From the GOOD STUFF Interviews from J'N'C Magazine N°69 / 3-2017, Interviews: Cloat Gerold & Thorsten Osterberger
Featuring over 400 brands, Mr Porter is one of the most renowned online platforms for men´s style.
In your opinion, what exactly does it take for a product to be called a “timeless classic”?
A timeless classic should be an item of clothing made with great attention to detail, something you can pull out of your wardrobe in years to come and its cut is still relevant and modern.
Is it possible for a certain style or a print pattern to become “timeless” because it has been repeatedly on trend throughout fashion history?
I think there are definitely some colours and patterns that will always be considered timeless staples: the Breton stripe, for example, and the camel coat. Alternative patterns such as camouflage, oriental patterns, printed motifs and leopard print will always be very much trend focused, but are also staples in their own right. They are themes that we see crop up from season to season, but are just updated ever so slightly.
What criteria are important when it comes to your brand portfolio?
For us it is ultimately about a carefully curated edit, ensuring that we’re providing everything our customer might want. The breadth of our product offering is continuously growing to move with the times and respond to the increasingly discerning male shopping habits.
"A timeless classic should be an item that has been made with great attention to detail and is something you can pull out of your wardrobe in years to come."
What do you think is more important to the average Mr Porter customer: trends or traditions?
What’s great about our product offering at Mr Porter is that we now offer such a wide range and breadth of product and we know a lot about our customers’ needs. Men are shopping a lot more and are becoming a lot more knowledgeable about brands and style thanks to the realms of information they can find on site, and our editorial platform is a great way of introducing these newer brands to a diverse audience. It’s the way the trend lead pieces are styled on our product pages, to dedicated stories in The Journal and The Daily. Each season we launch a trends campaign where we showcase what we believe the elements of style to be for the season ahead; this gives customers an edited version of what products to buy in each season.
What's more important when making an interesting garment, the cut or the fabric?
I would say both of these factors play an integral role in making an interesting garment. The cut of the item of clothing needs to fit you in the all the right places, and the quality of the fabric needs to be of good standard to allow it to stand the test of time.
Please recommend three timeless classics every man should own.
There are many classics that a man should own in my opinion. If I had to pick three, I would say a decent pair of bench-made leather shoes such as a Derby or a brogue by John Lobb or O’Keeffe. It’s important to invest in shoes as it’s the first thing people see. They finish off a suit but also look great with jeans and a washed Oxford shirt. This brings me onto the second classic – a white cotton Oxford shirt. A white button-down Oxford shirt from designers such as Thom Browne and Officine Générale is a distinguished wardrobe staple that can be worn with everything from denim to pressed trousers. And last but not least, an unstructured slim-fit blazer. A tailored separate that can be worn with denim or chinos. Boglioli is the epitome of relaxed, stylish and comfortable tailoring, in a lightweight and neat cut that will stand the test of time.
Please name three very trendy products you are glad of having hung onto over the years (and why).
A Dior Homme baseball jacket. I searched for this jacket for such a long time and I remember how excited I was when it arrived. I wore it to death but sadly I’m no longer a size 46, I’m hanging on to it more in hope than expectation.
Raf Simons 2004 patch sweatshirt – thanks to the likes of ASAP Rocky Raf is definitely having a moment with the new generation of hype kids. This was one of my favourite Raf collections and if I sold it today (not that I ever would) it would be worth several times what I paid for it all those years ago.
Saint Laurent floral print silk shirt – this was one of my more recent trendy purchases. I wore this shirt a lot. This camp collar short-sleeved shirt still holds a special place in my wardrobe.
What’s your personal favourite timeless classic?
My navy Dior Homme pea coat is the best thing I ever bought. I think I paid £300 for it second hand, it looked brand new and still does today. It´s not a fashion style but one of the few things that looks as good today as it did the day I bought it and will still look the same in another ten years’ time.
