LONDON — Rob Jones and Catherine Teatum, who design London’s Teatum Jones label, will be debuting men’s wear during their first women’s catwalk show at London Fashion Week next month.
The designers, who have previously showcased their ranges in a presentation format, will be staging their show at 11 a.m. on Sept. 16 at the BFC show space, Brewer Street Car Park.
“It’s always been on our wish list to add men’s wear and also part of the bigger picture for Teatum Jones,” Jones told WWD. “As we are showing our first official scheduled catwalk show, it felt now was right. We are starting with a really curated edit to get a feeling for the men’s wear, and the plan is to grow it over the coming seasons.
“We also are designing some of the key pieces to be unisex as we feel this is how people are dressing, swapping and switching it up. We’ve always had a masculine feel to our women’s wear, and a lot of our key outerwear shapes have come from men’s wear, so it felt only right to sit them alongside each other in the show.”
Related Galleries
RELATED STORY: Catherine Teatum, Rob Jones Talk About Woolmark Win >>
The coed shift comes at a time when other designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Burberry have made efforts to streamline and clarify their branding and product offer for the industry and the end-consumer. During the London men’s wear shows in June, many designers showed men’s and women’s clothing together on the runway and in September, Burberry is planning a coed, see-now-buy-now show.
RELATED STORY: Vivienne Westwood to Show Men’s and Women’s Together Under One Label >>
Earlier this year, Teatum Jones scooped the women’s 2015-16 International Woolmark Prize. They edged out competitors including J Koo, Bianca Spender, Nanna van Blaaderen, Taller Marmo and Tanya Taylor, and were awarded 100,000 Australian dollars, or about $71,020 at current exchange. They will also receive mentoring.
Next up, the duo will be promoting their range with Woolmark. “We are going around the world launching Teatum Jones with Woolmark straight after Paris,” Jones added. “First it is Boutique 1 in Dubai then, David Jones Sydney, Isetan Tokyo, Boon South Korea and then Saks New York. One after the other, each with an event to launch us. It’s like we are on tour. We can’t wait.”
RELATED STORY: Teatum Jones Wins Women’s International Woolmark Prize >>