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Spotlight On: Common Sons

Sam Clapp of new British menswear label, Common Sons, has a lot to be happy about.

Posted 19th February 2012, 7:02pm in Extra by Amy Rich
Spotlight On: Common Sons Sam Clapp of new British menswear label, Common Sons, might have asked a lot of questions (some of them annoying) while he was finding his feet in the fashion world, but as far as he’s concerned, whether those questions are annoying or not, you can never ask too many. 

The basics: With Selfridges and ASOS among their stockists, and The Guardian, The Saturday Times Magazine, and the Observer Magazine already having picked up on the Common Sons buzz, Sam Clapp, 29, has a lot to be happy about. 

What inspired you to get into fashion design?
I started doing illustrations for friends of their finished garments and thought I would like to have a go at the design part. I always looked at clothes and wondered what it took to get the garments from their raw material state to the shop floor, and what processes are needed to achieve the initial design. So it was mainly sheer curiosity that kick-started my interest in design. 

Did you have any special training/education?
I don’t have any specific training; I have learnt everything from working with people and annoying people with loads of questions. I can’t recommend asking questions enough. 

What’s been your greatest success/thing you’re most proud of to date?
Getting into Selfridges and ASOS was the biggest success for Common Sons, their buyers are really on it so it was great to see they liked our stuff and would put faith in the product and buy our first season.  
The proudest/weirdest moment was seeing a stranger wearing one of our jumpers. Loads of my friends bagged samples but it was cool to see someone I didn’t know wearing it. I was on the bus and resisted the temptation to go up and thank him! 

What helps motivate you? Any particular music you like to listen to while you work?
The guys in the office keep me motivated; we all look at things from different points of view and add something different to the ranges.  We do argue over the music a lot though.  
While we were designing the AW12 season, I got a bit obsessed with Ritual Union, Little Dragon, which everyone else got really bored with. The memory guy in the video is awesome. 
At the moment, we’re listening to Devendra Banhart a lot at the moment, 16th and Valencia Roxy Music is a great song with a summer feel, we are optimistic! 

What’s the most difficult thing about doing what you do?
We want to source everything from the UK to make the knitwear, which can be difficult as most of the suppliers have shut down or moved abroad. It took us nearly three months to find a factory willing to produce samples for our first range and we have spent ages trying to find a suede manufacturer here and still haven’t found one. 

Who’s on your radar when it comes to new talent? Any particular designers, artists, authors who’ve captured your attention?
New to me, but probably not everyone, is Stuart Semple. He has just done an amazing piece for Amnesty international. I also really liked his ‘Happy Clouds’ artwork which he set off in London during the recession.  

Where can people buy your products from?
We have a shop on our Common Sons website and we also sell in ASOS, Selfridges, and independent shops around the country. We are also talking to shops in Europe and Japan so fingers crossed.

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