kearns, who spent many years living and working in Paris, has strengthened the label’s status as a premium outerwear brand with a laser-sharp focus on simple, elegant pieces that bear the imprint of a city dweller. In comparison to the other two houses, it has a lower-profile. He hopes it impacts how men perceive colour and pattern in their wardrobes.

Kearns was born in Dublin in 1975. He graduated from the National College of Art & Design, he pursued a career that looks much like an exhaustive list of every important brand in fashion: Dolce & Gabbana, Emanuel Ungaro, Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen (where he was design director of the men’s line for 5 years), Louis Vuitton and Saint Laurent.

His pedigree owes to his capability as a designer of three distinctive houses and to your wardrobe. Kearns seamlessly switches between the Mediterranean appeal and insouciance of Cerruti to the rebel spirit at the heart of Kent & Curwen and the meticulous craftsmanship embedded in Gieves & Hawkes tailoring.

In light of the pandemic, he expects men’s fashion to change considerably from our loungewear lives and sleepwear slalom: “I think there’ll be a shift towards a more sophisticated wardrobe. People are sick of just wearing joggers but they’ll always want them there. Now, people are looking for new approaches to wearing them.”

Daniel Kearns grew up here in Ireland and spent many years living and working in Paris

He pondered on his own wardrobe during lockdown and how depending on the day and the Zoom call he would adjust his ensemble to fit the bill. He said men should be more creative with what they own.

“I think the pandemic has afforded us more time to play around with what you wear. I’ve been swapping outdoors more and more during lockdowns. I might wear something to walk the dog in the morning, something else for when I’m working from home, and then again if I’m heading to the shops.”

He finds himself wearing cashmere knits and sweatshirts for Zoom calls; jeans, and boots for walks; and on the increasingly rare occasion he has a face-to-face meeting, he makes a considerable effort to look good. Between lockdowns, which he spent in London, he gravitated towards relaxed tailoring and sneakers. The joy for him was the art of getting dressed.

With his remit extending to three brands, Kearns is a force in shaping contemporary level and bespoke men’s fashion in 2021. Personal style is an incredibly fluid concept, one that is subject to periodical review. Whether it’s the allure of Parisian street style, discord between uniform and rebellion, or slick styling, your wardrobe serves as a prompt for the character you wish to inhabit on a given day, even a given task.

Kearns thinks this sensibility is rooted in the dynamism of fashion.

“I love clothes. It goes back to my teenage years of being into whatever it was at the time and the thrill of wearing something and looking a certain way. I still have that, it never goes away.”