A Look at Hostem Womenswear

I was recently asked to comment on the “return” of maximalism in fashion for a newspaper article – as in loud, embellished, colourful and printed clothes – you know the stuff that is exactly my speed.  I was left wondering as to whether a) those sort of clothes had ever gone away and b) whether as a matter of fact, the opposite minimal aesthetic had dipped in popularity and c) why there is even any need for the “In/Out” language concerning minimalism and maximalism.  The two have clearly co-existed forever for those who seek it out.  That said, I vaguely understood the premise of the journalist’s questioning.  I’ve documented the return of Logomania in recent years and the supposed “dumbing down” of fashion where a visually stimulated piece of fashion can be reduced down to a catchy sweatshirt.  To some extent that may be to the detriment of clothes that talk quieter footsteps.  I think about the exit of Ann Demeulemeester from her own label and wonder if a younger generation of fashion enthusiasts know and appreciate the subtle poetics that Demeulemeester created.

And so we come to Hostem Womenswear, which opened fairly quietly in November.  Hostem’s directional menswear buy definitely turned many a head to Redchurch Street when it opened in 2010, and the street has since undergone a dramatic change from a row of permanently shuttered shops/galleries to a street , where you can find A.P.C., artisinal pasta and the waft of Aesop products.  Hostem itself has also slowly but surely been evolving and extending its own Farrow & Ball chalk black painted exterior to include a The Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella concession and a basement devoted to custom tailoring, luggage and accessories.

When it was announced back in August, that Hostem would be adding a two-floor 6,000 sq foot space to its existing menswear store, I was definitely intrigued.  Hostem has always struck me as a low-ceilinged, cosy and creaky space, where in the dim candle light, you can feel out the dark and beautiful textures of their menswear without even seeing it properly.  It’s the sort of place that you’d imagine a hundred years back, it might have been a tailor’s workshop, a la Uncle Edmund in The Paradise (yup, I’m the sucker, who watched the entire second series even though it was clunky and indigestible).  It’s an intimate shopping experience where personal attention is the number one priority.  Therefore, imagine my surprise when up the narrow staircase at the back of the menswear store, Hostem opens up into a cavernous and airy two floor space, divided by a split level mezzanine and now entirely devoted to the womenswear.  It’s a little on the risky side to switch up the retail norm and invite women to go through menswear to get to their section (usually it’s the other way round) but those that seek it out will be rewarded.  You gasp at the height and want to give a massive high five to the architect for this Grand Designs-esque feat of achievement.  Then you look down and you can’t help but notice the polished steel parquet.  Yes, steel parquet.  Apologies, whilst my interiors-obsessed brain is momentarily diverted.

Then we come to the clothes.  Christie Fels, formerly of LN-CC, and now Head of Womenswear, under Hostem owner James Brown, has put together a selection of labels that doesn’t mirror its menswear counterpart entirely but instead forges its own direction.  You come to Hostem for the kind of storied clothes that seduce with their emphasis on quiet and graft-centred craftsmanship, rather than the bells and whistles of raging visual motifs.  You might be looking at all this and think “This doesn’t look like Susie at all…”  There lies the dichotomy I guess.  I’m in fact longing for the day when I can slip into a beautiful Arts and Science jacket and shirt and trudge around in big clompy Comme des Garcons shoes looking like a witchier version of “me”.  You might be distracted by the feathers, the sequins and the print hootenanny going on in my wardrobe but actually some of my favourite things are a pair of well-made grey wool Jens Laugesen trousers and distressed navy wool Junya Watanabe trenchcoat.  All the easier to then appreciate Hostem’s womenswear selection of the no-brainer likes of Comme des Garcons, Rick Owens and soon to arrive, Dries van Noten.  In particular it’s wonderful to see Yohji Yamamoto being the centre of attention (quite literally as his geometric origami dress is hanging in the middle of the space at the moment) as he is another quiet operator, whose work always deserves more of a shout.  Adding to those established few is a group of young designers that are all on an artisanal track.  You have Faustine Steinmetz, whose hand-woven denim pieces caught my eye when she debuted last year.  Another enchanting weaver by the name of Amy Revier takes Japanese handspun yarn and creates one-off pieces in her Hampstead weaving workshop – hopefully she’ll allow me to pay her a visit sometime soon.  P.R. Patterson and Geoffrey B. Small bring lived in tailoring.  Meadham Kirchhoff’s Helter Skelter polka dots and beautiful lacework is about as “pretty-pretty” as it gets in Hostem.  Next season, Faye and Erica Toogood‘s line of coats, which I also raved about, will be heading in Hostem’s way.

Take a peek outside and the transformation from the initial one-floor menswear space to the occupation of the entire building of the street corner of Chance and Redchurch is striking.  Look further up above the womenswear space, there’s even plans for a greenhouse and terrace space that is due to open next year.  There, customers will be able to take tea as part of the store experience, which reminds me of the treehouse of the store Biotop in Tokyo.  Spaces to quietly reflect and ponder purchases just aren’t abundant in London’s stores.  Before that happens though, it’s worth trekking up those stairs to immerse yourself in a quieter side of fashion that perhaps could do with louder support.