Author Archives: October Textiles Limited

About October Textiles Limited

October is a t shirt printing, screen printing, garment sourcing and embroidery supplier established in 1990. We source a wide range of clothing and accessories to fit the most demanding of specifications. Although we print and embroider for a variety of sectors, our speciality is fashion.

1. Carhartt workwear, let’s rediscover the love

   July 30, 2016 2:15 pm Comments Off on Carhartt workwear, let’s rediscover the love

   Who’d have thought we’d rediscover the love of workwear, and all thanks to Carhartt?

   Usually, when we’re gone we’re gone, bags packed, dog dead, three strings on our guitar, with just one key left on our key chain, and so we didn’t think we’d get back that workwear love. But we have, with a timely reminder from a friend, about the genius of Carhartt workwear.

   We’re a screen printer, embroiderer, re-labeller, and waffler on about all things fashion man. Like how to start a clothing brand that stands half a chance of not ending up on the pooh pile, with all the other 500 clothing brands that will start tomorrow. We specialise in dream management, and giving the impossible a fighting chance …. with some success.

   Ending up in the fashion groove didn’t happen by accident. Well actually like all things it probably did, unless you believe in God, and predestination in which case, it was all mapped out. It happened because our industry is split very broadly into: school wear = boring; promotional wear = cheap and boring; and work wear = hard hats. The fourth option was fashion, and as we get to wear stupid outfits at trade shows and smoke obscure Japanese fags, there was no contest. Or was there – could workwear be cool?

   Well it would appear so, and we were reminded of this fact by an old friend. He waltzed across the loading bay a while back, our old pal from way back when there was taste, that massive fashion head, Dean Webster. Famous for game changing brands before your time and stylist to the discreetly great. It was as always a pleasure to see him, and start work on a project for Edwin Jeans in collaboration with Kyle Stewart at Goodhood, (the street compass for all things now).

   So we were chatting, smoking Japanese fags, remembering all the old brands, the old fashion lags, the ducks the dives and scrapes, when thanks to the Edwin connection, the Japanese denim story and a bunch of other random roads, it was inevitable we ended up at Carhartt workwear.

   ‘Why don’t you sell it?’ Dean asked. ‘Because all workwear is ball twistingly boring, and photographed on a bloke called Big Dave in a boiler suit, holding a ruler – so he looks like he’s doing something useful’

   ‘No way man’ said Dean, ‘Checkout Carhartt workwear, and trust me brother, you will see the light’

   It was difficult to see anything in all the Japanese fag smoke, but it cleared, I looked up, and Dean was gone, probably back to Berlin to start another trend.

   Unsurprisingly, it got us thinking. And unsurprisingly it got us looking. And guess what, unsurprisingly, we saw Carhartt, and we saw the light.

   But have you seen the Carhartt workwear product range recently?

   Workwear is not really the right word. You’d wear it anywhere. If the truth is told we decided to offer the Carhartt workwear range because we want the jeans, the jackets, the flannel shirts, the bibs, the hats, the coming soon boots, and we’ve had several orders in from passing dogs, for dog beds and the rather stylish dog collars. We may not need serious workwear in our print room, it’s not exactly the building of the United States that Carrhartt have been doing since 1889. We’re cleaning screen printing equipment, not roping wild horses, hanging off skyscrapers and building Ford Mustangs, but so what, in all that clobber walking in slow motion across the car park, we look like working class heroes too.

   We’re not well known as those who re-discover the love, cross us and we’re usually gone, but when it comes to workwear and Carhartt, we’re singing country love songs all over again.

   Also read: Carhartt: one name, two very different menswear brands

2. October screen print for Edwin Jeans and Kyle Stewart

   July 19, 2016 8:22 pm Comments Off on October screen print for Edwin Jeans and Kyle Stewart

   Every brand we screen print for at October is equally important, but of course we get a good feel when we get to print for iconic jeans brands like Edwin, and influential artists like Kyle Stewart,

   The history of Edwin Jeans.

   As always we’re suckers for where it all began, for the history, so before we get into screen print, maybe sit a while and let’s remember how it all kicked off for Edwin Jeans.
   Picture the scene, Japan 1947, a man called Mr Tsunemi, and his love of denim. Back then denim wasn’t even made in Japan and had to be imported from the US. But it wasn’t available as Mr Tsunemi wanted it to be. His preference was for the broken in and nicely weathered reassurance of your favourite pair of jeans, the old faithfuls.

   Mr Tsunemi wasn’t going to let that get in the way, (there’s no Japanese word for quit), and so he was spurred on to manufacture his own denim, at the highest quality he could muster and to his exacting specifications. After this process was refined came the very first pair of Edwin jeans in 1961. Hurrah. And four years later I was born, which is irrelevant.

   The ‘bloody hell that’s clever’ bit about Edwin Jeans were the finishing techniques, giving that beautifully knackered vintage look to a jean when first purchased. This reached its peak in the 1980’s with Mr Tsunemi inventing stone washing, and thereby securing his place in the hallowed annals of denim history.

   This ability to create different finishes, never took Edwin away from its understanding that the true denim aficionado, will always lean towards a selvage raw denim. Edwin Jeans have their own signature ‘rainbow selvage’ and as I write, I am happily breaking in the shrink to fit variety. I do this by riding wild horses at my ranch in Montana, or by standing at the bus stop in the rain.
   On the subject of how to wear and care for high end denim like Edwin (or Carhartt), the main advice is don’t wash them, unless you’ve had the most serious of nights out, stopped off at Iffy’s Kebabs, and followed through. The received wisdom is to pop them in a plastic bag once a month, and leave them in the freezer overnight. Hang them out to thaw the next day, and all the bacteria will have been nuked. Usually best done without informing wives and girlfriends, who have been known to find such behaviour ridiculous.

   Kyle Stewart for Edwin Jeans, and some of that October Screen Print.

   

   Fast forward to the present day – Kyle Stewart is the brainchild and co-founder of East London retail lifestyle gem, Goodhood, and was invited by Edwin Europe as a guest artist to work on a variety of youthful and rebellious graphic prints for Spring/Summer 2017. Let’s quote Edwin Jeans for this next bit – I think they’ve nailed it.

   ‘The first in the series is entitled ‘Stay Weird’, and includes a selection of six double-sided, hand illustrated artworks based on the dark and often funny world of sub-culture B-movies. Kyle’s taste and influences are heavily inspired by his interest and love of all things DIY, punk, skateboarding, counter-culture, art and lifestyle. This monochromatic mid-season drop, expected to arrive in stores in April comprises of a concise collection of black and white heavyweight tees, along with a variety of punk pin buttons and classic canvas tote bags’

   October didn’t make the pin badges, but we did screen print the heavyweight tees and the tote bags for Edwin Jeans, for Kyle Stewart, and deep deep down, for Mr Tsumemi.

3. TOTE BAGS FOR THE FWFG ROADSHOW WITH ADRIENE MISHLER, POWERED BY ADIDAS

   June 18, 2016 7:27 pm Comments Off on TOTE BAGS FOR THE FWFG ROADSHOW WITH ADRIENE MISHLER, POWERED BY ADIDAS

   We’re all about finding what feels good here at October Screen Print, and thanks to the FWFG Roadshow needing some Adidas inspired tote bags for Yoga guru Adriene Mishler, we found ourselves feeling all mindful, and centred.

   

   We should just briefly say that Adriene Mishler is an actress as well as a yoga teacher, and an entrepreneur, from one of our favourite places in the US, Austin Texas – we wouldn’t want to underestimate her varied talents.

   So why would Adidas speak to October Textiles about anything all yoga, chakra, yin-yang and universe? Well you’d be surprised – we’ve changed. Gone are the days of custard creams, doughnuts, and tea and fags on the loading bay.

   You’re more likely to find a Screen Printer these days listening out for a kind inner voice, hooking up with his energy centers, and trying not to break wind while attempting pigeon position in a village hall.

   It’s all about connection you see, and so unsurprisingly Adidas have linked this project to their initiative to ‘Up Your Connect’

   What in the name of the Devil’s smoking trousers does that mean?

   Well apparently, experiencing connection brings meaning to your movement, your work, your relationships, your life. Otherwise known as bringing meaning to everything you are and do.

   Connection also invites depth, and that very tricky word to fully explain, realness.

   It’s not just what you do on the mat. Crikey no. Finding our connection through Yoga can lead to a greater sense of connectivity off the mat as well. Perhaps with someone in a queue while you’re waiting to buy a sandwich.

   Adriene’s hope is that through Yoga we can bring the world together, creating a ‘ripple effect of feel good connection’.

   Now if you you’re going to shoot for the stars, you may as well do it big, so what a lovely sentiment, and as keen practitioners of Yoga and Pilates here at October Textiles, we’re all for a bit more love in the world, man.

   If you do go to one of Adriene’s FWFG events though, a word to the wise, don’t just take the usual mat and water bottle; take a nice warm hoodie and a pair of warm socks for when you’re in Savasna, it can be a bit nippy.

   As always these days, October Screen Print, FWFG, Adriene Mischler and Adidas, what a weird collection of words, but times have changed, and we just might see you on the yoga mat!

   

4. OCTOBER TEXTILES SCREEN PRINT FOR FITNESS LEGEND BARRY’S BOOTCAMP

   6:59 pm Comments Off on OCTOBER TEXTILES SCREEN PRINT FOR FITNESS LEGEND BARRY’S BOOTCAMP

   OK, why are the words October Textiles and screen print anywhere near the words fitness, never mind Barry’s Bootcamp, and legend?

   We know what you’re thinking – the nearest you lot get to fitness is flipping the cap of a bottle of Old Bishop’s Ballbag, and wrestling with a tricky bag of crisps. Untrue though, as anyone who has ever hand screen printed 5,000 T-shirts in a week will tell you. The endless pulling of a squeegee blade backwards and forwards across a screen, has been proven to be the equivalent effort of 70 Viking warriors, rowing across the North Sea in a nasty blizzard.

   That’s a lie, about the Vikings. Blame Donald Trump, we’re all at it – so what about the fitness legend that is, Barry’s Bootcamp, and why are October Textiles so very happy to screen print for them?

   Well thanks for asking, and let’s begin at the beginning. It all started in 1998, when celebrity Trainer Barry Jay, based in LA, obviously, decided to concoct a one-stop cardio and strength training workout, that actually did the job. But he didn’t do it all alone bless him, he had a word with John and Rachel Mumford who thought, hey Barry, that’s a great idea, and they opened the first Barry’s Boot Camp in West Hollywood.

   Here they all are, looking healthy, and exuding a Californian ‘can do’ attitude.

   

   The next piece of big news was Barry’s CEO Joey Gonzalez joining the company in 2004 and becoming a star trainer at the Boot Camp. It wasn’t until 2009 though that it all went rapid expansion, initially moving outside of LA and opening in San Diego. We had a very strange few months in San Diego in 1988, but that has nothing to do with this article.

   And once you start expanding, there’s only one next stop – so picture the scene, Manhattan, 2011. The first time Barry got out his Big Apples was in Chelsea (NYC), where we also saw the launch of the first Fuel Bars, and the invention of Barry’s now signature Woodway Treadmills.

   And the rest, is history…Barry’s Bootcamp, just like screen printing, then went global. Expanding faster than a well pumped muscle, studios opened across the world in Norway, London, Boston, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco. Expansion continues across New York City and the Hamptons. Barry’s retail hit new levels of success with expansion of the collection to Bloomingdale’s; as you do.

   Now over 40 thousand members of Barry’s ‘FitFam’ take a class every week, with celebrity clients including Ellie Goulding, Mandy Moore, David Beckham and Harry Styles. The first studio has now also opened in Chicago, that most windy of cities.

   Just so you know what to look out for by the way, here is their logo. All military, strong and committed but with a star, because that’s what you can be.

   

   And just so you know that October Textiles did screen print something for the fitness legend that is Barry’s Bootcamp, here are two of their trainers, sporting our specially made bamboo and Tencel T-shirts, and looking all sweaty and gorgeous, so drop, and give us 50.

   

5. Why do we screenprint on American Apparel T-shirts?

   June 3, 2016 10:10 pm Comments Off on Why do we screenprint on American Apparel T-shirts?

   There are those who are for, and those against, and so we are occasionally asked ‘Why do we screenprint on American Apparel T-shirts?

   Apart from the great product and ethical provenance, the honest answer is, as always with us, an involvement with the entire story. Not always an easy story we’ll admit, perhaps more of a soap story than a fairy tale. What follows is difficult, easier to avoid than confront, and our conclusions are uncertain and open to debate.

   Based in LA and founded by Dov Charney in 1989, American Apparel is a vertically integrated company that is one of the biggest T shirt and apparel manufacturers in North America, at one point being one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the US

   That said, It hasn’t made any profit since 2009, filed for bankruptcy in 2015, then in 2016 exited bankruptcy after re working its finances and booting out its ex CEO and founder. And so the wild financial shenanigans begin, but this is just the tip of the American Apparel iceberg.

   Whilst promoting ‘made in the USA’ goods, with great non sweatshop labour policies and paying well over minimum wages, Mr Charney was accused of sexual harassment on more than one occasion. In addition the entire organization was at times regarded by some as a non- female friendly environment

   Moreover, American Apparel advertising campaigns were considered to be highly sexually charged, in a somewhat ‘girl next door’ and unsettling way (although they were occasionally applauded at least for avoiding the use of our old enemy the airbrush, and the inclusion of natural imperfections)

   In furthur twists, American Apparel has used pornographic actors in some of its campaigns, including Lauren Phoenix, Charlotte Stokely, Sasha Grey and Faye Reagan. In fact the Adult entertainment trade magazine Adult Video News said that the American Apparel website is “one of the finer softcore websites going”

   

   Some of the company’s other ads, which feature nudity or sexual themes, have been banned by various advertising authorities. American Apparel came under pressure for example in a 2014 ad for mini-skirts, which featured a model bending over so that her underwear was prominently exposed. In 2013, the company also released an ad in which the model lay on a bed with her feet up in the air without wearing any undies. There was a further ad in which a model posed in a series of photos focused on her lady parts, and in which her face was not seen. The UK Advertising Standards Authority criticized the ad for being “voyeuristic,” and “vulnerable.” Dodgy ground!

   Could it get any worse? Well yes of course it could. All the above is before you get into a $10 million lawsuit with Woody Allen, over billboards in which he was dressed as a Rabbi. Why limit yourself to sexual uproar, when you can get a little religion tension in on the act?

   Positives? Apart from the great labour policies and ethical production, there was pro-immigration support with Legalise LA, and pro Gay and Lesbian work with the American Apparel Legalise Gay campaign. Furthermore in 2012 there was the partnership with The Gay and Lesbian Alliance against Defamation, a range of T shirts celebrating LGBT Pride Month, and Isis King becoming AA’s first openly transgender model. The list of charitable organizations which American Apparel have championed is also extensive….American Red Cross, New Orleans relief, Justice for Immigrants, Children’s Homeless Youth Shelter, the Centre for Human Rights and more.

   American Apparel have always had pop culture connections. In 2010 Kanye West in his album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy for example, where we see the song ‘Gorgeous’ and its lyric ‘I need more drinks and less lights, and that American Apparel girl in just tights’ Again, an iffy reference, and the list of celebrity hook ups goes on, but perhaps this would lead us from the real question.

   How do we make moral decisions around relationships which contain such positive and negative events and emotions? If there is any bad, do we avoid that connection in spite of the good? For example, do we not buy from Volkswagen or Hugo Boss because of their origins in darker times? Is it just the passage of time that makes this OK?

   A great product and ethical manufacturing and employment is not sufficient in our entirely subjective view, to justify questionable practice. But nor perhaps should the greater good be sacrificed for the behaviour of a few men.

   It is a difficult conclusion, but we screenprint onto American Apparel T-shirts in support of its 10,000 plus employees, the real people with real lives behind the sensational headlines, those who are so rarely mentioned, and yet those who we do not forget.

6. Starting a clothing brand competition

   May 13, 2016 1:25 pm Comments Off on Starting a clothing brand competition

   The brilliant why am I starting a clothing brand competition, is now closed.

   All brilliant things have to come to an end, and it’s with some sadness that our, why am I starting a clothing brand competition, is now closed.

   
   We would like to thank all of you so much for your well-considered submissions and explanations of your clothing brands. Many hours were spent at October HQ looking at films, poems, spread sheets, and a picture of a badger in a bowler hat. Biscuits were eaten, tea was consumed, there was a small row and a fight on the loading bay, but eventually, a decision was made.

   We are bearded and wizened, after many years at sea on the good ship fashion – drinking rum, fighting sharks, and falling in love with people we wouldn’t usually speak to, as a result of close confinement. So it’s all been a rather warm reminder of the levels of ambition and creativity that still exist in the civilian world. Many stories were heartfelt – there were the religious, the destitute, the disenfranchised and the multi-millionaire…the dreamers and schemers, would be world dominators, and there were furry moments of ever so humble hope. And there was also, death – what better inspiration to live life? Sounds pretty serious? Well maybe starting a fashion brand is.

   The winner, a nice chap called Calum and his brand Alive in Us, will be featured in a forthcoming case study. We will endeavour to explain his story, and follow the production process around his new clothing brand. With any luck this will be illuminating in some way for those of you still wanting to become the next Yves Saint Laurent. Not an easy thing to do, but with the right story, graphic delivery, sense of brand, photography and route to market, it can be done.

   The brilliant why am I starting a clothing brand competition is now closed, but let’s not see that as the end, but just the beginning.

   This blog has been verified by Rise: Rc9aa0eae9491c48bbf16532d768ff8f5

7. How to start a t shirt business

   May 3, 2016 9:03 pm Comments Off on How to start a t shirt business

   It turns out that how to start a t shirt business is an incredibly easy question to answer. This means that in the history of people having egg on their face, I win. In fact there is so much egg, that my face has become invisible (a shout goes up from the small crowd ‘good news, you always were an ugly git’). So, if you see a man walking around whose face looks like a massive omelette, it’ll be me.

   Shopify – how to start a t shirt business

   We now know that how to start a t shirt business is a case of hooking up with our friends at Shopify, and then standing by and waiting for the cash to roll in. The biggest expenditure and hardship may be having the size of your letterbox enlarged to receive all the loot which will be bursting through it. When that’s finished, you may also need to have your driveway re-tarmacked and widened, to accommodate the delivery vehicles which will be distributing your t shirts on a global basis.

   Easy
   So how come it’s all so easy? As you will see from the really true and useful Shopify video, by the end of the film you will have created an online store with no design or coding experience. So I can be completely clueless on all matters of design and internet marketing? Yes you can – you can be a total and utter dollop in both these departments, and yet still go from buffoon to tycoon in a matter of minutes.

   Good advice
   Shopify start their video by giving you some really good advice on how to start a t shirt business, and generally saying a lot of great things. For example, they have figured out that if you want to build a solid brand, you need a ‘strategy’. News to me, but sounds true enough. But they go on. You need to have a ‘niche’. So they advise for example not to just make ‘funny t shirts’ but to make funny t shirts that relate directly to the fitness market. So presumably you’re narrowing your market down a bit, getting less competition and so make a lot more cash. That’s nothing short of, fiendishly clever. But they don’t stop there. Apparently, it’s also a good idea to create designs which connect with your audience. Good job they pointed that out of course, or you would presumably have been creating designs which your audience wouldn’t even use in the dog basket.

   Product
   Shopify then move on to advise you on how to choose your product. It’s a bit left field, but their take is that you should be selling products which are ‘good quality’. Ok, if you say so. They point out that not all t shirts are the same (really?) because, and their words not mine, they vary in fit, sizing, material, softness and weight. So that clears up what you need to do with product, pretty straightforward – so now what?

   Print methods
   According to Shopify, there are only three print methods, probably because some of the other options have been banned I expect. They are: screen print, which will of course only print simple designs (?); heat transfers, which they rightly point out are awful; and DTG, which stands for Direct To Garment. The latter seems to be their favourite, because it means you don’t have any set up costs, or need any stock. So basically I don’t need any money at all? Yes, that’s right! Great isn’t it!

   Design
   There is one piece of bad news however, in that according to the nice chap in the film, you will have to do a thing. And that thing is that once you have ideas, you’ll have to design them (unless you just download one from a recommended site). Really? I need to do something? I was rather hoping to do absolutely nothing until I started buying sport scars. Well yes I’m afraid so, it’s a tough old road this business success thing you know. On occasion, you may need to even get out of bed – if you do though, you can of course always consider falling over a bit and putting in an insurance claim. It doesn’t say that in the film.

   Validating your designs
   Not that it’s a worry, because you won’t be investing in any stock, but you may want, they advise, to validate your designs. You can do this on social media, but as they rightly point out, be careful if your friends say your stuff is really great, as they may just be being nice.

   Summary
   The Shopify summary as we understand it then, is that there is no risk, no set up fee, no minimum order, no inventory, and all that remains is for you to go to the Shopify store and create a really beautiful website. We couldn’t see the bit about how sales are driven to your site, or the genuine accounts of businesses who were making serious profits, but it’ll be in there somewhere, we probably just missed it while laughing too hard about our impending success.

   However, in the highly unlikely event you have not ordered a speed boat in week one of your new business, feel free to discuss the October Textiles take on how to start a t shirt business 0115 9585000

   

8. Carhartt workwear and Dickies workwear

   April 29, 2016 4:58 pm Comments Off on Carhartt workwear and Dickies workwear

   We rarely think Carhartt workwear, or indeed Dickies workwear when these brand names pop up. But I was reminded of their workwear heritage when looking at a recent project for Edwin. My old friend the legendary stylist Dean Webster popped in recently, on a brief stop off between Berlin and Japan, as you do. We needed to chat about a jersey project for Edwin Jeans in collaboration with the Goodhood store in EC2 – better outlets, there are few. Lovely artwork, scratchy, hand drawn….don’t know about you, but I’m always up for a wander away from the digital. And when Dean said he needed the fabric to have that dry, carded, Japanese feel, we all immediately think of an old school Champion T, and realise we really should get out more often – which we probably will.

   It was supposed to be a flier, but business done and in spite of us both being late for some other place, the Japanese Peace cigarettes (medium tar with peace flavor) came out on the loading bay, and a couple of old fashion lags had to start talking about workwear heritage, didn’t they? Well yes. They couldn’t help themselves.

   Carhartt workwear.

   There are enough kids walking about in Carhartt T-shirts, and no doubt they’ll definitely know all about their workwear history. But in case they’re just wearing a word because it makes them belong for a moment (while actually knowing eff all), let’s remember that Carhartt, founded in 1889 and now based in Dearborn Michigan, were primarily known for their workwear.

   
   This comes from their original days in Motor City, making workwear for the railroad workers, who needed almost dynamite proof overalls when blasting through those mountains and making their way West. The amount of beans they were eating also meant the need for heavy duty threads, and rivets at those special stress points. Back then, there was probably as much chance of blowing a hole in your jeans as there was the side of a hill.

   Dickies Workwear

   Just like those Carhartt T-shirts, we also see a fair few Dickies T shirts wandering about our modern streets, but let us spare a thought for that early Dickies workwear, and the Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company; originally an American institution of course, out of Fort Worth Texas.
   But in the really early days, Mr C.N. Williamson and E.E. “Colonel” Dickie kicked it all off in the “vehicle and harness” business in Bryan, Texas. Way back in 1918, along with a few mates they set up the U.S. Overall Company – and guess what they made? Then by 1922, a certain C. Don Williamson joined with his father and cousin, buying 100% of the overall company on a one-third-each basis, and called it the Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company.
   ‘Dickies’ workwear grew steadily, with a few blips around the Great Depression (now known as losing your mobile phone), and then of course they went on to produce millions of uniforms during World War 11.

   October Textiles

   October Textiles has always been a fashion based supplier. But looking at the continued influence of workwear, the lumberjack flannels, chambray shirts, raw denim, work boots and endless pompadour haircuts, is it time we merged our fashion and workwear heritage?
   I think I’ll ask Mr Webster, and he’ll say good plan. So feel free to call us for your Dickies workwear….and of course your Carhartt workwear.

9. OCTOBER TEXTILES SCREEN PRINT EASTPAK BAGS FOR ASOS CO-LAB

   April 25, 2016 7:21 pm Comments Off on OCTOBER TEXTILES SCREEN PRINT EASTPAK BAGS FOR ASOS CO-LAB

   Talking to Eastpak about a screen print job for a co-lab with Asos, would be considered a happy chat for anyone here at October Textiles.

   Because Eastpak are huge? Because Asos are huge? No not really – as time goes by we often forget how big things are, and whatever happens we only ever make a living – it’s textiles not hedge funding (whatever that is).

   It’s a happy chat, because as always and like all big kids, we love a good story. So pop on the zip up tartan slippers, fill the burr walnut pipe with the rough shag and puff away, as we remember the heritage that is, Eastpak.

   It all kicked off in 1952. When Eastpak were called Eastern Canvas Products making rough and ready tackle +for the US army. No ASOS co-labs in those days, just getting your shirt off and buffing your boots to a high sheen.

   

   

   But as ever, the world of military clothing and equipment is never far away from inspiring streetwear; so by the 1970s the grooviest of the kids were using Eastpak army kitbags as way of transporting their flares and special cigarettes to and from college, man.

   1976 was perhaps one of the biggest years for Eastpak, when they came up with the splendid idea of the iconic day pack that we know and love today.

   

   This all went down very well, so well in fact that by 1984 Eastpak had entirely perfected the durability of their bags, and felt confident to offer a 30 year guarantee on their product. That’s almost as long as the guarantee on an October Textiles screenprint.

   

   Then came more bright colours, followed by a thing about Eastpak that we bet you don’t know (?).
   Long before ASOS were born, (although after the founding of October Textiles, ahem years ago), Eastpak invented…wheels on soft luggage!!!!

   

   But ASOS weren’t the first co-lab – that all started in 2004, when they got together with Walter Van Beirendonck. Other collaborations went onto include
   Ami Christopher Ræburn RAF SIMONS Paul & Joe Vetements Timberland Tim Coppens House of Hackney Vlisco Uniwax Jean-Paul Gaultier Courrèges Marcelo Burlon Andrea Crews The Boyscouts Pur Sang Jean Paul Lespagnard A.P.C. Made By Prisoners WOOD WOOD Kenzo Minami Kris Van Assche Nicomede Talavera Gaspard Yurkievich Christopher Shannon Raf Simons DRKSHDW Quinze & Milan Ed Banger Records Eley Kishimoto Kaiser Chiefs The Prodigy The Hives Lemmy Ozzy Slash Zombie Flesh Eaters Mysterious Al D*Face Seen Seak G2 Walter Van Beirendonck Hendrik Schiffmacher

   Along with an October Textiles personal favourite in 2015, with good old Jean Paul Gaultier, bless him.

   

   Which brings us rather neatly to the present day, and one of the latest Eastpak co-labs with ASOS, and a little screen print from October Textiles…

   

10. Birth, Death, and a Print Day at October Textiles.

    April 20, 2016 10:31 am Comments Off on Birth, Death, and a Print Day at October Textiles.

    Like Birth and Death, a Print Day at October Textiles is a big and inevitable thing if you’re starting a clothing brand.

    But like birth and death, you don’t know quite what it’s going to feel like! Will it hurt, will it be funny, and will I meet Jesus?

    The most overblown comparison ever?

    Well of course; the comparison between birth and death and a screen printing experience is an enormously over the top connection, but it’s fashion man. If we don’t burst out of a cake firing rockets out of our arse, no one will listen, so we over egged the title. Guilty. Apologies. We really must behave.

    What does it look like?

    None the less, if you are starting a new clothing brand, you may think ‘What does it look like’, when you pop in for the day to:

    Choose your inks – water based, solvent based, or discharge inks.

    Decide on print colours…a dibble more cerise here, a splash more fuchsia there.

    Fondle of your ink textures…do you want nice and squirrel soft, or firm as a Welder’s glove?

    Consider special effect inks – high build, gloss, foil, glitter, donkey jizz etc.

    Have a look at your garment print position – up a bit, down a bit, left a bit, PRINT!

    Have a cup of tea – Builder’s – none of that Southern lawn mower grass cutting nonsense.

    Check out your back neck labels, high definition woven badges, and run an embroidery sample.

    Wear some of your product, dance about in front of the mirror when no one is looking, make sure all is good.

    And spend a bit of time with the honest and good in the October Textiles engine room, spanners in hand, pencils behind ears, fag on the loading bay and the truth perhaps about starting a fashion brand, from the Printer who lives it.

    The attached film is just a feel, thanks to our friends at Time and Place. Hopefully it will mean that when you walk through the door you at least know that the floor is blue, and like so many things in life, our machinery spins in an eternal circle of birth, death, and a print day at October Textiles.

11. New EU Trademark Reforms now in force

    10:08 am Comments Off on New EU Trademark Reforms now in force

    Credit Fiona Boswell Fraser Brown Solicitors.

    14 Apr 2016
    As of the 23rd March 2016 new trademark laws came into force that affect the registration of trademarks in European Union. These new laws have come in to harmonize the laws affecting the trademark system in the European Union across all national states and are meant to address the modern business environment, streamline procedures and prevent anti-counterfeiting.
    What are the key changes?

    1. They have a new name – what were formerly known as community trademarks are now called EU trademarks and likewise the OHIM will now become the EU Intellectual Property Office.

    2. Non graphic signs easier to register – it will now be easier to register signs such as sounds and smells.

    3. Stricter rule for trademark classifications – the wording of trademarks will now be interpreted literally in line with recent case law. This means it is important that trademark owners take care to ensure that all goods and services that the mark is or will be used for are included in the class specification. If you already have a EU trademark which was filed before 22 June 2012 you have until 23 September 2016 to extend your registration to cover goods and services included in your class heading that you didn’t include when it was filed. Your register entry will then be amended accordingly but the additional goods and services can only be used to prevent copycat use from the date of the change.

    4. Use of Registered TM as a Company Name is an infringement – watching service subscription recommended for trademark owners.

    5. Trademark Rights automatically included in transfer of the business – unless there is clear agreement to the contrary a business’ trademarks will automatically transfer when a business is sold.

    6. It’s cheaper to register EU trademarks – business can now choose to register in one, two or three classes instead of having one fee for up to three classes. Fees have also reduced for renewals, oppositions, invalidity, revocation and appeals.

    7. Defences, Infringements, Refusal and Invalidity, Licensees Rights to Sue – there are other more complex changes concerning defences to infringement, grounds for refusal and invalidity and licensees right to sue.

    Word to the wise.
    Protecting your brand is a key part of any business as it is often its most valuable asset.

    If you are a EU trademark owner you should:

    1. Ensure that the goods and services listed in your classifications cover all that your brand is or will be used for before 23 September deadline occurs if you registered your brand prior to 22 June 2012.

    2. Implement watching services to prevent others using your brand as a company name.

    If you are thinking of registering a EU trademark it is now a good time to do so as the fees have gone down and the type of signs that are capable of registration has increased.

12. Mens fashion – no more heroes, and the death of a salesman

    April 14, 2016 10:57 am Comments Off on Mens fashion – no more heroes, and the death of a salesman

    In an attempt to win ‘Most Ridiculous Article Title 2016’, we bring together mens fashion, no more heroes and the death of a salesman. What the hell are these idiots on about now, and what does men’s fashion have to do with songs by the Stranglers and plays by Arthur Miller? Let’s break it down.

    Men’s fashion.

    One might imagine that men’s fashion being all about creativity, would be a fascinating melting pot of individualistic one off characters, forever glancing sideways at the modern world. Visually, this may be true. On a recent visit to that sickest and dopest of trade shows, No Jacket Required, man, (up Brick Lane in commuter jeans on your new fixie) one went straight to the Narnia wardrobe, and proceeded to dress up like a total bell end. A glance in the bedroom mirror confirmed that the circus was in town, and off we went.

    On entering the show however, the sound of pompous wind whistling from our balloons was immediately audible, as on checking the room we looked in comparison, like accountants. Most residents of this three day fashion asylum looked more like art installations than actual people. Our favourite was a lovely lad, with turn ups reaching up to his danglers, and a 30 storey high rise hat – in fur. A small bespectacled face peered out from betwixt the ensemble, and he smiled, while balancing a small bear on his head.

    Now we love this about men’s fashion. In a drab, cardboard, two dimensional world, the more textile based madness the better in our book. As we wander about however, does the character match the cloth, or is it the case that there are…

    No more heroes.

    It’s easy to get nostalgic about mens fashion, old skool, back in the day, ‘Come on son, know your history’. It’s easy to reminisce about the heroes, and it’s worth remembering that wrongly perhaps, many a fashion shenanigan was chemically fuelled. By three o’clock on day one of trade shows like 40 Degrees, way back when, the night sheets would cloak the stands for a brief moment. What followed was an enormous collective sniff that reverberated about the hall, and over Earls Court we imagined, hung a large exclamation mark.

    Such carry on can no longer be condoned, but none the less, the place was awash with characters. Their names should perhaps remain lost in the annals of the fashion almanac: the female brand owner who perpetually asked incredibly detailed sexual questions; the chap whose models didn’t show up so he recruited six prostitutes from Victoria bus station; the greyhound being delivered to Sunglasses Henry that got lost in the car park; the letting down of tyres, the penguin in the club toilets, the three nippled head of European sales, and of course, the case of the missing banana off the drag queen’s hat. What commercial relevance does any of this have, and who cares about that time we sold a pair of curtains that were rescued from the Windsor Castle fire? Well there may be some relevance to the world of mens fashion, because without the characters, without the heroes, are we looking at…

    The death of a salesman?

    Dressing like we’ve just emerged from the Blue Peter craft cupboard is all well and marvellous, but if the character behind all the character doesn’t match up, is it the death of a salesman, do we want to buy anything from him, or indeed her? If he was still alive bless him, we would all benefit from a sales course at the genius feet of Harry Harris from Berwick Street. He once convinced me to buy a consignment of five hundred multi coloured desert boots, in a total victory of personality over product. By the time he’d restyled my hair with a pocket comb while singing show tunes, squirted me with the Indian Limes aftershave he carried in his man bag, and read my horoscope, I was going to buy anything he had. The multi coloured boots took a while to shift, but thanks to support of local Lesbian students, we got there in the end.

    Mens fashion, no more heroes and the death of a salesman, perhaps it will only happen if we’re so busy looking the part, we forget to play the part?