Menswear Monday: Sibling

There’s more to menswear than suits and ties. Every other Monday, we’re giving the fastest developing facet of fashion the attention it deserves and introducing the designers, buyers, trendsetters and stylists you need to know. Welcome to Menswear Mondays.

Since it launched in 2008, Sibling has become something of a symbol for the London menswear scene and its increasingly popular brand of crazy. Bright colors, androgynous cuts, a punkish-but-playful disposition: the brand counts every quirk of the city’s fashion vernacular in its seasonal knitwear lineup. As the British Fashion Council’s menswear schedule gets more and more attention, so too will Sibling’s particolored collections. The three old friends who founded the line together were also recently nominated to represent the UK in competition for the International Woolmark Prize, a seal of market approval slapped on other such up-and-comers as Dion Lee and Christian Wijnants. We touched base with the designers in the days leading up to their Spring/Summer 2014 show for a bit of family history and their take on the future.

DESIGNERS: Sid Bryan, Joe Bates, and Cozette McCreery

HOMETOWNS: Yorkshire, Leicester, and London (respectively)

SHOWING IN: London

ORIGIN STORY: In summary, London is a small place. We all share interests, if not ex-bosses and friends, and so it was just a matter of time before we met. We like to think it was a little like the opening credits of Hart To Hart (1979-1984).

TRADEMARKS: Knit! Knit is what we are all about. Everything we do is knitted. No that’s not a leather jacket, it’s a knitted yarn made to look like beaten-up leather. Even the pom-pom heads from Spring/Sumer ’13 are knitted with paper raffia trapped in stitch. After that, color, and we hope a large dose of fun.

MENSWEAR RULES: It’s more restrictive, which means there is so much more to rebel against and yet also work with.

FASHION IS…: A song by David Bowie.

LONDON CALLING: Our friends are here. We’d be very different without them. They keep us sane. OK, sane-ish. With so much happening online now, research and ideas come thick and fast so realistically we could work out of any major city and, in fact, reference New York many times, so it’s friendships that keep us here.

FUTURE COLLECTOR’S ITEM: Probably the biscuit cashmere twinset from the first collection because that’s where it all started. Firstly, it was a twinset for men. Secondly, it was covered in tiny hand appliquéd sequined leopard dots in hot pink and orange with flashes of green and yellow. It’s like when you bake and you have a “starter” dough (yes, we love The Great British Bake Off here); you take a small amount of the original and add it to something new. With every collection we are building on previous ideas and signatures.

BEST-KEPT SECRET: That we aren’t actually siblings but may as well be.

SIBLING’S SS14 COLLECTION SHOWED TODAY AT LONDON COLLECTIONS: MEN.