Cutting class: Parisian men’s outfitter Husbands is a lesson in cultivated cool
Last summer, in Palma de Mallorca airport, Nicolas Gabard, founder of luxury menswear brand Husbands, bumped into a client dressed in Bermuda shorts. Gabard was wearing one of his own double-breasted suits, cut from Hield cloth manufactured in West Yorkshire. The client admitted he was embarrassed. Gabard replied simply: ‘One must never let go.’
For Gabard, there is no such thing as weekend wear. Clothing makes the man (and can unmake him). Three years ago he created Husbands because he wasn’t able to find the clothing for the man he wanted to be.
It was culture that gave Gabard a passion for menswear early on: ‘You read Proust and you love ankle boots. You listen to The Smiths and you love Morrissey’s clothes. You see Alain Delon in Le Samouraï and you love trench coats.’ He became a lawyer to please his father, but spent his free time hunting through flea markets for vintage clothes. Most of the time, he couldn’t find what he was looking for – even when he started using an expensive tailor.
Tiring of law, Gabard founded a communications agency. But he was still bored, so he sold his stake and launched Husbands, taking the name from the John Cassavetes film. His small boutique is in Paris’s 9th arrondissement, where François Truffaut and Serge Gainsbourg grew up. Albums by Joy Division and The Smiths and books sit on a shelf above a row of jackets. Gabard, who on the day we meet is wearing a Hardy Minnis double-breasted twill suit, denim shirt and silk-knit tie, insists that he deals in style, not fashion.
His catalogue changes little from season to season, and contains the basic components of an elegant man’s wardrobe: double-breasted suits, tweed jackets, blazers, trench coats, Chelsea boots, silk ties and scarves.
Husbands fills the gap between mass-produced and bespoke suits. The three-piece suits (from €1,490) are made by hand and to order in Italy (with personalised sleeve and jacket lengths). A key distinction of the Husbands’ suit is the entoilage, the full-length panel, made of linen and horsehair, that gives it structure and longevity. Another characteristic is that Husbands’ suit fabrics come from England, Scotland and Ireland.
Gabard considers himself to be an archivist not a designer. He scours old photos to find looks he likes, then hunts down the original fabrics. Coming upon a photo of Winston Churchill in a pinstripe suit, he obtained the identical navy wool from Fox Brothers in England. ‘I wake up in the morning and can put on the same flannel Churchill wore to Yalta,’ he says.
Though the fabrics and techniques he employs are traditional, the cuts are slimmed down for modern tastes. Gabard’s sartorial heroes are guys who never spent a day at the gym: Mick Jagger, David Bowie and Serge Gainsbourg, or David Hemmings in Blow-up. They cultivated indifference, but they put a lot of effort into how they dressed. ‘In the 1960s, Gainsbourg and Jagger took their fathers’ clothes and transformed them completely,’ says Gabard. He would like to convince a new generation of men to break the stereotype of the suit reserved for dandies and bankers: ‘A suit is a blank page – you can do what you want with it.’
As originally featured in the March 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*204)
INFORMATION
For more information, visit Husbands’ website
ADDRESS
Husbands
Rue Manuel
Paris 9e
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
First look: Stephen Jones’ extraordinary headwear to be celebrated in Paris exhibition
‘Stephen Jones, chapeaux d'artiste’ will span over four decades of the milliner’s ‘transformative and fun’ headwear, with a particular focus on his work in Paris – including a 30-year collaboration with Dior
By Jack Moss Published
-
Highlights from Haute Couture Week A/W 2024
Wallpaper* picks the best of Haute Couture Week A/W 2024 in Paris, from Olympics-inspired offerings at Dior and Thom Browne to the first Chanel collection since the departure of Virginie Viard
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Paris Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2025: Loewe to Dries Van Noten
Wallpaper* picks the best moments of Paris Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2025, from ‘hypnotic precision’ at Loewe to Dries Van Noten’s final show, as well as the latest outings from Pharrell Williams, Kim Jones and Grace Wales Bonner
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Auralee, the ’seductively unknowable’ Japanese label celebrating a decade of beautiful clothes
Ahead of Auralee’s S/S 2025 runway show at Paris Fashion Week Men’s this evening (18 June 2024), Dal Chodha meets Tokyo-based designer Ryota Iwai to speak about the brand’s considered, covetable collections
By Dal Chodha Published
-
’Daring to tread into the unknown’: a first look inside Dover Street Market Paris
Dover Street Market reveals the interior of its new Rei Kawakubo-designed Paris outpost, marking a new chapter for the inventive fashion store
By Jack Moss Published
-
Diptyque opens the doors to an ‘astonishing’ new London home (and you’ll want to move right in)
Diptyque has unveiled Maison Diptyque on New Bond Street, London, an immersive space that captures the storied world of the luxury perfumer
By Hannah Tindle Published
-
Paolo Roversi’s poetic, timeless fashion photography celebrated in Paris exhibition
’Paolo Roversi’ at Paris’ Palais Galliera is the first large-scale exhibition of the seminal fashion photographer’s work in his home city. Curator Sylvie Lécallier tells Wallpaper* the story behind the landmark display
By Jack Moss Published
-
Dior Spa at Hôtel Plaza Athénée is a Parisian haven for the sleep-deprived
On World Sleep Day, head to the Dior Spa at Hôtel Plaza Athénée to experience its Light Suite, the first of its kind in Paris
By Melina Keays Published