STANDING THE TEST OF TIME

Photography by Chloe Mallett
Fashion Director – Ursula Lake
Words by Hannah Skelley

Make celebrates the brand Joseph, a label that manages to innovate while staying true to its classic roots.

When asked to define a sartorial ‘classic’ Susana Clayton, Creative Director of Joseph simply put it as, “A piece that stands the test of time- a coat, a masculine blazer or pair of trousers, cut precisely in a quality fabric that will last years.”

This streamlined approach to luxury clothing is the answer to the brand’s success. Joseph has steadily morphed its design focus having been carefully directed during the past decade by the steady hands of two women, Louise Trotter and Susana Clayton, following the brand’s founder, Joseph Ettedgui, death in 2010.

Trotter took the helm in 2009, making Joseph’s own line increasingly fashion-forward. With the in-house label eventually shifting to become the key focus, it offered its own interpretation of the then-current catwalk trends, alongside the brand’s classic silhouettes and staples that originally made Joseph successful.

Trotter was credited with creating a uniform for women of luxury basics that consisted of typically masculine or androgynous styles, yet importantly, still made its wearers feel feminine. After a nine-year tenure, Trotter departed in 2018 and its new chapter began with Clayton, former womenswear design director at Givenchy, who fronts design today.

The own-brand section remains her core focus and the largest customer pull of the business itself. Clayton works to continually link the brand back to the original vision. She insists, “the starting point for each collection is the work made by Ettedgui.  I consider what he would do with each design and how he would approach the Joseph brand in 2020.”

The bias towards creating essential wardrobe pieces, that offer simplicity and ease of choice to everyday dressing, is exactly what the brand’s faithful following want. According to the mammoth, global fashion search engine, Lyst, ‘Coats’ has consistently been the most popular category, with the brand’s sell-out black ‘Kido’ coat remaining a strong favourite of many a fashion editor. Alice Jarvis, Deputy Editor of T2 at The Times and former Deputy Editor of ES Magazine, confessed to having multiple re-stock alerts set up, from Net-A-Porter.com to Matchesfashion.com, in order to ‘get her hands’ on the style. In-house, they say last winter’s sellouts included the much sought after V-neck ‘Enid’ pleated dress and the mahogany Morgan double-breasted blazer. Currently, the sold-out Viviane O’ Size Knit is the most-wanted product from the brand, accompanied by a general 25% increase in searches for Joseph sweaters across Lyst in the past three months.

These cult, sought after items are signifiers of the intense front row following that remains loyal to the brand. Fashion Week stalwarts return time and time again for their luxury necessities. Stylist and writer Lila Flint-Roberts, professes she invests in Joseph pieces yearly to update her core collection. Ritualistic buying comes from the fact that the clothes have become a failsafe. Joseph is the frequented fashion haunt for those who value the brand’s heritage and appreciate that they are investing in the timeless quality of the brand. This sentiment has even sparked a rise in sales of pre-owned or vintage Joseph pieces from Ettedgui’s era, which are frequently searched for across eBay and Depop. Fashion assistants say Brick Lane charity shop treasure hunts are always worth it, when you find that perfectly cut, black Joseph blazer.

From the Spring Summer 20 collection, be sure to expect further extremely well-made, timeless designs. All come in a themed black and white monochrome or canary yellow, from leather knife-pleated skirts to fringed poncho-esque tops, tasseled dresses and belted linen coat dresses. All are certified to be the perfect building blocks of this year’s summer wardrobe and no doubt many are already destined to be sell-out pieces. The spring-summer 20 designs that have since achieved this status include the crew neck Pure Cashmere Knit, the ivory handkerchief ‘Ade’ skirt and the ‘Newman’ cashmere camel coat; perhaps the perfect light buttery shade coat to have graced our wish lists. Clayton appears to do the near-impossible, achieving the fine balance between acknowledging new season trends and maintaining a fresh updated outlook on classic essential styles. She says it’s all in “the fabrications and materials; maintaining a well-studied fit, yet updating the design proportions for a total refresh.” A contemporary logo print also debuts within this new collection, consisting of small repeats on blown-out proportions, which give a nod to the brand’s strong heritage while placed on modern silhouettes. Clayton said she’s excited to see how the customer responds. Our prediction; it will be a sell-out.

Hair by Craig Taylor at One Represents using Haris London.
Makeup by Sonia Deveney using Burts Bees.
Model Eva Klimkova at Elite