Meet James Millar: Liberty London Menswear Designer

Meet James Millar, a man immersed in Liberty Print these days. He’s also the man responsible for turning the geometric and paisley patterns from our archive into our latest Liberty London menswear collection for SS13.

Yesterday, we showcased James’ work to international press and buyers at our London Collections presentation. We caught up with James to find out more about the collection and which pieces you’ll find hanging in his wardrobe next season:

Tell us how you got into menswear design, and how you started working for Liberty:

I originally joined Liberty as Head of Scarves and as part of that I was designing ties and scarves for men. There were so many possibilities to use the prints…so  my role now includes designing the shirt line and any other additions going forward.

I studied textile design at Glasgow School of Art and then went on the do a Masters in Fashion at Central St Martins. My fashion work has always been very focused on textiles. In the past I’ve worked for Jonathan Saunders both on his own line and another line in Italy called Pollini whilst he was Creative Director there. I also worked freelance and did some print work for Loewe ready to wear and sold work through a design studio to various labels like DKNY, DVF and Valentino. I did some freelance work last year for Liberty designing the limited edition Olympic and jubilee scarves that you’ll find in store now, but  joined the team permanently in January.

This is your first full collection for Liberty – how is it designing for a heritage brand?

It’s great to have such an amazing archive and history in print – the challenge is making that relevant to the modern fashion consumer.

Tell us about the inspiration behind the collection for SS13 and how Liberty Print has been reworked for the season

There is no one overall theme to the collection. We looked a lot at Victorian decoration and the obsession at the time for foreign cultures: Arabic, Greek, Indian, Chinese etc. We also introduced some new prints from the archive and updated some classics, by turning them into checks or combining them with spots. On ties we introduced the idea of the tip being a different colour way of the same print or a different scale of the same print to make them a bit more special. The focus was on introducing more craftsmanship into the collection.

We’ve also introduced a new fit on the shirts and a new style to broaden the appeal of them. Colour was important and artist Gary Hume was a big inspiration for this collection. His use of colour is still very modern and unexpected.

What sort of man would wear the SS13 Liberty London collection?

I think the collection has something for everyone, from the more classic styles through to something utterly contemporary.

Which pieces will be found hanging in your own wardrobe?

The majority of the short sleeved shirts are right up my street and I love all the scarves too. My favourite prints are Juno (peacock feather print), Criss-cross, Bourton check & Eastwood spot which we have used on ties and scarves.

Do you already have ideas for AW13? Can you let us in on any design secrets?

I’m still really into paisleys at the moment but who knows what will happen in a months’ time when I start the new collection. Hopefully we will be including some new product categories too!

Be sure to visit us in store in November, when the collection will land in our Menswear department.

Can’t wait? Shop our current selection on menswear online here