How often is it that you have no idea about the meaning behind one of your favourite brand’s names? Not very often, but that’s exactly where we stand with TDR. And although we might not know what those three letters mean, we know that The Garbstore’s in-house label punches well above its weight.
Specialising in garments that look like they’ve seen a life long before they enter the packet, TDR have mastered the formula for clothing that draws from military, vintage and workwear influences – most of which stem from the mind of TDR’s founder, Ian Paley.
We’ve known Ian for a little while now, due to our longstanding ties to The Garbstore, but haven’t had a real chance to catch up about TDR since it launched in 2024. In its incredibly short two-year lifespan, Ian has shaped TDR into one of the most compelling vintage-influenced clothing labels to ever emerge from our shores.
We sat down with Ian to talk about everything from workwear influences and perfecting that pre-worn look, to his favourite Stussy shorts and fond memories of road-tripping across America.
Hi Ian, how’s it going? Whereabouts are you, and what have you been up to recently?
I’m good, thank you. I’ve been very busy improving what we do and how we do things. We haven’t really come up for air. I’ve spent a lot of time on product development and opening up new areas of manufacturing. Today I’m in London, but I’m heading off again tomorrow to start preparing for a trip to Japan at the end of the month.
At what point in The Garbstore’s journey did you decide you wanted to start making your own clothes?
Right from the beginning. The shop is called Couverture & The Garbstore, and the “garb” reference is our way of saying that it’s an old-fashioned business model. The shop was always intended to sell our own products alongside those made by our friends and peers.
Can you let us in on the secret of what TDR stands for?
Not today.
Has working with so many brands through The Garbstore helped you shape what TDR should look like?
I think we’re a little different as a retailer because we come from a background of making things, both through my own experience and that of key members of staff.
We look at products through a manufacturer’s lens: How good is the cloth? What are the internal seams like? Does this person really understand how to make things? That informs what we buy, but perhaps more importantly, what we don’t buy.
Much of the knowledge we’ve tried to acquire comes from studying vintage clothing and constantly analysing why and how things were made, how details define a garment and how functionality can create style. It’s really that understanding that helps shape TDR. It’s one big “What if?”
TDR seems to be the perfect blend of classic British silhouettes, reimagined with a kind of Americana style and produced using super-premium, often Japanese fabrics. Do you enjoy the horses-for-courses approach to the different aspects of a garment?
Yes. Everything is rooted in the way we like to dress – a mixture of new pieces and vintage clothing – so we tend to view and judge each item on the merits of how it is made.
It doesn’t really matter if we wear a pair of ’40s chinos with an ‘80s sweatshirt. It reflects that uniquely English way of mixing genres and styles. I think it can still feel cohesive, as long as everything is made in the right way.
What era of garments most often inspires TDR?
I’m a big fan of workwear from the 1930s.
Do you draw from any vintage garments or brands for reference? If so, are you able to enlighten us?
So many. I only really buy vintage clothing these days, and on most days at least half of what I’m wearing is old. The archive here is extensive, and my own wardrobes are bulging with 30 years’ worth of collecting.
Do you ever look to military clothing or workwear for inspiration?
All the time – not only for the details, but also for the cloth, the buttons and even the way the buttonholes were embroidered. It’s fun to incorporate those details into new pieces.
Does what you personally wear in day-to-day life influence what TDR produces?
Yes. It’s important to understand how certain garments make you feel, how we appreciate them and the stories they tell.
I have a very old pair of Stüssy swim shorts that have been in all the world’s oceans. They’ve faded in a way that simply couldn’t be replicated. I love how they look and the story they tell. When they were new, they weren’t anything particularly special; they were just simple shorts.
I like the way a life can transform a garment, and I hope we can create something of that feeling.
What’s the most important part of a garment to get right – colour, shape or fabric?
All of it. Every element has to work and have a reason for being there. Although fabric is really the canvas; without it, the details have no meaning.
Some of the fabrics TDR uses are immense – from Scottish lambswool to cotton from Japanese mills. How intrinsic is fabric choice to TDR?
It’s everything. Almost everything we make comes from around eight different mills in Japan. A lot of travel and research helps us understand cloth and the kinds of garments it can become.
I’m slightly obsessed with a mill called Takisada. It makes a fantastic Cordura wool fabric that was developed for Japanese business suits so they wouldn’t appear creased after sitting on the train. It serves a real purpose. I love that.
Do you think about how a TDR garment will age over time when you’re designing it?
Yes, and we’re now also incorporating ageing into the manufacturing process. I think things should feel slightly lived-in and have the beginning of a life before we sell them. I’m not a big fan of products that feel too flat or pristine.
Our favourite garments from each TDR collection are often those with an already lived-in look. Is this something you strive to achieve?
Yes. It’s an attractive quality, and one that I think is really driving the current global vintage boom – a lack of patience!
Is there a particular garment that you think perfectly encapsulates what TDR is trying to achieve?
It’s hard to say. I think there are a few, and to be honest, they’re all on the same path.
I really like the new Cordura Combat-wool Padded Balmacaan. A few years ago, I made a heavier version in a more workwear-oriented Cordura NYCO fabric, and a lot of customers have asked when it would return.
The new version uses a more tailored Cordura wool from my favourite mill. Its lining is made from Japanese mil-spec nylon and padded with PrimaLoft, Japan’s new recycled filling. It’s a super-warm coat, but it remains extremely light and easy to wear. We’re longing for the colder weather to arrive.
I remember that, for your American Waste collection, you repurposed and screen-printed vintage T-shirts. Are you okay to explain the process behind this?
American Waste was introduced to me by my friend Michael Koppelman. It was very early in the formation of the business, and he suggested that we work with them on something.
They’re such an innovative company, and what they do fitted perfectly with our idea for TDR. Creating the right degree of worn-in finishing was a challenge, but ultimately it was a big win for us: taking genuine vintage pieces and making them look even more vintage through the manufacturing process. It remains a fun, ongoing collaboration.
Has TDR been a learning process, or did you feel fairly well equipped from the beginning?
I think our base knowledge is good, but we still learn every day. It’s so important to understand how to make things properly.
What’s new for AW26?
Ligue is a new project launching for AW26, with everything made in Japan. It’s based on an unshakable memory I have from a trip to the United States around a decade ago.
My daughter was attending a summer camp in northern Minnesota, so the time between dropping her off and picking her up gave me an opportunity to drive across three states with my son, ending up in Chicago and taking in a few baseball games along the way.
In Chicago, I found an old outfitter that mainly supplied Little League teams. It also had some community-league blanks that had been sitting on the shelves for many years. The owner explained the whole story of supplying community leagues and what those leagues meant to people. It was fascinating.
The story stayed with me. From time to time, I would come across community-league shirts at vintage fairs and shops, and I would buy them.
I had always wanted to do something that captured the feeling I had that day. I knew I could make something close to the shirts of the 1930s and ’40s in Japan, so I spent a few years researching and speaking to Japanese companies about how we might do it.
We found a way, updated the fits and selected fabrics that are more suitable for life today. I love the shirts and the hidden stories they represent. The flannel shirt has a women’s-style fastening, which makes the front look completely different from a conventional shirt. It’s a nod to the wives who would have embroidered company names onto the original shirts.
Do you have a favourite garment that TDR has produced for AW26?
The Flannel Ligue Shirt is something I’ve personally wanted for a decade.
Are you having fun with TDR? It certainly feels like you are.
Yes. It isn’t too serious, and it really can go anywhere. Whatever interests us, TDR will find a way of doing it.
TDR already feels like much more than a retailer’s own brand. Do you have any future plans for it?
There are no big plans. It’s for us, our local community and our customers. It shows them that we’re not simply a shop – we’re a place that understands the “why.”
Find out more about TDR & their new AW26 range at The Garbstore
