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Colour Flash

ELLA ALEXANDER 03 September 2010 0 Comments

KNITWEAR label Huxley wants to revolutionise British knitwear by injecting it with a little colour. "The label was set up to basically answer two questions; namely, where had all the vibrant coloured knitwear gone? And why are we so quick to eschew British manufacturing?" says Benjamin Benton, Huxley's founder. "As such we set out to produce high quality, brightly coloured, British-made knitwear and accessories."

SEE OUR COLLECTION FAVOURITES

The label, established in 2009, comprises a selection of crew neck and V-neck jumpers, cardigans and vests all made in Hawick, Scotland where Pringle also makes its famous knitted collections.

Benton worked in hedge funds before taking the plunge and moving into fashion.

"I was working in London in a city job that allowed me no creativity, and in which I felt I was wasting my life," he tells us. "As such I started to explore an idea I had at university, prior to the launch of stores like Uniqlo, which was for a clothing company specialising in brightly coloured, well-made and well-fitted, basic pieces."

Why does Benton believe the British are so good at making knitwear?

"We have a climate that demands we wrap up warm for large swathes of the year and we have a rich history of sheep farming for wool," he says. "We have developed both wools and practices that have, over the years, produced some of the world's best knitwear."

What is his favourite Huxley piece?

"I spend a lot of time in my coral V-neck and our new cardigans are a wonderful cut and look great in any of the colours dependent on what mood you're in," he says. "I am a huge fan of both our pink and yellow woven belts. It is amazing what a flash of colour can do."

Under the title "Helping Corporate Drones Live Their Dream", Time magazine this morning ran an interesting little article about the current trend for young entrepreneurs leaving their corporate jobs to run small-businesses. And the one man they felt the need to get a quote from? That's right, Mr Benjamin Benton, Founder of Huxley Colour Ltd! To quote from the article - "I wanted a return to premium British clothing," says Benton, 25, of his new venture. "I wanted to bring color back". Brilliant! To read the full article click here.

Work at the old Notting Hill station has recently uncovered these amazing advertising posters in non-public areas that date from c1956 - 1959 when the station's lifts were removed and replaced by escalators. These are in an old lift passageway. 

A variety of posters can be seen - some are London Transport's own posters such as the 'elephant' by Victor Galbraith - but others include the Royal Blue sailor by Daphne Paddern.

They will be leaving these intact - and please do not pester the station staff as the posters are wholly inaccessible - which is why they've probably survived 50 odd years!

Pretty cool I think you will agree.

Huxley - Summer 2010 from Huxley Colour Ltd on Vimeo.

Check out a little taster video from Huxley's summer shoot to promote the new cardigans and sleeveless jumpers. The new summer stock is due in any time now, so keep your eyes peeled!

The very astute people at Sheerluxe.com have been caught yet again trumpeting Huxley's cause! They have very kindly included Huxley's jumpers and socks in their Father's Day gift guide for 2010. So for those of you who are yet to sort out your a gift for your old dad, have a little peruse of the guide, or....just click straight through to Huxley and get shopping straight away. Fathers day is the 20th June, so there isn't long to get that gift sorted. 

All this weekend Huxley will be a Polo in the Park at the Hurlingham Club in Putney, London. If you are in the vicinity or at the Polo, please do pop in and say hi. The weather is tipped to be off-the-chart, and our deck chairs do look mighty tempting!

With big names such as Chris Martin and Rihanna joining Huxley in supporting Kids Company, their new campaign ‘Peace of Mind’ is already set to be another success.

Kids Company supports vulnerable children to help transform fragile lives providing sustained loving care so that they can manage their traumatic experiences of abuse, violence and neglect. Peace of Mind is a campaign trying to raise £5 million to aid this cause, and they need your help to spread their message.

Donations can be made through the interactive virtual brain at www.kidspeaceofmind.org and by donating just £5 you can light up one neuron and change the life of a vulnerable child. The virtual brain is a beacon of hope for the thousands of children they support.

Donators are able to personalise their neurons and link with friends neurons.

Some of you may recognise this face. Well he is now being touted by GQ.com as potentially the best-dressed man in Britain. What is the secret to his success? Well the new Deep Purple Huxley cardigan (coming soon) and Raspberry Beret socks can't have harmed his cause! To ensure Marits is crowned the best dressed man in Britain please vote for him here. 

As you can see from the photos above, we have recently done a new photoshoot to launch our new Cardigans and Sleeveless jumpers that we are launching this summer. Up-and-coming new photographer Tommy Clarke took the shots and we teamed up with LoveEspadrilles to provide their wonderfully summery espadrilles for the shoot. Here are a few behind the scenes sneak peeks, but stay in tuned for our new catalogue out in June and the new products launching soon.

Last week, we were lucky enough to be invited down to the Saracens Rugby Club training ground to photograph some of England's brightest young rugby talent in some of England's brightest knitwear. I think Huxley's presence was a positive one - Saracens went out the following day and trounced rivals Harlequins at Wembley. Congratulations lads! Above are a couple of sneak preview shots of the day with more to follow in due course in our Summer catalogue.

The players in question are:

Luke Baldwin, Scrum Half - Very Green

Will Frazer, Flanker - Cobalt Blue

Jamie George, Hooker - The Coral

Richard Haughton, Wing - Sunny Delight

Alex Goode, Full Back - Deep Purple

Lucy Page, PR - The Coral

We have always found espadrilles to be timelessly stylish and an essential part of our summer wardrobe. The problem was, they were very hard to find. 

Thank god then for LoveEspadrilles®! 

LoveEspadrilles® was founded in Summer of 2008  was a small website that made buying genuine espadrilles easy. Supported by family and friends and appreciated by many, the brand and website has grown and grown. The company now designs its own unique range of espadrilles and aims to continue growing but without losing its fun personality inherited from its modest beginnings. LoveEspadrilles® still makes its genuine espadrilles in the finest family-run factories in Europe. 

Huxley's personal favourite is the French Blue Berri as seen below. I can see them coupled with some navy blue shorts, a well fitted Albam white tee and a Very Green Huxley V-neck!

As we mentioned in this months newsletter, Huxley is now stocked in Murdock London. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Murdock, they are a group of Barber & Grooming Stores that combines men’s barbering services with a retail offering rooted in high-end male grooming. They currently have three barber shops in Mayfair, Shoreditch and Libertys, and they have built a very strong brand identity through their focus on old-school, British service and products. As such they are looking to expand this brand identity into fashion. In both the Shoreditch and Mayfair stores Murdock will be introducing some hand picked pieces from brands who share their ethos and aesthetic. All of which means that now you will be able to find Huxley, alongside some other great brands, in Murdocks barber shops. Why not pop in to your nearest Murdock barbershop and get that much needed wet shave, moustache trim or hair cut whilst stocking up on some handpicked items from Huxley and others!

As you will see below, since Christmas we have been tucked away in a dark room working on some new styles of jumper for Huxley. And here are the first sightings of the fruits of our labours. Will be introducing a lovely simple sleeveless sweater with the same slim cut as our current styles, as well as a neatly fitted cardigan. Both styles will be made in our traditional Merino wool, and maintain our subtle branding. Unfortunately these new styles will not be available in the online store until the Summer, but you can trust us when we say they are worth waiting for!

As many of you will know, there is a wonderful new store in Notting Hill that goes by the name of Wolf & Badger. This new store stocks only the brightest and best new design talent accross fashion, jewellery, art, etc. And the good news for us is...they also stock Huxley.

As you can see from the pictures above, the stores interior is wonderfully simple allowing each product to speak for itself. Huxley attended the launch of the store a week or so ago and was blown away by not only the store and the brands on offer, but also by the huge interest generated by the launch. In the week or so since the launch the likes of Esquire, The Times, Sunday Times, Mail on Sunday, Sunday Telegraph, Evening Standard, Daily Candy, Dazed Digital, vanityfair.co.uk, Maire Claire and more have been writing up the store as the next big thing!

So pop into the store to see us. Not only will you be able to experience Huxley’s clothes, but you will discover great new brands such as Hentsch Man and Carreduker.

The nice people at Sheerluxe have quite rightly spotted that a Huxley jumper would make the perfect gift for someone special this Valentines day. We of course couldn't agree more!