Jeff Banks' passion for fashion
By Tony Watts - Editor - 10/07/2008
It’s the second day of the Bath & West Show, a sunny hour in between thunderstorms and mud is encroaching onto the walkways. But Jeff Banks eschews wellies for a very trendy pair of sharp shoes, topped – of course – with a smooth suit and open-necked shirt. The hair is a bohemian collar length and proudly grey, and his trim build and healthy tan ample evidence of a strict training regime that regularly sees him doing 100 miles a day on extended cycling tours.
The guy, now in his mid 60s, is looking good - for any age.
And while Jeff is officially here to promote his store at the nearby Clark’s Village, he’s taking full opportunity to indulge one of his abiding interests: farming. We stop to look at the Dexter cattle vying for rosettes in one of the show rings. “I’ve got some of these,” he says proudly. While Jeff’s life has been cosmopolitan for over 40 years, somewhere inside lurks a hankering after his Welsh valley roots!
We’re here to talk fashion – not one of this writer’s specialist subjects - but I’ve been well primed by the rest of the editorial team on what to ask. Something about styles and materials for older people apparently. We’ll start with the ladies. How does the High Street look after them?
“Not all shops cater for them. But there really is a lot of choice out there. People now in their 60s and 70s grew up in the 60s revolution, and going to shops like Miss Selfridge. Once you’ve enjoyed being fashionable, it stays with you and there’s no need to give up. There are brands like Per Una catering for mature women.
“Older women shouldn’t feel obliged to follow younger fashions – the fit and materials aren’t right for them.” And here he takes the opportunity to dismiss the attempts by TV’s Trinny and Susannah to dress older ladies in 18-30 fashions. “I hate the show,” he says. “Why do they feel the need to humiliate people?”
“There are some really excellent shops out there, such as Edinburgh Woollen Mills, Country Casuals and Phase 8. Look at how Edinburgh are using Carol Smillie [who is 46] as their ‘face’. All of them offer really stylish cuts, which are kind to the tops of the arms and don’t have plunging cleavages.”
And what about the materials that he would recommend? “I’m not a big fan of natural materials; there are plenty of really good mixes that hold their shape and don’t need pressing. Perfect for travelling and you want to look good.”
Jeff’s track record on fashion is quite exceptional and well worth reiterating. How many other designers have had quite so many “incarnations” or set off so many trends? When he opened “Clobber” in 1964, the police were called to the tiny Blackheath boutique to hold back crowds estimated at 10,000 – there to see the glitterati of the day who flocked to his shop.
His clothes were soon selling in the big name stores – Harrods, Harvey Nicks and Miss Selfridge – and by the end of the 60s, he was a key component of the English cultural invasion of the States, Europe and Asia. His Warehouse venture followed: low price, high quality clothes that rapidly acquired cult status.
Over the next few decades he assumed the status of spokesperson for his industry, leading export missions, establishing design courses at Universities and even acting as an external examiner – encouraging and cultivating the next generation of designers. Today, as he readily accepts, he is the leader of a team of very talented people, the figurehead.
And it was his high public profile that helped lever him into his role as TV presenter in The Clothes Show (sharing the duties with Selina Scott) and The Style Challenge, which picked up on an innovation from the Clothes Show – doing makeovers of members of the public. How many shows has that concept spawned?
But why should women have it all their own way? What, I ask, hoping he won’t look too closely at what I’m wearing, about men’s fashion? “I think that’s coming on a storm at the moment,” he says. “There’s Wolsey at Matalan, Blue Harbour at M&S, Ralph Lauren, Burton’s are great for suits and there’s Debenham’s too. Blokes are always coming up to me and talking about fashion, asking where they should buy their next suit. They are genuinely interested. There’s no reason for men not to look great too.”
So how does he create his own distinct styles? “I design for myself,” he says. “The question I always ask is: ‘would I wear this myself?’ And that’s how I designed our underwear range. I bought every make I could find, wore all of them and worked out what was good and bad about them. It took two years but I think we have the most comfortable men’s underwear.
“When Jeremy Paxman complained about M&S pants, we sent him some of ours – but I rather think he was inundated!”
He has also been outspoken in the debate on “exploitation” of cheap labour. “No, you don’t want to see very young children involved, but a lot of crap gets spoken about this. You don’t hear about how girls are being taught to use sewing machines and make a living for life.”
But it’s not all work and no play for Jeff these days. In between looking after his cattle, he’s always keen to get into the saddle. He has raised huge amounts for charity in recent years and is now planning his next foray: 1,000 miles across Europe in 10 days … a fearsome challenge as parts of the route take in Tour de France sections.
Perhaps, tellingly, he is someone who interior life is as important as his external one: he is a convert to Nichiren Buddhism and tells me that: “I’ve been practising it for so long that I don’t even think about it now. It’s just ingrained in everything I do. It touches every part of my life – from my work to my attitude towards the environment.”
Applying his professional expertise to his favourite leisure activity, he is also working on his next innovation: sportswear: “We’re developing a new blend of lycra and bamboo which will take the perspiration away from the skin.” And that leads into a long discussion on chafing that would only be of interest to other runners and cyclists!
While an interview is never enough time to make a full assessment on a person, Jeff Banks comes across as someone who has achieved his ambitions – there’s the relaxed air, and unhurried approach to everything he does. Some designers seem to come and go, but Jeff Banks seems to have developed the very useful knack of staying in fashion.