Casely-Hayford’s Joe and Charlie Casely-Hayford (they’re father and son) made the wise choice of stepping off the runway this season, instead unveiling their strong Spring collection in person within their (gorgeous) Seven Sisters, London annex. The withdrawal came as a result of wanting buyers and editors to see “processes that can best be appreciated by hand” and because they’re slowing down their aesthetic evolution. Big changes every six months, both noted, are a “thing of the past.”
The most appealing thing in this lineup was its true and heartfelt dive into craft—though Charlie admits to hating the word. (Writers have the same problem with the term cool—it’s hard to find replacements.) Even so, craft shone coolly on a 3-D metallic T-shirt and as artisanal-leaning contrast topstitching on a blazer or full-bodied trousers. But the knockouts—and, we think, the real zone that Casely-Hayford is heading for—were its suits. A pin-striped double-breasted jacket with a generous break, matched with casual pants, was a 10 out of 10. We don’t often see suits that are so, well, unsuit-like in their easiness. For the braver, a rich brown tropical toile relief was cut into another double-breasted sport coat, this time with high-waisted, tapered pants. Hitting the brakes was a smart move.
