Keen modernist and proud owner of classic British hard-man name our good friend Mr Stone divides his time between his consultancy where he specialises in communication strategies for a plethora of impressive brands. He also continues to work on one of our favourite ever labels, Baracuta, for one of Italy’s leading brand builders WP Lavori as well as being Brand Director at We Are Vast and established boutique design agency. Safe to say he knows a thing or two about style, so get your notepads out and get ready take down Kev’s Favourite Five.
Item of clothing
The one item that is special to me is the ubiquitous G9 jacket created by Baracuta, I’ve had a 12 year romance with the brand, from writing and archiving the brands history, to running the business from a start up to now working as a brand consultant with the new owners WP Lavori. I have a few favourite G9’s but the standout piece is a G9 we did with Comme Des Garçons.
Book
I’m obsessed with business minded books, and how little things can make the big difference, my author of choice is Malcolm Gladwell and my favourite book of his is The Tipping Point, the book seeks to explain and describe the “mysterious” sociological changes that mark everyday life. As Gladwell states, “Ideas and products and messages and behaviours spread like viruses do.” The examples of such changes in his book include the rise in popularity and sales of Hush Puppies shoes in the mid-1990s and the steep drop in the New York City crime rate after 1990. It’s a book I always reference and refer back to.
Music
My default is Northern Soul, I am old enough and I now realise now how lucky I was to have gone to Wigan Casino, venturing there as a 17 year old in 1978 ( the year Billboard magazine voted it the best disco in the world ahead of New York City’s Studio 54) and thinking back then that life musically as I knew it was over at the last ever night in 1981. I still love the crackle of a good 7″ inch northern soul stomper.
Art
I can’t claim to be an art snob or have a huge collection of anything valuable, but I’m a big fan of David Hockney, this all started when I met a very inspirational man, Mr Jonathan Silver, Jonathan had 13 menswear shops in the North of England, he attended the same Bradford school as Hockney and having sold his 13 shops upon his return from travelling the world he had the vision to open Salts Mill in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, now the home to the largest collection of Hockney paintings in the world. I did some consultancy with Jonathan and he paid me in Hockney’ s reproduction prints, although not originals they mean a great deal to me, my particular favourite been Mr and Mrs Clark & Percy.
Something else
I collect Subbutteo.
