Oi Polloi's Tenth Birthday Party

Arguably the best retailer in the UK is celebrating it's 10th Birthday. Oi Polloi has been at the forefront of Men's casual wear for quite some time and since leaving their humble beginnings on Tibbs St have expanded to a new premise and dominated the online market. Many, many other retailers across the UK have cottoned on to their buying and look to the Mancunians for more than a little inspiration. I've been a big advocate of the store for many years, so if you're in Manchester head to the Soup Kitchen for what is to be quite a night, with a raffle featuring exclusive clobber and footwear from event partners Superga, Fjällräven and Lee to get your hands on.   For a taste of the varying sounds you can expect to hear, you only need to check out the Oi Polloi Soundcloud for an esoteric offering of mixes from friends and family.

 

6876 x Rohan

By default a Northerner having been born in Manchester, I've always been into coats and outerwear. Whether it's Berghaus or North Force - any trip up north would always result in a quest to find the jackets I'd seen on my last visit to Maine Road.

Recently having worked on the launch of UVU a resurged love of performance outerwear has been ignited. I've been digging a little deeper into coats and jackets and I'm really feeling an old British classic in the name of Rohan. They've collaborated with 6876 on some shirts and other things for Spring Summer 12.

Although I'm a fan of that project, I'm much more excited by a bit of Wainwright chic like the Rohan elite jacket.

The technical trend is sure to surge over the next few seasons. with Folk stocking other specialist brands ar their Lambs Conduit Street store and Arc'teryx having become the jacket of choice for those in the know with large wallets for some time, it's starting to become more prominent. Even down to the likes of newbie Y'Oh exploring the silhouettes of technical outerwear in their first collection. Technical jackets and the like have never gone anywhere, but it's seeing a resurgence in part to the shift from heritage and companies like KTC beginning to push the boundaries of production. Expect to see a lot more beaded seams.

Oi Polloi for Clarks Wallabee

The ever consistent boys at Oi Polloi have dropped one of the best Clarks Wallabee collabs to date. Choosing to use the best materials and colours over messing with the panels. I would have loved to see a mid top version but the shoe as a silhouette seems synonymous with the Manchester look. The Wasabi colourway is a winner...

"When tasked with creating a variation on one of our favourite shoes, we were initially stumped. How to improve on a design as classic as the Clarks Wallabee? Something special was in order — ‘Unicorn Leather‘ — the name given to elk hides by the specialist tannery tasked with producing the raw materials. As with all deer and antelope skins, the resulting leather is naturally very soft. When using hides from wild animals, there are always plenty of scars and scratches on the leather. The tannery have rightly made a feature of this natural quality, accentuating it with the use of aniline dye. Aniline dyed leathers are tumbled for up to 12 hours, in order to enhance the subtle variations of each hide and ensure a vibrant colour."


Available to buy now HERE.