Clive Darby is one stylish fellow. Previously a key player at Richard James and then Kilgour, he has created wardrobes for PMs, film stars and captains of industry. And he knows one thing for sure: ‘Englishmen love their fashion. They have fun with it, create their own style.’
Which is exactly what he’s trying to encourage with Rake, his new luxury label, a collection entirely composed of separates, so each piece can be worn with any other piece in the collection. ‘It’s essentials, basically, for a gentleman’s wardrobe,’ he says. ‘I knew it had to be genuinely adaptable, with suits cut in a certain way so that it didn’t look like you had just broken it up to wear it with a jean or a chino.’
‘You can be wearing a jacket all day and then you pop in a pocket square, and it becomes something else, ‘ says Clive. ‘It immediately makes it more dressy. In order to stop it looking too bulky, use fine silk so you can fold it easily – the trick is not to do too many folds. Keep it simple. Don’t keep folding it and folding it; try to balance it out so that it fits the pocket.’
And colour? ‘Try to pick up on a shade that’s maybe already there in your tie or in the details of your jacket. With, say, a white pocket square with a blue trim, worn against a navy jacket, you get the best of both worlds: complementary and contrasting colours. The same is true of this brown and paisley combination. The pocket square is predominantly ruby red, but it’s actually the blue in it that works so well with the waffle weave of the jacket.’
