Ian Smith
35, British. Marketing & Brand Director at Namshi.com
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What’s your favourite wardrobe item?
It’s currently my brand-new dyed reflective longline bomber jacket from Stone Island. I love its experimentation with fabrics and production techniques to deliver something truly unique. They are genuine market leaders in fashion innovation.
How would you describe your style?
Contemporary and modernist. I love the history behind brands, the production techniques and the fabrics. I love individuality and buy into brands and products that are genuinely different. There is a lot of homogenisation on the high street these days but there are also a lot of good brands doing exciting work across a range of price points at the moment.
What does your style say about you?
I think my personality comes out in my style all the time. I do like to express myself through clothes and footwear and do believe it says a lot about a person when looking at what they wear and how they take care of their appearance. That is what we are trying to achieve with Namshi, we want to create a destination that will connect and inspire people and get them talking and sharing their personal style.
What’s the best style advice you can give our readers?
Always be individual.
And what’s the best style advice you’ve ever been given?
I’ve yet to receive any!
How has your style changed as you’ve got a bit older?
It’s probably stayed very similar. I’ve always been interested in clothes. I used to work during school holidays to get the money to afford the cool jacket, or pair of sneakers that nobody else had. We used to travel from the north of England down to London, in the pre-Internet era, to be able to pick up threads that nobody in the north would own. Style was an important element of northern culture when I was growing up and that’s stuck with me.