Practical designs and durable materials are Vidur’s key elements in creating timeless but contemporary menswear. Established in 2012, the brand is rapidly emerging as a strong contender on the London’s scene thanks to its refreshing Nordic aesthetic and strikingly elemental designs. Classical patterns and styles are being re-interpreted with a contemporary twist, while maintaining a strong focus on the functionality of garments. Vidur’s singular experimentation with lengths and volumes, as well as the blending of different fabrics, also earned the label a spot on Fashion East’s NEWGEN, an initiative aimed at supporting emerging menswear designers. We spoke to Raj Mistry and Richard Brand, the designer duo at the helm of the brand.
Vidur derives from the Icelandic word for wood, which speaks for your passion for Nordic designs. Are there any specific elements informing Vidur’s aesthetic?
The Nordic approach to design emphasizes simplicity and functionality, with an ideological background in democracy (i.e. products available for all). All of these play a part in our aesthetic approach – our aim is to create garments that become trusted partners to their wearer, staying relevant and modern as time passes.
One half of your design team has formal menswear design training, while the other has a music background. How do you integrate each other’s visions into the design process?
Having different backgrounds is an extremely positive situation to be in – it stops you from becoming too one track minded and getting into situations that may never have arisen if there was someone to act as a sounding board at the beginning. Ultimately we both have the same aims and ideals with what we want to create, but the key is playing to each others strengths (as the saying goes, the whole is greater that the sum of its parts).
Your past collections stood out thanks to a marked experimentation with fabrics and a reinterpretation of classic shapes with a sporty twist. What is Vidur’s take on modern tailoring?
We have yet to really fully approach tailoring, however, if we were to, we would infuse our usual approach – to make the garments minimal, functional and timeless. The basic cut of a suit has not changed in many years – variations in fit have come in and out of fashion but the premise of a well fitting suit is still the mainstay. The notion of playing with less traditional suiting fabrics is something we would like to work with and we have included a blazer in our AW15 collection that goes down this route.
Elemental, functional and enduring is often used to describe Vidur’s ethos. In what way has consumerist, mass-production culture influenced your design experience?
The power of the high street on what men are wearing is huge – although it doesn’t directly influence our design process, knowing what is out there can inform your decisions, not to mimic, but to offer alternatives.
Thinking of the current state of menswear, there has been a particularly important response to up-and-coming designers. How would you define the menswear scene in London?
We are very lucky to be based in London – it’s absolutely one of the best, if not the best place to work as young designers. The city itself is massively creative and has a really strong aesthetic and design focus. On top of that, it’s home to global fashion weeks for both women and now men and fashion is a massive part of everyday life. The focus the British Fashion Council places on emerging designers, alongside all of the other amazing support from various other initiatives and incubators like the Centre for Fashion Enterprise is incredible. Because of this environment, the menswear scene is vibrant, diverse and exciting.
