Stylist Graham Addinall On Fair Isle Knit & The Future of Menswear

PRE-SPRING ‘ 24

Graham Addinall’s varied career has seen him work as a copywriter, magazine editor, the Head of the Men’s Design Department at Birger & Mikkelsen and Paul Smith, and as a stylist for magazines such as Euroman.

We spoke to him to get his take on the future of menswear, his styling tips for men, and the funny thing about Hawaiian shirts.

What’s your background? How and why did you first become interested in design and the world of menswear?

By accident really! My husband studied fashion at university, and I studied psychology, so I was involved in the industry in a peripheral way. But I never presumed I could do design, because I didn’t have that background. I wanted to be involved in the fashion world though in some way, and I got this job as an assistant at Paul Smith.

I was supposed to just be making tea and photocopying, but Paul and Eric, the Creative Director, saw something in me and pushed me forward. So, I kind of ended up having an 18-year apprenticeship, almost by stealth.

Where does the name come from?

No. To this day, I’m still waiting to be found out. I have imposter syndrome in everything I do, maybe because I didn’t have any formal training in fashion. If I thought I’d made it, I think it would be a sign that I hadn’t at all.

You’re a British expat living in Copenhagen. Why did you move and what drew you to the city?

I’d always wanted to spend some of my life abroad, but it was never going to happen. I figured if it did, it would be somewhere like Paris, Milan, or New York. Then, I got head hunted for a design job with Birger & Mikkelsen.

I originally only came for the job interview because I’d never been to Copenhagen before, and they were paying to fly me over. I had a half-hour long interview and spent the rest of the time exploring the city!

But the minute I walked in, there was something I recognized and liked in the company. They said it would be a three-year contract, and to be honest I thought I’d do two years and go back to the UK.

So, my husband and I ended up moving to a city where we didn’t know a single person. When we landed, we’d spent three days here in our entire lives, and we’re still here more than a decade later.

Your sound fuses traditional Scottish Cèilidh music with more modern elements like electronic beats and indie. Where did this come from?

I’d always wanted to spend some of my life abroad, but it was never going to happen. I figured if it did, it would be somewhere like Paris, Milan, or New York. Then, I got head hunted for a design job with Birger & Mikkelsen.

I originally only came for the job interview because I’d never been to Copenhagen before, and they were paying to fly me over. I had a half-hour long interview and spent the rest of the time exploring the city!

But the minute I walked in, there was something I recognized and liked in the company. They said it would be a three-year contract, and to be honest I thought I’d do two years and go back to the UK.

So, my husband and I ended up moving to a city where we didn’t know a single person. When we landed, we’d spent three days here in our entire lives, and we’re still here more than a decade later.

How did you settle in?

Danes are very down on themselves and portray themselves as unfriendly, which I just don’t think is true. There’s this myth that no-one ever invites you to their house and everyone goes straight home from work in Denmark, which is a bit ridiculous.

Everyone was so welcoming, our neighbors were nice, and we were having dinner at people’s houses within a couple of weeks. I didn’t want to move here to have an expat life, so we kind of surrounded ourselves with Danes and Swedes.

What’s the most important thing you learnt in your time at Paul Smith?

This is a big generalization, but you can only really push men in one direction at a time with design. So, if you’ve got clothing with a fancy fabric or color, do it in a simple shape. If you’ve got an interesting shape, do it in navy. If you’ve got something that’s a bit avant garde and you put it with a strong color or pattern, that’s too much for most guys.

You can push guys further than you’d think though. For example, we tend to be a bit suspicious of bright floral patterns, but Hawaiian shirts are a kind of macho thing to wear. And they’re obviously really floral and brightly colored, but because they’re always in a boxy fit with short sleeves, most men can relate to them because it’s just one part of the shirt that’s a bit “out there”.

If you put long sleeves on a Hawaiian shirt, suddenly it’s seen as very Modern Family, which I find quite funny. You really just need to learn the tradition and building blocks of menswear, then push little bits, which I think is quite mathematical.

You work as a freelance writer and stylist now. Where do you find your inspiration?

One thing that Paul taught me was that you should never stop looking at everything at every level. Don’t be a snob, be a sponge. Absorb everything. Something like reality TV, it might not be something that inspires you, but your customers are watching it. You should know what’s happening in the art world, in theater and photography, in cinema, TV, and tabloids.

You should look at the broadest spectrum of things. In menswear, one of the biggest inspirations is looking at vintage clothes. How they’re made, what the fabrics are like, how they were put together. There’s a wealth of detail in vintage stores.

When it comes to writing, I just read a lot, and I have this OCD thing where I set myself challenges. So, I read every single Agatha Christie novel or every Booker Prize winner. I only read Russian novels once – that was a slow six months. Surrounding yourself with good writing expands vocabulary and helps you understand how to put a sentence together.

The new Pre-Spring ‘24 collection features Fair Isle Knits like the Hordur & Ezra. What is Fair Isle knitting?

Traditionally, Fair Isle is a knitting technique where there’s only two colors on a line in geometric repeating patterns. It comes from a tiny island in Scotland, which is the most remote island in the UK. There’s only 60-odd people there, so they’ve done a pretty good job making it so famous!

It started in the 19th century as a way for fisherman’s wives to use up little bits of wool and became fashionable in the 1920s when the Duke of Windsor started wearing it. Icelandic and traditional Scandinavian knit use the same technique, though have slightly different imagery.

What should people look for in Fair Isle Knitwear?

t should have a really high wool content, so you get that cozy warmth during winter. If it’s acrylic, you’re going to veer into Christmas jumper territory. These days, it’s good to play with color, but if you’ve got lots of bright colors and a bold pattern it can be a bit too much, so look for something that’s muted. You can also find something with a touch of modernity, like embroidery, which pushes it from looking like clothing you just found in a vintage store into something a bit more individual.

Fair Isle can be very refined and very beautiful, there’s something quite preppy about it, particularly if it’s a layering piece like a slipover or cardigan.

It seems like there’s more interest now in cozy yet classic styles like Fair Isle knit – why do you think this is?

I think we’re used to very comfy clothing because we live in much more casual times. After a couple of years during Covid where no-one was really making much of an effort, people want to be a bit more refined while also being comfortable. And when you start thinking of refined, you start looking back a bit at traditional ways of making clothes.

What would be your styling tips for someone wearing Fair Isle knit?

If you’re young, you can wear whatever the hell you want and it’ll look good! I think Fair Isle also suits someone who’s older, but personally I’d avoid wearing it with a shirt and tie, for example, otherwise you end up looking like someone’s grandfather.

It looks great with a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. Fair Isle needs to be made a little bit youthful.

Any predictions for future trends in menswear?

What I’d like to see, and what might come back is suits, or at least parts of suiting like ties. I don’t think we’ll ever get to the stage again where suits are compulsory, but I think there’s something very nice about wearing tailoring and something a little sharper.

It could be with sneakers and T-shirts, but there’s a nice framework to it, and it gives you posture and physical structure. There’s certainly more tailoring on the runaways than there’s been in a while, so I think the signs are there.

Any general styling tips for guys?

First of all, rules are meant to be broken. And having said that I’m now going to give loads of rules! There are a few things, but most importantly you can kind of get away with anything if you own it and you’re confident.

Personally, I’ve always loved a good pair of chunky shoes because I think an outfit needs a full stop. One pet peeve of mine is not wearing a belt with suit pants. I really don’t like that at all.

As you get older, wear more casual shoes, because I think it makes you have an air of knowing what you’re doing.

Finally, don’t be scared of color. Pink is punk. Too many men are scared of color, and I think we should be braver.

You can see some of Graham’s work as a stylist on his website, or follow him on Instagram @grahamaddinall.