As one of our more ecologically aware brands, Kestin Hare is for those of us with an appreciation for the more locally-sourced things in life. As the former head of design at Nigel Cabourn and Common People, Kestin Hare himself was brought up in Scotland. He now operates with a focus on keeping things premium and handcrafted.
Since 2014, Kestin has been designing each and every one of his collections from his Edinburgh studio. With local manufacturing, but global intentions, Mr. Hare is doing something very right. By keeping the designs traditional you know each piece is more than just a failsafe option: it's a guaranteed contemporary aesthetic with ingrained craftsmanship. Following the recently emerging appreciation for the quality, care and local industry support of traditional methods, Kestin Hare does all he can to ensure the brand follows suit. This ideology of appreciating tradition and going against the fast fashion mentality is called provenance. And it's a pretty good word to summarise this Scottish menswear genius.
"a guaranteed contemporary aesthetic with ingrained craftsmanship"
Coming from an organically developed design background, Hare knows a thing or two about how menswear works. Having stated he used to take apart high-end tailored garments (we're talking Christian Dior jackets), in order to learn how to pattern cut. We've got a lot of respect for that kind of bravery here at Number Six, it's just one of the reasons we're massive fans of this man's work.
The uniqueness of Hare's fabric sourcing methods becomes obvious in pieces like the Black Isle Shirt. Using a heavyweight herringbone twill (and a carefully cut design) this piece is one of our staff favourites at the minute. It pretty much embodies the whole Kestin Hare vibe as something that can be translated anywhere in the world. This is all cleverly part of his global vision, garments which have their own identity by showcasing simple, contemporary, minimalist design. This is the same with the Attadale Polo, a lightweight, soft, 100% cotton knit. It's classic in the extreme but doesn't look out of place in a modern landscape. Somehow it's balanced absolutely ideally, we don't understand how he does it, but we're sure you'll see what we mean.
"classic in the extreme..."
There's a lot to be said for sourcing everything locally, people can appreciate it because it keeps tradition alive. From various craftsmen, to premium leather tanneries, or expert knitwear creators, the Kestin Hare brand keeps all of this close to heart. We'll admit there's a trend around the provenance way of life at the minute, but it's there for a reason. It's the revolution of things being made to last once more: gone are the "nothing's made like it used to be" days. With Hare's 15+ years of industry experience, it's clear he's got his head right on his shoulders. He's a visionary for everything UK manufactured, and we're definitely on board.
