With urban icons such as Tinie Tempah or Andre 3000 frequently turning to Savile Row for inspiration to gentrify their wardrobe – pairing three piece suits with trainers or donning trilbies instead of baseball caps - new menswear label OneU has gone one better by fusing arguably the two best elements of men’s style: English Gent tailoring and streetwear.
The current collection includes blazers with hoods, bomber jackets with quirky tweed elbow patches and intelligent slogan tees (their ‘I Yam What I Yam’ is already gaining cult status). OneU’s esprit is that of the dexterous; exemplifying the multitasking modern man and the need for his jacket to take him from the boardroom to the basketball court to the bar in one (and heck, if every once in a while he needs to jump a fence or jog home in the rain, he won’t find it restrictive for either).
OneU’s early fans include DJs and sportsmen - both professions where dress codes flit between Hollister and Hugo Boss – so the appeal of OneU’s versatility is obvious.
Label MD Salah says of his brand ’, as the cliché goes, most designers will tell you they want to express themselves through fashion. Not me. I was never interested in fashion in the conventional sense.
I’m a sneaker fanatic of the Nike Air generation. The days when Jordan’s were imports and to own a pair required big money.
Although a devout streetwear fan you could say I started this business with an outside-in approach. I have no formal fashion education, bar a couple of short courses.
To me, fashion is an attitude and I want to inspire peoples’ confidence within. What better way to articulate this message than ‘OneU’? It appropriately has a personal tone characteristic of the label’s essence: to tailor to customers’ tastes.’
The collection also boasts a signature hoodie which can be made bespoke to the wearer’s requirements. In a campaign titled ‘Make Your Piece’, customers are encouraged to choose their hoodie’s colourways as well as its sizes when they order online. The garments are made from softest Japanese jersey, retail at £119 each and delivered within seven days.
OneU hooked up with R-Tizt of the Luminites to create this promo for the ‘Make Your Piece’ range:
Find out more about the range at www.oneU.co.uk