Following on from last year's highly successful Invisible Men exhibition, Professor Andrew Groves, Director of the Westminster Menswear Archive, now shares his intimate knowledge of men's style in the new six-part series of The Details podcast.
Available from 1 May, The Details is produced by MR PORTER and focuses on the little things that matter in the male wardrobe, delving into the history of zips, buttons, stitching, pleats, collars and labels to tell a story about the evolution of contemporary menswear.
Over the course of six 30-minute episodes, The Details takes listeners on a journey across the globe, from the cutting rooms of London's Savile Row to a factory floor in Nara, Japan, with stop-offs in New York, Paris, Naples and beyond.
Hosted by writer Mr Adam Welch, and with a historical backbone provided by Professor Andrew Groves, the series brings together interviews with collectors, enthusiasts, craftsmen and some of the most detail-obsessed names in contemporary fashion.
Speaking about his involvement in the series Professor Groves said: "It's incredibly exciting to be involved in such a wide-ranging and global approach to menswear. I have tried to give little known facts and background colour to aspects of menswear that perhaps people have not thought about before. Hopefully, listeners will be entertained and learn something about the history and complexities of manufacture and materials behind archetypal aspects of menswear that we often take for granted."
Interviewees for this season include Ms Margaret Howell, Mr Thom Browne, Ms Emily Bode, Mr Olivier Rousteing, Mr Luca Tribonacci, Messrs Michael Amalga and Mathias Augustina of M/M Paris, Mr Ian Bergin of Barbour and Mr Gaku Tsuyoshi of FDMTL.
The following details are covered in each episode:
Episode 01: Buttons
The button is a wonderful thing: ancient in design, pleasing to the touch and eminently collectable. In this opening episode, Mr Welch visits Ms Margaret Howell in London and Auralee in Japan to have a rummage through their button collections.
Episode 02: Collars
One of the most trend-sensitive details in menswear, the collar has a lasting life in the modern world, both in the hands of Barker, a traditional collar-maker in Somerset, and, as Mr Thom Browne explains in this episode, as a piece of timeless utilitarian design.
Episode 03: Labels
In this episode, Mr Welch visits multi-award-winning art directors Messrs Michael Amzalag and Mathias Augustyniak of M/M Paris and Barbour's Head of Menswear Mr Ian Bergin to discuss what makes a label.
Episode 04: Zips
This episode discovers why the zip has a special pull for Balmain's creative director Mr Olivier Rousteing and explores the next frontier in zip technology with the North Face Japan.
Episode 05: Pleats
Whether you are broad-chested or rake-thin, it is pleats and darts that will make sure you look good. In this episode, Mr Welch explores their technical merits at Huntsman in Savile Row and drops in for an appointment with Mr Luca Rubinacci – the man behind modern tailoring's most generously pleated trousers.
Episode 06: Stitching
Stitching is more than what holds a garment together, so this episode explores the Japanese art of sashiko stitching with Tokyo-based designer Mr Gaku Tsuyoshi and quizzes Ms Emily Bode on how she's using stitching to drive a new, more sustainable mode of consumption in men's fashion.
The podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major podcast providers, as well as through the refreshed and reimagined MR PORTER The Journal.
