November Fashion
Profile Fashion It seemed like the end of the world at the time
It seemed like the end of the world at the time.
But losing his job as a fitter at Treeton pit pulled Andrew Maloney up by the seat of his pants.
The miner cast off his grimy overalls for good and sank his £6,000 redundancy into fashion – a move which must have stunned most of his former workmates.
“It was a lot of money 30 years ago – as much as the cost of a terraced house and probably worth about £25-30,000 in today's terms,” he says. “A lot of younger miners were trendy lads who liked spending their hard-earned money on clothes. But still they were very dubious I could make such a dramatic career change work,” he agrees.
“It all worked out though. Without a doubt, getting made redundant when the colliery closed was the best thing that ever happened to me,” he says. “If the pits hadn't gone I'd probably still be there.”
What helped enormously was Andrew’s eye for fashion. Joanne says it was his sharp image which had attracted her to him all of 30 years ago.
“The New Romantics era was my heyday. I did the full shebang; frilly shirt, tight jeans and pointed shoes,” he grins.
And then there was the experience he picked up while trying to earn a crust during the miners' strike. “I made ends meet by working as a Saturday lad in a fashion shop just down the road,” he says, gesturing down Division Street towards Devonshire Green. “I got to the business from the inside and that made a big difference.”
Eton, the tiny menswear store he opened in Rotherham in 1988, has grown into a mini fashion empire. Ten years ago he and wife Joanne branched out to include womenswear at the Rotherham shop, then set up a sister store on Division Street, which fast became a hotspot for city girls seeking exclusivity and cutting edge designer styling.
“Very few boutiques in the city centre stock designer clothes for women; we thought there was a demand and we have been proved right,” says Joanne as I covetously eye a stack of simply beautiful handbags in better-soft leather taking centre-stage in the store.
The Maloneys were so impressed with the road that is fast becoming Sheffield's new fashion epicentre that last month they opened yet another store there - a seriously stylish, spacious unisex Eton. It’s just a few doors down and already, business is storming, despite the recession.
It seems cosmopolitan city types still have serious cash to spend - and images to maintain.
All Eton stores boast the most desirable designer names in the world of fashion. Fans swoop on Vivienne Westwood's quirky, proudly British Anglomania and Red Label ranges, Mulberry's ready to wear collection for autumn is adorning the rails and Alexander McQueen's McQ diffusion range is hot to trot down Division Street.
In addition two collections – one classics, one casuals - from Nottingham's own style knight of the realm Sir Paul Smith are in stock, as are some of the hippest names in denim - Evisu, Arctic Monkeys’ favourites Nudie Jeans and U.S. brand PRPS. and try America's beloved J Brand for the ultimate fit, advises Joanne.
You want more? Then check out their choice, hand-selected pieces from See by Chloe, Hugo Boss, Y3 from Adidas, Stone Island and Dolce & Gabbana.
It's all a far cry from that first brave foray into the business on the back of a couple of locally-made brands and a smattering of Matinique to with mates and former pit colleagues as the clientele..
“Getting the big names was hard work, though; it can turn into a catfight if you're not careful, says Andrew: “Shop-owners protect their designer brands as if they were their children.”
Eton's winter style predictions:
What’s hot for menswear...
Tighten up your belts, guys, the lean look is back in town.
Everything is narrowing - from jeans of drainpipe width to body-skimming suiting.
“There a strong retro look to the season,” says andrew. “Suits are definitely making a comeback, which I think is very good news. Nothing enhances a man’s physique like a well-cut suit. And in my opinion it’s about time the guys smartened up their act when accompanying girls dressed to the nines.”
Slender tailoring, narrow lapels, single-buttoning.. That’s the style.
Leather makes a major resurgence - every designer collection has an informal hide jacket, says Andrew. And continuing on the casual front, well-cut, smart jeans in narrow shapes will be worn with everything from knits to funnel-neck wool coats and ski-influenced padded nylon jackets. Stone Island have a goose down-fuilled version which actually changes colour while you’re wearing it. Thermo-sensitive liquid crystals in the outer layer react to temperatures, changing the hue from light to dark blue.
and while we’re talking colour, expect your staple winter wardrobe of black and greys to warm up with spicy berry tones of mulberry and plum.
